Author of Gigworker, Director of Digital Optimization at OBI Creative, and Owner of GW50 LLC, a studio to develop future digital properties
getty
No matter where you look, you can’t escape the reality that Covid-19 has changed our world. One of the biggest changes? The pandemic completely destabilized the traditional workforce, and millions of people had to turn to gig work to make ends meet.
Even before the coronavirus hit, gigs were a solid force in the global economy. But just like so many other things, the pandemic changed the direction of gig work permanently.
The good news? The changes wrought by the coronavirus mean the current gig economy is flooded with opportunities, and seizing those opportunities doesn’t have to be difficult. In fact, you can lay a solid foundation for success just by understanding five ways the pandemic changed gig work.
1. More companies are using gig workers.
Because of the pandemic, more companies are turning to gig workers than ever before. When the coronavirus forced them to to furlough employees or lay people off, companies started focusing on how to be more efficient. Many of them realized that instead of hiring a full-time employee (for example, an accountant), they could hire someone only when they needed them.
Their rationale? There’s no sense keeping someone on staff full time for, say, $60,000 a year when they can hire a contractor on an as-needed basis for much less.
By embracing the changes brought by Covid-19 — leaning their workforces and relying more and more on fractional workers — companies have driven down costs and become much more efficient, which means more demand (and more opportunities) for gig workers.
2. More workers are turning to gigs.
It’s not just companies that are diving into the gig economy. As a direct result of the pandemic, more workers are entering the gig economy than ever before. Covid-19 pulled the rug out from under people, and many of them had to turn to gig work to earn a paycheck.
The pandemic was the catalyst for the widespread adoption of remote work. Even now, as things are starting to ease a little bit, people are continuing with gig work rather than going back to traditional roles. They have found that gig work, in addition to being a viable means of support, also lets them be creative, independent and free.
3. There will be fierce competition for gigs.
Before the pandemic, stability was the norm. Many Americans were in traditional jobs, and they were content to stay there. However, as a result of the massive shutdowns caused by the coronavirus, millions of people lost their jobs, and stability became a thing of the past.
As a result, the gig economy was flooded with more workers than ever before. In many cases, the supply of gig workers exceeded the demand for them, which led to fierce competition for gigs.
Now, with all the new people who have entered the gig economy, the people hiring gig workers can afford to be picky. If a gig worker doesn’t work out, there are a thousand more people waiting to take their place.
4. The two-way feedback system is more critical than ever.
Much more so than in traditional jobs, the gig economy is driven by a two-way feedback system. It’s always been that way, but as more people enter the gig workforce, this system has increased significantly in importance.
Essentially, all gig work has peer reviews and marketplace reviews. Think about Uber, where you rate your driver, and you’ll understand how this system works.
The more jobs you do — assuming you do them well — the better off you'll be. If you deliver, people will tell other people. The flip side, though, is if you fall short, people will tell others that as well. The gig economy doesn’t accept excuses for poor-quality work.
The bottom line is that as each day passes, if you aren't getting more top-notch reviews, you're losing an advantage over other gig workers who are building up their reviews. And, if you want to succeed in the gig economy, that’s a problem, especially since the competition for gigs is so much higher than it was before the pandemic. Mess up a job, and the ripple effects are huge.
5. Gig work is here to stay.
Even before Covid-19, gig work was growing. Some people needed a flexible schedule because they had to take care of a child or an aging parent. Some couldn’t find a full-time job or make ends meet on their current salary. For others, gig work was a way to bolster their retirement savings. No matter what the situation, many people found that gig work was a solution to their problems. The result? Even as things start to open back up, many people are planning to stay with gig work.
The coronavirus opened the floodgates on the gig economy. The pre-Covid-19 world was headed in this direction, but the pandemic was the catalyst for the widespread adoption of remote work, and it doesn’t appear that those workers are in any hurry to return to traditional jobs. The train has left the station, and it’s not stopping. The time of resistance is over.
Capitalize on these changes.
There’s no doubt that the pandemic impacted the gig economy in a big way. Sure, the coronavirus brought a lot more gig workers to the game, but if you’re savvy about how you approach gig work, you can find a lot of success.
Once you understand how Covid-19 has changed the game, it’s easy to see how to harness those changes for your own benefit. Figure out what you’re good at, then look for companies that might be hiring out for those skills. Be strategic about how you approach gig work — there’s plenty of demand out there, so there’s no sense jumping in willy nilly. Take advantage of the two-way feedback system by building up a good reputation.
If you do all of these things, you’ll excel in the gig economy, and that’s a good thing because the gig economy is here to stay. You don’t want to miss the boat.
Forbes Business Council is the foremost growth and networking organization for business owners and leaders. Do I qualify?
