Better Work-life Balance Attracting US Workforce
20% of the traditional U.S. workforce is part of the Gig economy. These are the professionals who already have a full-time job as the primary employment source. Unsurprisingly, 85% of them want to continue with contract work in the next five years. Gig work is the primary source of income for 30 million American workers today, a 2019 report by MetLife revealed.
As work and life have become more integrated, professionals want to personalize their style of working to suit their needs. Thanks to the Gig economy, they can now avail of the privileges of working from anywhere, anytime they wish. The only factor associated is they need to work with the right approach towards the set goals.
The report highlights the impact the Gig economy has had on the professional and personal outlook of the workers. The flexibility it provides is appealing to the masses. Gig economy offers a unique solution to meet the flexible schedule and desirable work-life balance of the employees.
As per the report, educational services attract the largest chunk of the freelance/contractual workers (12%), closely followed by IT (10%). Construction, Healthcare, and Manufacturing industries are the next three in terms of the percentages of gig workers they employ.
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The Challenge for American Employers
Now, 49% of the full-time workers who are a part of the Gig ecosystem are considering leaving their current organizations for freelance and contract-based roles in the next five years. 45% of those who have already left are more satisfied with their current roles than they were with their previous traditional job roles.
And this trend may concern many employers. But employers across industries need to face the gig economy head-on and they can actually use it to their advantages. The idea is to figure out how to hire and retain the best gig workers out there for the short-term and contractual roles available.
It was found out that providing employee benefits may reduce possible employee burnout to an extent. in the form of higher salaries, insurance plans, flexibility in work timings and locations, and promotions may help with employee retention.
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