A “Gig Economy” is the segment of flexible, temporary and freelance job workforce that sometimes connects with online customers and clients. The pros and cons of gig economy, the implication of this economy in India and rise of gig economy is going to be addressed in this blog.

Discussion

“What is Gig Economy”

Gig economy is the particular part of business that includes flexible working processes, freelance workers, online workers connecting with clients through online platforms. This economy relies upon heavily on independent workers with little or no job security. The gig economy benefits customers, workers and businesses by making work more adaptable according to the demand of lifestyle.

“Pros and cons of Gig Economy”

Pros

Cost-effectiveness: Minimising expenses and costs is one of the advantages of Gig economy.
Labour force: The gig economy provides a labour force to companies for matching the need of freelancers.
Independence and flexibility: Independent contractors, workers work at any hour of the day by maintaining a flexible working schedule.

Cons

Worker commitment: In the gig economic market getting committed workers is very difficult.
Ethical issues: Ethical issues such as lack of honesty and responsibility have been witnessed among less committed workers.
Lack of benefits: A market economy which has no or little job security, is less capable of giving benefits to employees.

“Gig economy in India”

Gig Economy in India has been flourishing since the pandemic period when many people started working independently. The pandemic forced maximum companies to adopt a flexible working Culture. India has over 15 million freelancers working on technological projects. In India nearly 60% of companies in the tech industry are investing in workers in freelancing mode under the gig economy.

“The rise of Gig Economy”

Gig economy has risen with the emergence of independent, accountable workers in a flexible work culture. In India the gig economy is growing at a CAGR of 17%. 97% of companies want to keep freelancers at their current working level. At present the gig economy has a potential to transact over $250 billion in volume of work.

“Examples of Gig Economy”

The Gig economy includes the jobs that individuals discover and access through platforms online. The examples can be-

Delivery workers (Zomato in India, Amazon.com)
Freelance contractors
Freelance online workers
Fitness training, ride-sharing services (Uber, Ola cabs)

“Gig Economy and women empowerment”

The gig economy has emerged as an insulator of women engagement with flexible working opportunities. Women can access diverse job opportunities through digital networks fostering financial independence. The participation of women has increased to 36% from 27% in the gig economy.

“Challenges of Gig Economy”

The challenges of gig economy are the following-

The absence of long-term contract or job security is regarded as a challenge of gig economy .
Gig workers often lack protections which is common for the traditional workers in the working system
Lack of employment benefits has been witnessed as another challenge of gig economy such as health insurance, retirement plan

“Future of Gig Economy”

Gig economy has developed scope of improvement and growth in the business environment. According to the report of NASSCOM the gig economy in India is expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 17% (CAGR). On the other hand, the growth of reaching the market is projected to $455 billion by the next five years. The gig economic system will be enhanced in the coming years with the adoption of a hybrid working system.

“Niti Ayog report in Gig Economy”

India’ booming Gig and platform economy has emerged as a potential scope for independent working structure. According to the report of Niti Ayog in the financial year of 2020-21 7.7million people were engaged in the process of gig working economy. The gig workers are estimated to grow to 23.5million by 2029-30. In the development of business processes in the online working economy gig workers will gain importance in the freelance working opportunity in future.

“Conclusion”

The emergence of the gig economy is recent times, its growth structure and rise in the Indian economic environment has been explained in this blog. The importance and limitations of gig economy has been discussed in this piece with the future opportunities of expanding gig economy.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

1.What are the eligible criteria to become a gig worker?

A person who is trained and has capability to handle different kinds of working processes can become a gig worker.

2.Are gig workers employees, employers or self-employed?

In most of the places gig workers are regarded as self-employed. The freelancers, blue collar workers are considered as gig workers.

The new freelancers working in all industries have been shown in the picture below-

THE GIG ECONOMY

3.What you need to know about the gig economy?

A gig economy is a position of free market with the expansion of hiring independent workers.

Traditional GK

THE GIG ECONOMY