A More Modular Future: In The Post-Pandemic Era, A Total “Gig Economy” Workforce Could Come Even Sooner
Imagine, if you will, a world where a disproportionate amount of the people working for companies are contractors rather than full-time employees. Also imagine the reason for this is because it is far more common to be an independent contractor performing a job for several companies that a machine cannot than it is to be one company’s full-time employee whose total annual compensation can easily exceed the cost of automation.
The various ways the COVID-19 Pandemic will permanently shape how we live remains to be seen. One thing is certain: the world will be permanently changed by the sudden suspension of economic and industrial norms that led to a long overdue mass synchronized revelation that many professional jobs can be done from anywhere.
Historically, whenever an event impacts all of our lives, it is followed by a permanent change to how we live them. The advent of the printing press in 1440 that simplified the production of written content also mainstreamed the use of reading glasses, once reserved for the higher classes who could afford to purchase handwritten works. The Industrial Revolution resulted in many people moving their occupations from the farm to the factory, ostensibly manifesting the public education system as we know it. 9/11 was followed by permanent travel security protocols that we once decried as intrusive violations but now rarely think twice about whenever we fly.
Today, the pandemic has forced countless jobs to be strictly virtualized or pruned from operations altogether. Tomorrow, a more enduring impact likely still awaits us.
Before the virus, an increasing number of individuals were entering the Gig Economy, or in other words making their living by freelancing their services contractually instead of working as a full-time employee. The growing popularity of ridesharing apps and the like have contributed to this gig growth. The range of freelance service types could dramatically expand soon though, as more and more full-time positions are eliminated as a result of the impact the pandemic has had on companies.
“Due to the potential for larger untaxed take home pay, greater self-agency and the learned lesson that a global event could quickly jeopardize their employment at any moment, individuals who can perform these jobs from home could in turn realize they will have the ability to do them for multiple clients, not just one. It will gradually make more sense to work as an independent contractor, as their own business, rather than tying their fate to a single organization.”
For those who feel the current traditional model of employee-majority organizations will not change any time soon, consider this: If your job only really requires a computer, internet access and a phone, it can be done from anywhere. If your job is something virtually every company needs, it can be done for anyone. If your job’s core function can be boiled down to performing calculations or mundane repeatable physical tasks that fuel operations for an organization, eventually it will be done by a machine. This doesn’t necessarily mean the number of jobs will decrease, it simply means the need for specific skills will change. (This was already happening, the pandemic may have just expedited things).
In light of what they have learned from this experience, slowly but surely more employers will realize they can get cheaper labor by either offering remote flexibility at reduced wages or automating a function. This means that the only jobs left would be the ones that can be done from anywhere and/or cannot be performed by a machine. Think human resources, software development, creative services and project management.
Due to the potential for larger untaxed take home pay, greater self-agency and the learned lesson that a global event could quickly jeopardize their employment at any moment, individuals who can perform these jobs from home could in turn realize they will have the ability to do them for multiple clients, not just one. It will gradually make more sense to work as an independent contractor, as their own business, rather than tying their fate to a single organization.
Over time, more companies would have the bulk of their professional services performed by smaller independent companies, resulting in a more modularized economic landscape.
What would this look like? If you’ve never done freelance work before, imagine performing your last or current job for company A on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays while performing the same job for company B on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. (After all, our definition of “the typical work week” will likely change if WFH becomes more normalized; weekends will surely be on the table).
What about health insurance and other benefits? Wouldn’t this create more long-term economic instability for many people? Not necessarily. As a growing portion of the workforce become independent contractors, professionals will likely form trade cooperatives that would purchase group benefit packages through the collective buying power of the members. That would mean benefit packages would remain in place without being contingent on employment status with a particular organization and cost far less than they do today.
A more modular economic relational framework would be a more liberated one. Instead of the traditional model of working for a single source of income that if pulled away could instantly send a life into turmoil, people would be more accustomed to having multiple sources of income for their labor at any given moment. A contract ending here or one failing to renew there would not necessarily be an economic death sentence, just part of the normal ebb and flow of any sole proprietorship business.
This paradigm would not only liberate individual workers but alleviate the emotional burden on employers who are aware those who work for them heavily rely on their compensation to provide for their families, purifying the professional atmosphere of commerce. They will also have the ability to throttle professional services as needed throughout the year as opposed to paying a lump sum annual salary plus benefits despite the actual level of output needed at a given time from a particular role.
Regardless of what the future may hold, whether it’s a more modular labor structure consisting of a multitude of individual businesses with their own branding and marketing needs or a continuation of the status quo, we are here to provide marketing and communications support for any organization of any size.