Getting the gig

Picture of Alison Relf

Alison Relf

Managing Director, Taylor Alden

I get the gig – as in I get the gig on the gig economy. First “invented” in the US a few years ago, it now accounts for more than five million workers in the UK.

A gig is a temporary job of course; not a blast of Billie in Brixton. The employee often works on a specific project for a company, either as an independent contractor or a freelancer. The benefits of a gig job? It allows you to work on multiple projects for multiple companies at once. You can often work from home and have flexible hours.  Gig goes hand in hand with Deliveroo and uber – but there is a vast array of examples. Five million to be nearly exact!

Good or bad? I think it could be both and, as ever, it depends what you do with it!  As is the case with all of the good things in life!

You won’t get sick or holiday pay. And when you take into account working from home generally – or hot desking – it seems we may just be risking the beauty of building relationships with co-workers, and the loyalty and brand “marrow” we grow when we work for “just” one organisation.

However, having worked for many, many clients over years and years in PR, I think we have been working in this manner for decades – without giving it an American nickname – and it certainly keeps things fresh! In addition, it must be great for mums and carers and other fantastic people who just cannot do 9-5 behind the same desk every day, every week, every year.

Thinking on, who would want to work like that if we can possibly help it?! Have imagination, it will work!

Photo by Thought Catalog