Gig economy: Building a more conducive ecosystem for the workers in 2023

Over the last five years, the Indian gig economy has evolved from a pool of primarily low-skilled workers to a $15 million strong workforce across low, mid and high-skill segments. A new market has emerged for gig workers at mid-skill level in functions such as telecalling, content and data operations, etc during this period. Further, there has been a rapid increase in high-skill gig talent in the last year considering the benefits of flexibility, work-life balance, and autonomy the gig economy provides. Apart from digital adoption and changing workforce behaviours, this growth in the gig economy has largely been enabled by enterprises that have embraced the gig model and continue to explore different modes of gigification. Now that the Indian gig economy has matured to a certain extent, it becomes the collective responsibility of all stakeholders to step together and create an ecosystem that is more conducive to the growth and potential of gig workers. To establish a more conducive ecosystem, the need is for more than just platform-delivered prerequisites: it requires ‘unbundling the stack’ of information and services, as stated in Boston Consulting Group (BCG) study. This would mean bringing together gig platforms, allied services, and public policy to create meaningful livelihood opportunities at a larger scale and in turn contribute to India’s economic growth. To start with: Gig workers primarily strive for transparent payment of salaries, the flexibility of time/hours, assurance of recurring work, skill development and non-monetary benefits. While the use of tech is enabling transparent payrolling; steady work assured through rising enterprise-led demand, gig platforms can take steps to ensure on-job training, feedback loops and continuous upskilling on their platforms. This can help gig workers to explore new opportunities, unlock growth potential and enhance their income. The government can also work on a centralised platform to track the entire journey of the gig workers, from skill development to their availability for picking up jobs. This integrated approach will further streamline the discovery and deployment of gig workers. Another crucial aspect to be solved is the alienation of gig workers. Considering the independent and autonomous nature of their work, many gig workers often end up feeling alienated. To build resilience among gig workers, stakeholders can work collectively and solve this to an extent through the creation of communities. Communities, digital or otherwise, that provide mentoring, counselling and support, in general, can strengthen a feeling of belonging and provide psychological strength to gig workers. Creating a conducive space for high-skill gig workers, however, requires a special glance. Providing them with better opportunities, recurring work (solved with demand/adoption by enterprises) and social stability and benefits will help strengthen the gig ecosystem. Considering the gig economy has the potential to contribute to 1.25 per cent of GDP of India’s economy in the upcoming years (as BCG reports), a greater focus on the implementation of policy reforms can accelerate and aid economic growth for gig workers. Like the previous year, the upcoming Union Budget is expected to announce initiatives addressing the exponential growth in the gig economy. Alongside contriving steps to make the space more accessible, inclusive and conducive for betterment, the protection of gig workers needs more attention. Presently, implementation of the labour codes must be prioritised and carried out to ensure more participation and satisfaction in the gig economy for workers. Implementation of these codes can allow gig workers access to health, accidental insurance and maternity benefits, while old age protection adds a layer of security. By serving as an incentive, implementation of the labour codes will help resolve the attrition challenge in the gig economy and create a stronger shift in secondary to primary income thought process. One hiccup that surrounds the social security code is the apprehension of gig workers who prioritise income over everything. Many gig workers are yet to understand the importance of these non-monetary benefits. Here the responsibility of rendering awareness falls upon us. As an industry, concrete efforts must be put in to educate them about the long-term benefit and wealth creation via these benefits. On a conclusive note, it is significant for all the stakeholders to prioritise the gig ecosystem, and create better livelihood opportunities, financial and professional growth for gig workers. Maintenance of the demand-supply pipeline will impact India’s challenge of unemployment and foster economic growth. The author is the Co-Founder and Chief Business Officer of Awign. Views expressed are personal. Read all the Latest News, Trending News,  Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.