Fiverr Hits $5.55B Market Cap, Racial Bias in Rating Systems, Braintrust Raises $18M Focused on Fairness to Freelancers and More...

There are approximately 60 million Independent workers in the United States, representing $1.5 trillion in U.S. GDP and growing. Projections estimate that 50% of our U.S. workforce will be independent workers by 2025- 2030. The Gig Economy represents a trend that will digitally transform how organizations engage with talent.

I continue to believe that not having a Gig Economy Strategy in 2020 is like not embracing the internet in 1990 or the mobile revolution mobile in 2010.

The Freelance Revolution

The rise of independent contractors and globalization of knowledge work is the Industrial Revolution of our time. Everywhere we look, we can see the U.S. workforce undergoing a massive and structural change.

With $18M in new funding, Braintrust says it's creating a fairer model for freelancers - Braintrust, a network for freelance technical and design talent that launched over the summer, is announcing that it has raised $18 million in new funding.

Fiverr: Massive Run-Up, Growth, Selling Put Options - Fiverr is in the right place at the right time and with a massive runway for continued long-term growth as the nature of remote and digital work evolves.

To fix the racial bias in the gig economy, start with the rating systems - Inequality in the gig economy is nothing new. For years, millions of low-paid gig workers have been denied sick pay and health insurance by companies that intentionally misclassify them as contract workers. For companies like Uber, Lyft, Doordash, and Taskrabbit, it's a calculated move to avoid the cost of benefits and federal payroll taxes.

 Collective launches to be the ultimate 'back office' platform for freelancers - The U.S. freelance economy is booming, according to a recent Upwork report, with more than a third of the country's workforce carrying out some form of freelance work in the past 12 months. This reportedly created $1.2 trillion in economic value — up 22% on the previous year.

Freelancing Fact vs. Fiction - Working as a freelance designer or developer can be a great way to earn a living. Still, there are many misperceptions related to working as a freelancer. Some assume that freelancing is cushier than it is, and others believe that freelancers are simply designers/developers who can't find jobs.

Suddenly Distributed

We see unprecedented numbers of companies implement emergency remote work programs. I will be dedicating this section of the newsletter to Tips and tricks from the home front as many knowledge workers go remote during the pandemic.

Working remotely could become permanent - The coronavirus pandemic has pushed about 2,500 employees tied to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, its related clinics, and physician groups to work remotely — a situation that will persist into 2021.

The Rise of Remote Work Can Be Unexpectedly Liberating-  In the initial months of the pandemic, remote work seemed full of upsides: more flexibility for employees and an expectation of greater profits, productivity, and retention for their employers. But what if the long-studied benefits of remote work look different in a post-pandemic world?

From one office to 5,000: How remote work could reshape a company's sustainability goals - In September 2019, e-commerce giant Shopify launched a Sustainability Fund, committing to invest at least $5 million every year into technology and projects to fight climate change. At the time of the announcement, the company couldn't have anticipated that less than a year later, in May 2020, they would decide that their workforce would be digital-by-default, a move spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Wellness 

We will spend one-third of our lives working, and the disruption to the way we work has never moved faster. This all can impact our overall wellness as we navigate the changing landscape and fight for balance. 

Workplace wellness - how businesses can prioritize employee mental health - It won't surprise you that mental health and well-being continue to reside at the top of our workplace communication issues list. The World Economic Forum recently hosted a live webinar focusing on cultivating mentally healthy workplaces. The speakers discussed various regional and cross-sector case studies and initiatives aimed at providing Covid-19 stress-related assistance for mental health.

PAUL ESTES is an unstoppable advocate for the simple idea of ensuring that all voices are heard and that all people have access to opportunity. This passion is inspired by the quote from the late Leila Janah "Talent is equally distributed, opportunity is not."  Now is the time to address systemic location bias and encourage companies to reach beyond their organizational boundaries to engage the world's best minds.  For 20 years, He struggled to balance his life with fast-moving leadership roles at Dell, Amazon, and Microsoft. He led a team of progressive HR, procurement, and legal trailblazers to launch Microsoft's Gig Economy freelance program. Hiring his first virtual assistant transformed the way he lived and worked.

Paul is the former host of the Gig Mindset podcast and current host of The Talent Economy podcast. Each week, Paul provides insights and perspective to over 90,000 readers of his weekly LinkedIn newsletter, and he frequently shares his insights as a keynote speaker and panelist. He has nine pending patents in content and collaboration related to the on-demand economy. His bestselling book, Gig Mindset, was released this year.