14 Apr 2023
When people first began gig working, many predicted it wouldn’t last: they saw it as a lost cause and yet, it continues to thrive and grow at an almost exponential pace.
Gig working is growing increasingly popular. More people are choosing to work in temporary positions as a freelancer or independent contractor. It has grown in popularity thanks to many big businesses such as Uber and food delivery company Deliveroo. They both helped drive the market as it resulted in more independent job opportunities for many people.
The Covid-19 Pandemic and associated lockdowns revolutionised remote work, making it increasingly mainstream and this has undoubtedly had a large impact on the gig economy and freelancing. It is now seen as pretty normal to work remotely, whereas before Covid, this was considered to be something quite unusual. Many more people have also had a taste of what it is like to work remotely and are now unwilling to return to an office environment full-time.
Since then, many more sectors are catching the gig working bug. Many marketers, graphic designers or indeed other people only require a computer to do their job and can now technically become a gig worker, so it’s actually quite easy to get hired if you have the right skill set! There are virtual assistants, software developers, website content writers and many more opportunities than there ever have been to work remotely.
For businesses, there’s a huge benefit in a gig economy. It saves resources in terms of benefits, office space and training, and employers have the ability to contract with experts for specific projects who might be too highly-priced to hire full-time. It really is the best of both worlds for businesses, though hiring freelancers can occasionally be a little hit and miss in terms of how they handle deadlines. It can feel a little trial and error but once they find someone they gel well with, hiring them for repeat business seems quite common.
Although it may not seem like a steady stream of income for some workers, the “gig economy” or “freelance economy” allows workers to earn all or part of their income from short-term contracts where they are paid for individual tasks, assignments, or jobs.
It offers additional benefits for workers, who can often work remotely and on a more flexible basis allowing a better work / life balance. In addition, it gets rid of micro-managing, which can be a big complaint in many industries. Working independently also allows a person to flourish and become more creative in how they manage their workload. Many remote workers choose to base themselves in countries with a low cost of living so that they can live a better lifestyle for the money that they earn. This is known as “geo arbitrage” and this is the next logical step for many who work in the gig economy.
If you’re looking for short-term contracts, search for opportunities with Our Bob today.
