Most likely you have already come across this term and you must have noticed that, day after day, it is more and more present in the professional environment. But what does Gig Economy mean and why is it increasingly relevant?
In the professional world, it is quite common for some terms to be “Americanized, giving rise to expressions such as the one we discussed here and which you most likely have already encountered.
In a simplified translation, “Gig Economy” is what, here in Brazil, we call “beak”: that job, secondary or not, of short duration and without being necessarily linked to an employer: among the youngest, it has become trend and one of the main factors in the emergence of digital nomadism.
Gig Workers – as people who engage in this type of activity are called – find jobs in other cities or states, and sometimes even in countries other than the one in which they reside. Technology, the main catalyst for this phenomenon, allows the execution of tasks at a distance and offers a glimpse of financial security, even without the promise of a work relationship.
Among the numerous tools that emerged and grew along with the Gig Economy, there are some that stand out, whether for their functionality, ease of use, breadth of executions and other details that, in the daily lives of Gig Workers, make all the difference – and, on the contractor's side, they become increasingly necessary: Upwork, Aquent, Crowded, Fiverr, 99Designs and Flexjobs are some of the most accessed options.
The exponential growth of Gig Workers has interesting impacts on the consumer and retail market. This movement follows a reformulation of the traditional forms of work and presents opportunities such as the creation of businesses without defining a commercial point open to the public, for example, but which meet certain demands thanks to the services provided, and temporary establishments.
Allied to the trend, platforms like Uber Eats, iFood and others become invaluable tools for extraordinary growth. Even not being what we commonly recognize as a “fixed job”, Gig Workers have a purchasing power that can be even greater than traditional workers, thanks to the possibility of allying more than one activity at the same time.
In addition, an important factor is also the opportunity to earn in foreign currencies, which are often more valued than the real. The Gig Economy, by itself, is capable of moving the circulation of capital on a global scale!
You can already tell that this new modality is here to stay, right?! Shall we talk about it?
Leave it below, in the comments, what you think of this new way of working and if it interests you.
Cris Jesus She is a Business Consultant, Business Mentor and columnist for Gente Mais Consultoria e Formação.