While there has certainly been an uptick in gig work during the pandemic, many gig workers are worried about what will happen once Covid-19 is brought under control. As new jobs become available and companies rehire, what is in store for gig workers.

Well, it turns out that this has been a big question for economists as well. They have been looking at several metrics from established gig work services like Fiverr, Upwork and Freelancer as well as established job sites like Monster and ZipRecruiter. What they found was actually surprising.

Of specific interest was the period between the two peaks of the pandemic, when it seemed like many businesses were reopening and states were easing back on stay-at-home requirements. Interestingly, there was no drop in demand for gig work during this period.

What is perhaps also surprising is current attitudes towards gig work. According to a report by Tech republic, The gig economy will return in full force in 2021, attitudes are shifting quickly about doing gig work and hiring gig workers.

The article references a survey done by Monster.com in December 2020, that found that 92% of workers believe that now is the time to find non-traditional work (i.e gig work). Another 57% believed that gig work is a great way to make ends meet in between jobs.

The article goes on to talk about how COVID-19 has created some angst and delays in the job market, but as the vaccine distribution is ramping up, job prospects are too. Even CEOs of Fortune 500 companies are saying that gig economy maybe the future of work.

In a related article looking at the Impact of the Gig Economy on the Hospitality Industry, they were surprised that this industry, which traditionally has hired non-gig workers, the influx of gig workers will be a benefit for them as well. Of course, gig workers will benefit too as they find more job opportunities in the hospitality industry.

Another article entitled Going Gig: Post-COVID Workforce Trends is also extremely positive about the future of the gig economy, stating that “All Data Points Towards Continued Gig Economy Growth.” Their research found that while sheer necessity drove many people into the gig economy, this has had a positive impact because gig work has now become normalized for both the gig workers and the companies that hire them.

The article references several metrics that are worth noting:

• 32% of organizations are replacing full-time employees with contingent workers [i.e. gig workers] as a cost-saving measure.

• The current number of freelancers in the U.S. is 57.3 million and is projected to increase to 90.1 million people by 2028.

• In fewer than 10 years, an American worker will be just as likely to be a freelancer working in the gig economy as a traditional employee.

• More Americans are taking up a side hustle to supplement their income. That number is up more than 40 percent since 2016.

• 7 in 10 full-time independents (i.e. full-time gig workers) say they plan to continue doing so in the future.

They say in the article that integrating gig workers into their workforces was “the number-one boardroom issue for executives in 2020.” A key point here is that from the executive perspective, gig work is not a threat or an aberration, but rather a new source of flexible labor that should be integrated into the normal operations of a company.

While the gig economy has been thriving during the pandemic, it can also be a key in helping solve the pandemic. This can happen on two fronts. Since gig workers are mobile and come into contact with many people, they will need to be early candidates for the vaccines. While there is debate about whether they should be receiving early vaccines, the fact is that it is in their own interest to receive it.

States should make efforts to consider gig workers, especially delivery workers, as essential employees eligible for early vaccines. It may come as a surprise that gig workers, once considered a fringe minority of the workforce, are now being considered as essential workers.

Another important way that gig workers will help to fight the vaccine, according to 3 Gig Economy Predictions For 2021, is because they work in delivery services. Many “communities may not have ready access to receiving the vaccine and may have difficulty reaching vaccination sites. That’s where the gig economy comes in. In 2021, you will see ride-sharing and delivery platforms offer their services to ensure millions of people receive the COVID-19 vaccine.” Lyft and Uber have already offered to partner in that effort.

This underlines the importance of gig work to the whole economy. According to the Forbes article, How COVID-19 Has Transformed The Gig Economy, “gig work… contributes more than $1 trillion to the U.S. economy annually.” This number is only expected to increase in the future.

They also mention that a large portion of the gig workforce are women, who benefit from the flexibility of gig work as they care for their children who are attending school from home. What this suggests is that women are better represented in the gig economy. This could bring about more gender equality and equal pay to the gig workforce thus making it more appealing to newcomers.

This also raises the importance of a social contract that Forbes says is becoming increasingly important to the gig economy. They mention California’s Prop 22 passage last fall, and the likelihood that it will be a harbinger of similar measures in other states.

Conclusion

What is clearly evident is that the pandemic has made gig work much more important and normalized it as another option for work. Granted, not all gig work is the same. Gig workers who work for large companies such as Uber and Lyft, for example, may not have the same flexibility as those working for a small restaurant. On the other hand, they have access to some of the benefits of traditional workers and make up a large block of employees that can act together, maybe even unionize.

However, the entire gig workforce has grown under the pandemic. As such, gig work is now an important part of decision making from boardrooms to political decision making. It is a household word. It is a growing percentage of the economy. Perhaps most importantly, it is a respectable and accepted type of occupation, and no longer a fringe misunderstood activity.

For the Colégas Group, what is also relevant is that the gig economy is also a great place to start from in establishing a business. If the gig economy is growing, then that means that we will also see growth in the number of small and home-based businesses. Some of those may become large businesses and maybe even the next Dell to Apple (both of which started from very small humble beginnings as well).