The Indian working culture is evolving every day. From working six days a
week to working five days to working on a freelance basis, the working culture in India is as dynamic as it gets.
Today the working segment in the country can be divided into two parts — the full-time workers and the freelancers or contract based workers. Off late, the trend of freelance or Gig economy is revolutionising the mainstream Indian companies by the new generation especially the millennials.
A gig economy is a free market system in which temporary positions are common and organisations contract with independent workers for short-term engagements. Workers perform ‘gigs’, in which they are employed for a specific task or time.
This is done to achieve advantage of cost, quality, and flexibility. Once the task is complete, the worker is free to move on. A McKinsey report says, 20-30 per cent of the developed countries’ workforce is today engaged in independent work.
The gig economy has benefited both companies and workers. With geography no more a barrier, companies can hire workers without fear of attrition. The gig system results in lower training overheads and savings in office costs.
According to Forbes magazine, the gig workers will take over 50 per cent of the workforce by 2020.
The major factor contributing to the rise of gig economy is its cost-effective and flexibility features.
The gig economy provides a win-win situation for both the companies and workers. Companies save up on the training cost while workers save up on traveling expenses and have an upper hand in deciding the work timelines thus maintaining a work-life balance.
Such workers acknowledged that they felt a host of personal, social, and economic anxieties without the cover and support of a traditional employer — but they also claimed that their independence was a choice and that they would not give up the benefits that came with it.
Although they worried about unpredictable schedules and finances, they also felt they had mustered more courage and were leading richer lives than their corporate counterparts.
The system has its flip side also.
As companies forgo their traditional style, their strategic vision may become obscure. Companies struggle to retain their corporate culture, and staff lack in team spirit when workers are temporary. Shorn of in-house talent, they are always on the lookout for gig workers for new projects.
Regular coordination among different workers or teams working in silos is not easy. The gig system also calls for regular implementation of new technology platforms to manage churn faster. This can be time consuming and costly. (UNI)
