The future of the gig economy
The word gig economy has been the IT thing since the last couple of years and it has peaked post COVID. Wondering what it is? We are here to simplify it for you.
What is a gig economy?
A gig economy is a free market system in which temporary positions are common and organization’s hire independent workers for short term commitments.
The word ‘gig’ is derived from each piece of work being akin to an individual gig – even though there are different names for it as well.
Technology has slowly transformed every aspect of human life. This advancement of technology has also been altering the way people view and perform work. The largest and fastest-growing segments of the project-based economy across the globe are the knowledge-intensive industries and creative occupations. It is evident that the full-time employment culture is under threat due to the rapid growth of the gig industry.
Gig work involves different types of occupation which independent contractors can do, such as content writing, software development, graphic design, skincare and beauty professionals, deliveries, administrative, ridesharing and taxi driving etc.
Therefore, companies are willing to test the new technology of this type of independent work economy and hire temporary workers. One of their major benefits being the fact that they manage to save costs as employee training and employee benefits go down drastically.
But, here are some positive impacts for the gig workers as well
★ They get to choose their own work hours.
★ They get the chance to improve their productivity.
★ They even have the opportunity to maintain work/life balance.
Some popular name in the Gig Industry includes Uber, Swiggy, Airbnb, Urban Company, and Udemy that have all been following the same model, contributing to the gig industry.
Several factors greatly influenced the risk of the independent work economy
One of the main reasons being the financial crisis faced by almost every individual round the globe. Thus a great number of people had to opt for temporary or short term work wherever they could. This temporary work had to be flexible. Some people held down a full-time or a part-time job and worked a side gig for additional income. Others made a living by working multiple gigs at once.
The gig economy brings far too many positive impacts than the negatives. Gig employees have the opportunity to choose projects that align the best with their interests and goals, and earn income from numerous sources.
Hopefully, as the independent work economy continues to rise and advance, the workplace of tomorrow will have a bright future ahead. It’ll be a future that is abundant in flexibility, choice, and opportunity. In this bright future of the gig economy,where everyone is a winner.
Are you into gig work? Let us know in the comments!
