The Rise of the Gig Economy: Opportunities and Challenges

Picture a lifestyle where work-life balance is achievable, with ample time for personal pursuits and hobbies.

The phenomenon of the so-called gig work, or the rise of more temporary and freelance positions rather than permanent ones, has only surged in the most recent decade of the twenty-first century. The rise of technology and applications is turning the gig economy into a new wave of prospects and risks for employees, employers, and the community.

Opportunities

For workers, the gig economy offers an opportunity and income source. In my opinion, citing flexibility as a strength: students, caregivers – everybody wants to have their personal life alongside their work life. Self-employment work is available for retirees to work on and earn extra income. Every laid-off employee can earn an income before seeking another job to fill. Through the use of gigs, the workers can select their preferred options based on their specialization. The idea that one can find work through apps is a way of removing hindrances.

As for employers, it means the opportunity to attract several special professionals without actually employing them on a full-time basis. Temporary employment, with tasks that are project-based, is more efficient when it comes to handling varying workloads. Freelancers are also useful because startups can prototype and validate ideas much quicker than they would with a large company. This means that organizations can be able to source employees from other countries at a cheap cost.

From the side of society, the gig economy allows for better use of resources, particularly human resources. The gig economy can also enable people with other disabilities that prevent them from working full-time. Through the use of aggregator platforms, the costs of transacting are minimized. There rises innovation when major corporations quickly prototype products with the help of external resources. Consequently, economic growth is enhanced when productivity increases.

Challenges

Despite the benefits, there are concerns about the gig economy: Despite the benefits, there are concerns about the gig economy:

• Uncertainty – Unlike full employees, the wage received by gig workers is unpredictable and provides no employment benefits or job security. Overcoming the financial aspect is challenging with an unpredictable revenue stream.
• Exploitation – Another concern is that people who work in gigs are taken for granted with companies failing to pay for their benefits despite expecting flexibility from workers. Wages mostly ignore the costs that the workers incur themselves.
• Algorithmic management – Getting rated and assessed through various algorithms that are employed to oversee gig workers is not very transparent. The users do not have much of a grievance procedure or right of appeal against the account deactivation by the employers.
• No safeguards – There is a lack of proper legal frameworks to regulate this growing sector, and this is evident through the following points. Some of the things freelancers do not have rights concerning include discrimination, harassment, disability, and family leave, among others.

For though there are obstacles to overcome the gig economy is coming whether we like it or not. When led and managed well, especially through effective policies, technology could be used to generate good, decent, and sustainable employment for millions of employees. The gig economy demonstrates how it is possible to unlock talent at scale, all while giving the workers flexibility and ownership. Whereas anti-change conservative sentiment could have a solution for the welfare of workers that could spur innovation and productivity in the economy.