Why is the Gig Economy Rising despite the flaws?
The Gig economy culture is rising these days. Gigs are simple tasks that put extra money into pocket. The world needs skills and resources to get things done. The Gig Economy is the solution to that. The workers do the task, receive payment, and move to the next. They don’t need to leave their jobs to do the tasks.?
The companies employed a traditional employment model where the employees should work only for the company. There was no flexibility, the wages were low, commuting to the office was tedious, etc. The gig economy has overridden traditional employment models becoming a trend for 2023.?
According to Thrive my way , Predictions are that the gross volume of the gig economy will reach 455.2 Billion by 2023.
It has taken a plunge from the pandemic. The economic instability has brought the need for the employees to look out for more income sources outside the company.?
Once the lookouts were growing, The companies also started offering gig jobs in the name of cost-cutting. The skilled workers had the opportunity to work with multiple companies and had no limit to their earnings. Considering all this let us understand why the gig economy is on the rise and why it can still grow in 2023 despite the drawbacks it has.?
Why the Gig economy is growing and its history!
People want more financial stability. There are other relaxations like independence, flexibility, and remote working with a gig job.
If the companies need certain simple tasks then they can opt for the gig model and outsource the task. This billion-dollar industry has carved out its structure primarily from freelancing. The freelancers are contractors outside the company. While the gig workers are temporary employees.?
Primarily they function with the help of a platform or an agency that roots the workers to the companies. Initially, companies used to hire gig workers for small surveys, and other tasks that can be done without any skill.?
But now the pandemic has allowed hiring gig workers with Technical skills also. 75% began freelancing to support their financial stability during COVID-19. (Upwork, 2020). There are advantages and disadvantages to this model for employees and companies. Breaking this down will help why this model is growing despite drawbacks.?
Gig economy advantages and disadvantages for Workers
Freedom
The freedom of being their boss is always rewarding for anyone. Working in an organization can always beat up with commute, hierarchy, deadlines, and busy schedules. Gig Workers aren’t tied up with an organization. They have their schedules, work hours, and choices of work while still earning more than a traditional job.??
The gig economy’s defining characteristic is that it provides complete autonomy. People working in this setup can pick and choose the projects they want, charge the fee they prefer, select their place of work, and define work hours as per their convenience?
Income
The gig working communities are rising because there is unlimited potential to earn money. They can work round the clock with as many companies as possible.?
Most people beat themselves to earn more but they keep waiting for a promotion or an increment. This changes with the Gig Economy. The Income opportunity it introduces to their life is unbeatable.
According to Fountain , 50% of freelancers say they would not go back to a traditional job, no matter what it paid.
The best way to scale up earnings is to mix and match skills with the market. The market is open for skilled, unskilled, experienced,? and fresh workers.
Skills
Skills are the only thing that can help anyone survive. Even if one starts from scratch building skills can get them huge amounts of money into pocket.?
The gig jobs are enabling to enhance skills as well as? work with upgrading technologies. These skills again are helpful in traditional jobs. When there is ultimate growth available which is also paid then why won't’ anyone use the gig economy?
The Disadvantages for workers
Losing Benefits From the company
If an individual is not tied to a company they are laid out from their benefits. The companies offer lots of benefits to the employees to satiate them and hope they feel stupendous.
Gig Workers don’t get the benefits even if they provide the most valuable work. The reason is simple. Until they are not full-time workers, companies reach out only for work.?
This is more like a client-employee relationship who become strangers once the project gets terminated. Pretending all these things, companies never give value to gig workers and the workers do the same.
Higher Competition
The higher the competition is, the lower the pay outs are.? Gig workers started competing at prices and holding their value lower than others to win jobs. Here the qualified professionals are losing their edge and the under skilled workers with low price quotations are getting the jobs.?
Though the jobs are done, the quality of the work is relatively low. The usual competition to get a gig job is a lot higher than a traditional job. And as an individual with few resources, finding a job is grueling.
