While many Gigsters will see a drop in clients, they are also best suited to recover after the virus recedes. There are many aspects to this, and I won’t go too deep in the concept, but the reason for this is because Gigsters are already so well positioned for uncertainty, change, and adaptability. It is what Gigster work is all about.

When Gigsters left their corporate jobs, they gave up steady paychecks, pensions and benefits. It was a trade-off for greater flexibility, freedom, and higher pay. Uncertainty is part of that freedom. While I can’t speak for all Gigsters, I do have to believe that this uncertainty requires Gigsters to be better prepared financially for change.

Another important part of being a Gigster is flexibility. Before Covid-19, Gigsters were already prepared to move to wherever the work was and to commute further out. This makes them more adaptable to do so now that the virus outbreak is impacting workers who don’t have that flexibility. Essentially, Gigsters are better positioned to fill in where work is needed, even if it requires longer commutes or moving elsewhere.

It is also the case that Gigsters are generally well equipped to work with the latest technologies. Videoconferencing likely doesn’t present a big learning curve for them. They also have laptops, good connectivity, and all the gear to move their work online. Many of them were already there in the first place, so social distancing is not a challenge, it’s the norm.

This brings me to the most obvious fact about Gigsters. Most of them are already working in fields that are well adapted to online work like programming, graphic design, and online accounting, to name a few. One only has to look at the concentration of available workers on Fiverr to see this. If you need a programmer to fill in for your IT staff that is on furlough or ill, the best place to find them is online.

As a side-note, I expect that the current reality will create a huge opportunity for temporary and contract work to grow as a percentage of the workforce. While this was already a trend before the virus, it is now almost a given. This is good news for Gigsters because as contract work becomes a larger portion of the work that is done, it will also raise awareness for better benefits, better pay, and job security. Greater numbers means greater leverage.

One final point about Gigsters is that they are all entrepreneurs. This makes them ideally suited not just to fill in for gaps in traditional labor, but it also has the potential for creating entire new industries that will thrive in this new paradigm, industries where they will be the founding members. For example, it could open the door for Virtual Reality to thrive, a side-field that has struggled to find a market. Because of social distancing, VR could fill an important niche that wasn’t there before and who would be better to lead that charge than Gigsters?

Yes, we are still in the thick of global pandemic and it is difficult to see a light at the end of the tunnel, but I also believe that adversity is where ingenuity thrives (I’m sure someone said it better at some point). If so, then it’s likely that Gigsters are uniquely positioned to become those new pioneers of innovation.