What if work was a flexible series of small jobs or "gigs" & not the typical 9 to 5, Monday to Friday routine workweek?
THE SHARING ECONOMY & WORK
The Uberization of work: The good side, the bad side
29/07/2016
Tientip Subhanij
Why do we need to be in the same place from 9-5 for five days a week to do our jobs?
Couldn't we be anywhere in the world and still deliver exactly the same output?
Why shouldn't we take on inspiring new projects whenever we want and work the hours that suit us?
The digital revolution and the so-called "sharing economy" or "gig-economy" are answering these questions and rapidly changing the very definition of the word "job".
The 'sharing economy' is a little difficult to define but one definition runs roughly, "paying to access services such as taxi services (Uber) or rent assets such as someone's condo (Airbnb) via online market places" (see here).
The "sharing economy" enables a "gig economy" in which people make money by doing a series of small jobs or "gigs" .
THE GIG ECONOMY, UBER-IZATION OF WORK
A "gig" initially meant "paid performance work for musicians" for a "musical engagement" which could range from a single musical performance lasting only one night to a lot longer.
Recently, the company Uber has made it possible for anyone owning a car to make money as a taxi-driver, when and where they want, a sort of "one ride gig driving a taxi".
Work for many people is now a series of gigs, a situation that can be good in some ways and bad in other ways, outlined below.
The "gig economy" or "uberization of work" or "let's uberize the entire economy" are different ways of describing this trend (see here & here).
PLATFORMS TO MATCH EMPLOYERS WITH FREELANCERS
Online platforms that match employers with freelancers enable people to worktemporarily or do different kinds of work and get paid for each task separately.
This could be termed a "gig economy" in which people take temporary positions, become part-time workers, or self-employed on a short-term basis.