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What’s The Future Of The Gig Economy?

August 21st, 2018 | Posted by ATS in ATS TimeWork OnDemand | Cloud Computing | Time and Attendance Blog, Workforce Management Software - (Comments Off on What’s The Future Of The Gig Economy?)

That’s a tough question to answer, because frankly, no one knows with absolute certainty what the gig economy will look like, 20 years from now. Policy makers have got themselves tied up in knots trying to figure how to draft legislation, that will bring companies like; Uber, Airbnb and Lyft to name a few, in line with traditional businesses. And, therein-lies the issue, because, these companies, are by nature, not traditional in their business model-they were designed to be disruptive and by gosh, that’s exactly what many of them are doing.

What’s The Future Of The Gig Economy?

In his article, Is The Gig Economy Sustainable, Phil La Duke, contributor to Entrepreneur writes, in part;

“Gigs offer no benefits- Paid time off? Forget it. Sick pay? No way. Paid vacations? In your dreams. I know many of you are thinking — they chose this life? Maybe they did and maybe they didn’t. It doesn’t really matter because the result is the same. This is an issue that threatens more than just the giggers. Consider dentistry. The increasing loss of dental benefits means that many in the gig economy decide to stop going to the dentist or, at the very least, reduce dental visits. Now consider vision coverage and the implications that holds. Dentistry, optometry, pharmacies, tourism — the list goes on, but you get the point.

Gigs replace full-time jobs- A common practice among many larger companies allows a long-term employee to retire on Friday and start work as a consultant doing a gig on the following Monday. The same person doing the same job with no benefits or overhead costs. Instead of backfilling the position, the company simply moves one of its employees into the gig economy.

Gigs are often the result of larger companies outsourcing the most dangerous jobs to individual-. Most individuals lack the resources to acquire proper regulatory training, and what’s more, many small companies are actually exempt from regulatory protections for workers.”

Bottom-line, while we cannot predict the future of the gig economy, we do know that it has affected many traditional business models in ways, many of us never saw coming.

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Traditional Work As We Know It, Is Slowly Being Disrupted

May 2nd, 2017 | Posted by ATS in Cloud Computing | Time and Attendance Blog, Workforce Management Software | Workforce Management Solutions - (Comments Off on Traditional Work As We Know It, Is Slowly Being Disrupted)

The disruption of what was once considered traditional work is slowly being replaced by the gig economy and many millennials and baby boomers are gravitating towards it. Several reasons have been offered as to why this type of work is replacing the 9-5 shifts, some of which include; flexibility and today’s workers simply wanting more out of life instead of being tethered to a desk job.

In the finale of a five-part series on the gig economy written by Jonny Dunning, for HRZone, he lists four examples that illustrate how the future of work is being shaped.

Traditional Work As We Know It, Is Slowly Being Disrupted

“1) Social
Two social factors will impact how people choose to work in the future. Firstly, an increasing freedom of where to work, and secondly, a growing importance of who to work for.

2) Technology
Virtual offices, infrastructure-as-a-service, and video-conferencing are one factor enabling a change in the workplace. Technology removes the requirement for a company to locate its employees in a single location, and has been the biggest single catalyst for change in the office working environment.

3) Commercial
Technology is disrupting and transforming every industry. Consumers, workers, supply-chains are all undergoing digital transformation. Capgemini’s report on the Digital Advantage shows the impact digital is having businesses in mining, gambling, fashion and every industry in between.

4) Technology
In response to the growing number of self-employed people in the UK, the Work and Pensions Committee, launched an inquiry into the impact of the gig economy in December 2016. The inquiry will assess the relative treatment of employees and self-employed people in the Universal Credit benefits system, how Job Center Plus should adapt to support those people wanting to become self-employed, how self-employed people can be encouraged to save for retirement and how self-employment can lead to full employment.”

The question that always comes up with something new, is will it last? Cloud-Based applications that include; streaming of movies, music and the deployment of time and attendance are perfect examples. And, more importantly, how will today’s workforce attitude towards work as we know it, shape the next generation?

The bottom-line; the reality for many employers–regardless of size or industry–is that they no longer have control over the labour market the way they once did. The gig economy will continue to disrupt and will someday become the norm.

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