No, You're Not Lazy, Amazon Gets Remote Right, Talent as a Service, 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 believe that?every organization?in?every industry?needs a Gig Economy strategy. Not having one in 2021 is like missing the internet trend in 1990 or the mobile revolution 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.

An on-demand revolution in customer-experience operations??- Whether relying mainly on in-house or external talent, gig-style staffing models—when managed carefully—could give customer care the horsepower and flexibility it needs for today's increasingly volatile markets.

The Roots of the Great Resignation Stretch Back a Decade, Says Wharton's Adam Grant?-?In the course of a recent?Wall Street Journal?article focused primarily on?what can be done to make working from home less stressful, the Wharton professor and?best-selling author?drops in a little-recognized truth about the current standoff between bosses and workers: What appears to be a post-pandemic issue has roots that extend back at least a decade.

20% of Americans Would Go Freelance To Stay Remote — What To Consider Before Taking the Plunge?-?Amid the Great Resignation, some workers are looking to change how they work. Twenty percent — or around 10 million Americans — are considering switching from full-time to freelance, with 73% citing the ability to work remote or flexibly as a reason why a recent?Upwork survey?found.

Why journalists are leaving their full-time media jobs to go freelance?-?I had felt for a while that external forces were dictating my journalism career. In five years at daily newspapers, I repeatedly fought for raises and responsibility tweaks only to be told to wait. That direction kept me in eternal limbo, drained by the feeling that if I just stayed long enough or just worked hard enough, something might change.

'Out of stock' items plague grocery delivery services. Personal shoppers at Target's Shipt aim to fix that?-?In a crowded delivery landscape, Shipt is using customer relationships to retain both the families who order from the service and the gig workers who shop for them — and ultimately, increase sales.

What Every CEO Should Know About Talent-as-a-Service?-?The pandemic has accelerated the emergence of Talent-as-a-Service. With diligent vetting, businesses and freelancers can win big in the growing gig economy.

Indy: A Freelancing Platform With Everything in One Place?-?Freelancers rely on tools to help make work-life easier. That's especially true for tools related to running your business – the less creative part of the job.

The Creator Economy?

The Creator Economy has many similarities to the sharing and gig economies back in 2012-2015. Independent talent, technology platforms, and hype. All are driven by the dream of making a living by doing what you love. At over $100B+ the creator economy is just getting started.

YouTube study: 'Creator economy' supports equivalent of 394,000 full-time U.S. jobs?-?YouTube?released a study Wednesday saying that the "creator economy" supports the equivalent of 394,000 full-time jobs in the U.S. and contributed $20.5 billion to the U.S. gross domestic product last year. The study, conducted by independent advisory firm Oxford Economics, was commissioned and paid for by?YouTube.?

Irish Startup Vudini Targets the Booming Creator Economy?-?Vudini, an Irish Artificial Intelligence startup supported by Voxpro co-founder and investor Dan Kiely, has seen a significant increase in customer growth due to the pandemic-led boom in the Creator Economy.?

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The Hybrid Workplace

We see unprecedented numbers of companies implementing remote work programs. The way we work has forever changed and will require new skills and leadership approaches.

This 3-Word Strategy Fuels Amazon's New Work-From-Home Policy--and $386 Billion in Revenue?-?In a recent?policy announcement, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy put an end to the ever-looming question of if--and when--staff will return to the office. He stated that the decision will be up to individual teams and that they are to be "guided by what will be most effective for our customers."

How many days a week in the office are enough? You shouldn't need to ask?-?COVID-19 has fundamentally changed our relationship with the office. After the enforced experiment of lockdowns pushing about 40% of the labor force into working from home, few of us want to return to the pre-pandemic status quo.

PwC announces nearly 40,000 U.S. employees can work remote from anywhere in the country?-?PwC announced today it would allow all U.S. employees who can telework the ability to work virtually from anywhere in the continental U.S. moving forward. The new policy will impact nearly 40,000 employees in client services, including consultants, auditors, and tax professionals.

Workplace 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.

?No, You're Not Lazy—Just Burned Out, Says This Psychologist?-?Are you lazy? Social psychologist Devon Price doesn't think so. In their provocative new book, Laziness Does Not Exist; Devon invites us to imagine a world where we stop judging other people for being lazy, stop shaming ourselves for being unproductive, and start realizing that doing less is not a moral failure.

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PAUL ESTES, the best-selling author of the best-selling book?Gig Mindset?and 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 H.R., 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 and?The Talent Economy podcast. Each week, Paul provides insights and perspective to over 95,000 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.