Word of the Day: gig economy

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Word of the Day Daily updates on the latest technology terms | November 13, 2019 gig economy A gig economy is a free market system in which temporary positions are common and organizations contract with independent workers instead of hiring full or part-time employees. The term gig, which has its roots in jazz music, is slang for "job that pays." There are a number of forces behind the increased use of freelancers, independent contractors and project-based workers, including: An increasingly mobile workforce. Improved broadband internet connectivity. Maturity of the Software-as-as-Service (SaaS) delivery model. Trust in digital payment systems. A cultural shift away from employees working one or two jobs until retirement.   From a worker's point of view, the gig economy can be seen as a way to improve work-life balance. When independent workers are able to select jobs they are interested in, it's more likely they will complete those jobs successfully. The challenge, however, is for the independent worker to get enough short-term work to support his or her desired style of living.   From the employer's point of view, the gig economy allows businesses to save resources in terms of benefits, office space and training. It also gives employers the ability to contract with experts for specific projects who might be too high-priced to maintain on staff. The challenge for businesses, however, is to make sure the status of contractors as non-employees is always legally clear. Quote of the Day "The Gig Economy is disrupting the way companies work, and the way they hire. Corporate leaders are increasingly choosing to work with independent contractors, consultants, and freelancer as needed, rather than creating full-time jobs filled with full-time employees." - Diane Mulcahy Related Terms ghost worker sharing economy gift economy barter economy work-life balance flexible workforce Amazon Mechanical Turk Learning Center AI gig economy sets workers and bots on collision course The future of work has shifted toward a gig economy, with high-value, short-term workers on demand for organizations. The fast turnover and high volume demand AI to reduce friction. DroneBase uses analytics-powered freelance payment system from Qwil DroneBase uses Qwil, vendor of an analytics-based payroll and payments system, to automatically manage and pay the freelance drone pilots who use the DroneBase platform. Gen Z in the workforce both want and fear AI and automation For Gen Z in the workforce, AI and automation are ways to ease workloads, even as the young generation worries the technologies could eventually replace them. AWS IQ marketplace taps demand for AWS experts AWS is at work on IQ, a job marketplace that matches AWS experts with customers. Similar in appearance to the likes of Upwork, IQ is set for launch later this year. Learn the basics of freelance developer agreements Developer work agreements protect both the client and the freelancer, and they ensure that the code meets expectations. Each side should pay attention to these contract clauses and technicalities. Quiz Yourself Do you know how to improve employee experience? Test yourself Think you know what it takes to create a positive employee experience for your workers? Take this EX quiz to test your savvy and see where you need work. Stay in Touch For feedback about any of our definitions or to suggest a new definition, please contact us at: editor@whatIs.com FOLLOW US About This E-Newsletter The Word of the Day is published by TechTarget, Inc., 275 Grove Street, Newton, Massachusetts, 02466 US. Click to: Unsubscribe. You are receiving this email because you are a member of TechTarget. When you access content from this email, your information may be shared with the sponsors or future sponsors of that content and with our Partners, see up-to-date Partners List, as described in our Privacy Policy. For additional information, please contact: webmaster@techtarget.com. © 2019 TechTarget, Inc. all rights reserved. Designated trademarks, brands, logos, and service marks are the property of their respective owners. Privacy Policy | Partners List