The GIG Economy: One of The Next Big Thing In Post Pandemic World

In a post I made on my Facebook page profile I mentioned the phrase “Gig Economy” I feel most people might not really understand what that means.

Let me go a little deeper on it here.

But before I get on the what Gig Economy is all about, let me briefly bring to your knowledge of what you may already know, about what is happening in the world economy, as a result of COVID19 pandemic.

As you may already know, people’s lifestyle is changing, people are now living life based on scale of preference, focusing more on needs than wants, no more careless spending, there are deeper understanding to what is more important in life and this is driving a lot of change, lifestyle is shifting, spending habits of every household is refocusing.

This is part of the many changes that Covid19 pandemic is bringing.

Business operation as a result of Covid19

Many businesses will not be able to pay their workers because of low patronage which leads to low or no profits, while some business won’t even have customer again which is as a result of the change in consumers behaviour, lives are being sniffed out from some business in some industries, this means jobs will be lost, which is going to result to more unemployment on top of the staggering unemployment in a country like Nigeria.

Even companies and business that are still operating, especially those in niches that cover human essential needs, will retrench there workforce and adapt to the gig economy operational model to minimize cost, this is the major this pandemic is going to affect the Labour market.

Business doesn’t have many options, people will no longer buy the way they used to buy at least for some reasonable period of time, you can use yourself as a case study here, haven’t this pandemic influenced your buying habits?

People now solve further maths before spending a dim because it’s no more about spending now it’s about earning it back?

The gig economy is going to be one of the biggest change this pandemic is going to usher to the labour market.

It’s also going to open opportunities for people who are adaptable to change not cynical people who like to find fault and cast blames.

What is Gig Economy?

The gig economy is a business operational environment where businesses make use of per time and remote skilled workers to run the operation of their business, in gig economy, organizations and independent workers engage in short-term work arrangements.

Going with the current Covid19 pandemic, businesses have to reduce costs if they hope to survive in the long run and gig economy is the best options that they will adopt.

Alternative ways for most businesses to keep operations going is by reducing costs, and the option is to hire freelancers (someone who can work from the comfort of their bedroom while still charging less).

It doesn’t mean it affects all of us, but if you have a job that an App can perform or a job that someone can perform better while working remotely than you need to start thinking of plan b.

For example, a lot of industries will be affected by this pandemic included, tourism, hospitality, travel, etc.

And according to research just travel and tourism account for 10% of the global GDP and 50 million jobs are at risk worldwide, this is just an effect on two major industries.

But just like every change with negative impact, there are also opportunities to seize.

There is no better time in the world to Go Digital and start learning digital skills and start optimizing digital tools and resources, the world will never remain the same after scaling through Covid19 pandemic.

But the handwriting on the wall is clear enough, ideas and skills are going to be the currency in the gig economy and also in the post-pandemic world.

How are you getting ready, what skills are you learning with your smart devices and resources around you?

If you are interested in learning viable skills, I have written a post where I shared the top 5 skills that will make you more valuable in the market.

That can give you a head start on getting ready for the post-pandemic world.