What Is the Gig Economy?
Gig Economy is an economy based largely on people working for others as independent contractors where they have the freedom to choose their working hours and clientele as they choose to get paid on a project basis instead of opting for traditional monthly salaries.
Understanding the Gig Economy
For years, the norm in terms of jobs has been permanent full or part-time positions. Enabled by technological advances, more and more people have begun to take on a variety of short-term job offers, known as “Gigs”.
Formerly, the term “Gig” (shortened form of ‘engagement') was used to specify performances musicians did for big and small audiences on request which was usually a one-time thing as they got paid on a performance basis.
The gig economy borrows the term from ‘Musical gigs' as a huge number of paid jobs are turning into one-offs as it allows more power to the job seekers and less hassle for the employers. This shift evolves the entire economy as more and more jobs start including -
- Freelance opportunities
- Temporary project-based offers
- Work from home positions
This is taking up a larger portion of the workforce. Due to the evolution and advancement of technology, any company can hire suitable persons for jobs from all around the world, telecommuting with them and get the job done. No need to pay monthly salaries to people unless it can be done on a project basis.
Either way, most of us are contributing to this economy or have done so in the past without even noticing the sheer transformation of the economic order.
Practical Example
If you took an Uber or any ride-sharing app, used any food delivery apps to get the food delivered, or even finished a project on any freelancing platforms, then you may have already entered the gig economy.
Use of this Term in a Sentences
- The gig economy gives a freelancer full access to a broader global marketplace, where they can have the freedom to work as much as they want.