Gig Economy Adopted Across New Industries
A gig economy has a foundation of temporary employment, freelance jobs, or flexible employment; in a gig economy full-time jobs are atypical and there is a focus on workers frequently changing positions, jobs, or projects instead of focusing on a singular repetitive career. A gig economy has cheaper and more efficient services for specific tasks, therefore making them appealing for cities to incorporate gig workers into their economies. Coronavirus has unfortunately caused many Americans to lose their jobs or get reduced hours and the U.S. economy has taken a hit. The market is slowly turning into a gig economy. The new normal, post-COVID, seems to be drifting away from full-time employment and toward gig jobs with flexible schedules.
The Benefits of a Gig Economy
While full-time work is ideal for most people, a gig economy is quite beneficial for companies and workers. Workers experience a variety of benefits from having a gig job. These benefits include having greater flexibility over their schedule, working a variety of jobs to gain unique experiences, and in some cases, better pay, especially when using it to supplement a current job. A person could have multiple gigs and have the freedom to explore different job options through working gigs. It is not just the workers who reap the benefits of a gig economy, businesses also benefit. Businesses benefit from lower costs as they only have to pay for labor costs when they need it, businesses are better able to scale their company, and businesses have access to a diverse pool of workers which allows for a diverse company workforce.
COVID-19 Influencing Gig Economy Adoption
The coronavirus pandemic has completely changed the job industry and has caused different industries into introducing gig employment. Gig labor is flexible employment, and employees are typically independent contractors who instead of working full time for a company have a contract for temporary work or specific shifts. While a gig economy might seem like it’s primarily on the internet through work from home jobs, there is still a demand for in-person labor.
Warehouse workers are in high demand for gig work, as there has been an influx in online ordering since the pandemic. People have been ordering everything from clothing to necessities online. Companies need more warehouse workers to help deal with the demand, especially with the holiday season approaching. The holiday season is expected to bring in more online ordering by consumers, meaning warehouses will need to bring in seasonal workers to meet demands. Having a full-time warehouse staff can be expensive for a full staff when orders are low, or not effective enough to keep up with business when orders are high. Gig employment offers you to only have the full-time labor you need year around while hiring out shifts when you need them. When positions are filled on a need basis, costs are cut since a full-time force does not need to be retained.
Solution for Warehouses
HapiGig is a company that works specifically with gig workers to fill warehouse shifts on an app-based platform. HapiGig fills these positions on an as-needed basis easily by allowing warehouse managers the ability to choose employees from a roster of experienced warehouse workers. Whether you need someone on a day-to-day basis or hourly basis HapiGig has workers for you to choose from.