Gig Economy

Subject: Economy

Context:

• A Deloitte report from April “Future of work accelerated” notes that Indian organisations are considering to expand the share of gig workers, as dependence on full-time workers reduces.
• Current pandemic crisis also induced discussion on the levels of social protection available to gig workers including wage protection, health benefits and safety assurance

Concept:

• In a gig economy, temporary, flexible jobs are commonplace and companies tend toward hiring independent contractors and freelancersinstead of full-time employees.
• A gig economy undermines the traditional economy of full-time workers who rarely change positions and instead focus on a lifetime career.
• The drivers of Uber, the delivery boys of Zomato, the plumbers and electricians of Urban Clap make up the gig world

Advantages:

• The gig economy can benefit workers, businesses, and consumers by making work more adaptable to the needs of the moment and demand for flexible lifestyles.
• The result of a gig economy is cheaper, more efficient services.

Concerns

• The gig economy is largely unregulated, therefore workers have little job security and few benefits.
• Unless a person is extremely talented, his bargaining power will necessarily be limited.
• While companies routinely invest in training employees, a gig-economy workers will have to upgrade his skills on his own at his own cost.
• There are already many more potential online independent workers than jobs, and this demand-supply mismatch will only get worse over time, depressing wages.