In today's ever-evolving work landscape, the gig economy and remote work have emerged as transformative forces. This blog explores the growing understanding of the benefits of the gig economy and its impacts on remote work.
Beyond car driving apps, over the last years, getting groceries delivered, or access on-the-fly to an extra hand to assist your company in a specific project or accessing to a specific skill has become easier than ever with multiple options today available.
With continued advancements in technologies and AI's proliferation fueling innovation, new apps and services continue to emerge, creating more offers to the end customer based on the utilization of the gig economy.
Defining Gig Economy and Remote Work
The “gig economy” refers to a labor market characterized by short-term contracts and freelance work, an outcome-based model, offering workers flexibility and autonomy. “Gig workers” are also typically designated as freelancers, service providers, or independent contractors.
Remote work, on the other hand, enables employees to work from anywhere outside of traditional office spaces.
How do these two concepts interrelate?
- The gig workers work on a project or task basis and typically own their workspace and equipment.
- In most cases, they are not able to use your facilities due to confidentiality, security, legal, and other liability considerations related to the fact that gig workers are classified as independent workers and not employees.
- Beyond these two aspects, this last but not less relevant point is the reason why you should consider including gig as part of your workforce mix – the gig workers’ modality is linked with flexibility, the ability to access skills beyond the surrounding location and operate during specific non-planned events and optimize the staffing needs. Thus, the core need for gig is naturally incompatible with office.
In summary, if you have interest in capitalizing on the gig economy you need to adopt a remote mindset.
Looking Ahead
Understanding and embracing both are a must for businesses to stay relevant and competitive as the younger generations, the Millennials and Gen Z, take over the labor force. A survey by Shiftboard revealed that more than half of Millennials (51%) and Gen Z (55%) singled out schedule flexibility as their top priority for job satisfaction.1
These generations are actively shaping the future of work and influencing the gig economy.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 36% of U.S. workers were classified as freelancers or independent workers in 2022, and projections indicate that over half of the U.S. workforce will be part of the gig economy by 2027. Crossing the ocean, ITI Aayog estimates India has 7.7 million gig workers, which it expects will swell to 23.5 million by 2029-2030.2
Advancement in emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and augmented reality (AR) will shape the future of the gig economy and remote work. These innovations will facilitate seamless collaboration, enhance productivity, and provide new avenues for remote engagement.
That is why embracing them now is not just a response to current challenges, but a strategy to thrive and stay ahead of the curve. By understanding the benefits, challenges, and opportunities that come with the gig economy and remote work, individuals and organizations can unlock flexibility, innovation, and succeed in an ever-evolving work landscape.
That’s it for this week’s blog. I’m going to discuss the “Demand for governmental and corporate climate action” in the next blog.
2 https://www.smallbizgenius.net/by-the-numbers/gig-economy-statistics/#gref
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