Unstable Income
A traditional job is always known for its stability. There is no stable income for a gig worker over a conventional job holder. The gig worker may have lower earnings or higher earnings sometimes. Nothing is permanent here.??
The stability and conformity of income comes when workers are qualified and skilled and also experienced and also given results to clients.
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Gig Economy advantages for companies
Be it small or big, the company gets the job done
An MNC with 1000 plus employees and a local restaurant with less than ten employees can hire the same gig worker to get their job done. You see this vital difference between the companies yet reaching out to the same skill set resource.?
The quality of the work will always be higher no matter how big the company is. Even if you reach out to the same person for a traditional job requirement, they probably choose the MNC over the local restaurant and as well the smaller organizations can never afford to search for an experienced professional. 66% of large companies outsource work to freelancers.
Potential to have High skill reach out
As I was discussing above, there is unlimited potential in terms of skill resources. The companies have an uncountable number of choices to choose from and can assess who can perform their job in a better way by analysing the portfolio.?
No need to care about hiring, benefits, and creating a hierarchy
Maintaining a full-fledged department or a wing of a company is hard because there are a lot of costs, and supplements involved.?
Hiring a full-fledged team/ department is not feasible for companies. They are no longer required to maintain this because there are agencies available that maintain a range of gig workers to satiate company requirements.
Companies can find Gig Workers easily
Hiring a gig worker is easier? because of digital platforms and agencies. So finding your next worker is not a hard thing. The rise of digital platforms has given options for instant hiring, pay outs, and work production.?
The Edge over the Investment
The investment costs are very high for a traditional employee. The companies are having the edge here. Though the gig workers are receiving their pay outs as per the market standard, it is far less than a traditional employee cost to the company. If a company hires a gig worker instead of an employee, it can save an average of $4,708 a year.
The Disadvantages of gig economy to the companies
Likewise the advantages of the gig economy, there are disadvantages too, Companies won't mind these problems. But learning about them is good practice before diving into the gig model.
The worker dump your company soon
The gig workers are always floating and searching for newer opportunities. If they find others better than you they can leave you. In any manner if you are not satiating their needs, then also there are higher chances, they can leave you.?
Chances of getting under skilled workers
The marketplace is competitive, there are the best and worst skilled workers in the gig economy. You may find them on every platform. So validating a skilled worker is always an issue.?
There are exceptional cases where a gig worker has genuinely worked for a company. While hiring them they rant about skills expecting high pay.?
So the companies fall into the trap of a person who shows his fake experience and offers a low price quote. Here is the real problem where the companies get low-value services.
Your Data is in other’s hands
Data is always a concern in today’s world. Your data is in the hands of others, a company would always feel insecure. It is safe if the work you are outsourcing project data is not confidential and does not hurt the company's integrity. Take the necessary steps to secure your private data which the gig workers should not access.?
Gig Economy must Rise despite Drawbacks
Working in the gig model is always a benefit for companies and workers. This is the future of employment culture where people around the world are expecting freedom, ease, and choice in work. The Gig Economy offers everything and there are higher chances it can burst.?
“A new study from researchers at INSEAD argues that self-employed workers in the U.K. have better mental health than their salaried peers, with gig workers found to drink less, have higher confidence levels and generally exhibit fewer signs of stress.” - Forbes.?
Even the recession and great resignation of 2022 can lead to this model's growth. People who are dumped or have left the companies are working on their own using the skills. With the eventual scenario, 2023 can experience growth in the number of gig workers,?
This is enabling homemakers to get into jobs irrespective of their location, skills, and age. So the earnings are growing and the number of people looking for jobs is also growing. There is a supply and demand in the gig economy which beats each other every day.
We as a company are always grateful for being in this field from the start and are looking to hire more gig workers, across the Indian region. We are open to supporting students, gig workers, freelancers, field executives, vendors, and team leaders who can have a great income from the simple tasks we allot. For more details reach out to us at [email protected]