Ready or Not! Wait, Where Did They Go?

Chances are you aren't going to find them in a cubical, next to the water-cooler of playing foosball in your cool office. Finding and hiring your next Gig Team however, has gotten a lot easier. According to Forbes, Gig Economy—made up largely of freelancers and remote teams—is about 57 million strong, making up 36 percent of today’s workforce. If that sounds like a lot, that’s because it is.

These aren’t just all side hustles, either. It doesn't have to an adult game of hide and seek. companies like Felxjobs, Remote-How, WeLive and Upflex are carving out their niches in what has become the places to look for a remote friendly employer (Flexjobs), a place to get certified as a remote employee (Remote-How), move into a solo or shared apartment in the same hip building you work(WeLive) or 100's of fully equipped coworking spaces that the employer only pays for the time used in the space (Upflex). The recent Gallup poll on which that percentage was based also estimated 29 percent of workers in the U.S. have an “alternative work arrangement as their primary job.” Yes, primary!

Here’s why: it’s hard to be fulfilled as a person and a professional sitting in traffic all day or being bound to an office. FastCompany recently reported, in fact, that one in four employees have left a job because of that killer commute alone. Instead of ignoring the transformation in worker priorities and lifestyles, why not cater to it?

Some companies—and entire industries—are doing just that. For ride sharing services and coworking spaces, for example, business is booming. Now, the financial shoe is about to drop on what is truly a Remote Revolution. To get the ball rolling, Mastercard is furthering its Inclusive Future Project, an initiative they began back in January of this year. The project specifically caters to those in the gig economy, making it easier for remote workers to receive payments and giving them access to other financial tools.

The program is great, and it’s worth your attention. But I’m not going into the details of the initiative or its recent developments right now because the point I want to make is larger than one statistic, one initiative, or even one industry. This forward motion across the board is evidence of a collective shift that’s coming one way or another, ready or not, here we come!

Count to 10 uncover your eyes, and go find your next Gig Team. They are out there and they are ready!

@flexjobs @welive @remote-how @upflex #remotework #remotejobs #inspired #remoterevolution #boss #liveandwork @christophegarnier