Gig economy

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ENGLISH – GIG ECONOMY

10/10/2018

The “Gig economy”, a new trend.

In this last decade, the labor market is upset by the permanent evolution of positions, employment and with a turnover more and more present. This perpetual transformation comes in particular from the desire of employees to be independent and to obtain more versatility and tasks, but it comes mainly from companies who are looking for talent quickly adaptable and skilled. It is in this context that the notion of “Gig economy” appears. The “Gig economy” describes the trend of companies hiring independent contractors and freelancers instead of full-time employees. Workers are paid for each individual task they do instead of by day or by hour. The “Gig economy” presents a lot of advantages for employees. Indeed, employees are independent and can ally their professional life and their personal life by having a flexible schedule. They also can choose their employers and their companies. This new human ressources tends is advantageous for companies and employers. Actually, independents are “on demand workforce”. They are available to work and skilled. The “Gig economy” is an opportunity to save money by offering services of experts that they not payed for a long time. Companies can also quickly find a good profile among hundreds of profiles and save in terms of training and workplace. By not making them work as employees, companies do not have to give them paid time off, sick leave or any kind of protection. However, the “Gig economy” also presents some drawbacks and in particular for employees. Indeed, independent workers don’t have stable job. They continuously change their work place, their companies, their colleagues and work environment. They are forced to adapt to new places and new people. They cannot really feel really integrated with a team and can hardly adopt a corporate culture. In addition, an independent person cannot progress in a company or increase their skills. For a company, using an “on demand workforce” can be restrictive. An employee has no hierarchical link and can decide when he wants to take a vacation or not to go to work. It’s forces the company to be reactive. Also, the company has no guarantee of a quality work done. Nowadays, more and more companies decide to employ independent workers. For example, “Deliveroo”, a meal delivery company and “Uber”, specialized in taxi services. Many young people, students or independent workers who wants to accumulate jobs choose these kinds of company to work as freelancers. The “Gig economy” represents a new model and continues to attract more and more freelancers and companies. Nevertheless, a lot of independent workers are complaining about working conditions and low wages. Companies must be careful and take these claims into account to stay durable.

Maria, Mallory, Aurélien, Noé.