2023 will be a year of survival
Surviving through Economic Downturn: The Changing Workforce
If the growth of the gig economy has felt like a slow burn, it’s time to get ready for what could be a year of serious expansion. The changes in work culture brought on by the pandemic are still in the early stages of impact, but 2023 could be the year when those disruptions trigger systematic shifts in the alternative workforce sector.
Trying to piece together how on-demand work fits into your 2023 plans? Here are just a few things to keep in mind as you explore hiring gig workers in the shared economy:
Alternative Work By the Numbers
Some experts predict that freelancers could make up half of the American workforce within one decade. Looking at the past four years alone, the growth is already evident. In 2018, there were 770 million global freelancers and 43 million global gig workers. In 2023, projected global freelancers will reach 915 million, and projected global gig workers will reach 78 million.
This trend is especially significant for gig workers, who are expected to grow to nearly 10% of the entire freelancer population by 2023.
The same 2018 data ranked the cashflow for the most common alternative workforce sectors - transportation-based services like Uber and Lyft came first ($61.3B disbursements), followed by asset-sharing services like AirBnB ($52.7B disbursements), professional services like Upwork ($6B disbursements), and household services like Care.com ($14.1B disbursements).
Although there are fewer gig workers than freelancers, services that hire gig workers continue to generate the most profit.
Changes in Shared Economy Culture
The growth of the on-demand work sector coincides with both immense cultural changes in how people approach their careers and a staggering economic downturn.
Thanks to technology, gig workers can achieve flexibility and independence, values that became increasingly important during the lockdown. They can control their relationship with their employers, another component of work radically altered by the pandemic. Even for full-time workers, 31% report wanting more flexibility.
However, financial hardship is an equally important motivator in pursuing gig work. 40% of workers have “side hustles” to make extra cash. 14% of millennials already have one, and 62% plan to launch one eventually. Already, 15% of Gen Z engages in gig work. This November, Uber’s CEO said that 70% of the company’s drivers signed up due to inflation.
When working with alternative workforce employees, it’s critical to understand why they’re pursuing this type of career.
Integrating Gig Workers
Odds are you’ll be working with more gig workers than ever in 2023.
According to SHRM, there are four practices necessary for integrating these teammates into your organization:
Fostering cross-functional collaboration between permanent and independent workers
Encouraging information-sharing between the two groups
Facilitating the onboarding and integration of new on-demand workers
Maintaining a big-picture view of the entire workforce
Nervous about making sure your gig workers have what they need to succeed at your organization?
CoDo’s customizable onboarding platform enables gig workers to learn your unique program from anywhere. With ready-to-go templates you can build out code-free, CoDo empowers effortless training, even for fast-growing companies with a variety of teams.
Click here to book a demo and get a head start on 2023 onboarding.