Understanding the future of work in India with Freelancers and Gig Economy

The world in the 21st century is booming with choices. Choices big and small, ranging from everyday decisions to life-altering career decisions, from what to eat for dinner to which country to work in, choices are everywhere. Now, after all these diverse choices to make, a new one has risen, i.e., the choice of whether to work 9-to-5 in an office or a remote, self-employed setup. 

That’s right! With the younger generation’s growing interest in working for themselves, a new work culture, the freelancers’ or Gig workers’ economy, is growing tremendously. In fact, as per NITI Aayog’s Future of Work report, India is set to witness a share of 4.1% of Gig workers by 2029-30. Let’s explore this progressing workforce in this blog. 

What is Freelance or Gig Economy?

Freelance or Gig economy is an up-and-coming work culture consisting of people who call themselves self-employed, freelancers, or Gig workers. This workforce is the future of work whose main focus is on the work being done, irrespective of the place they are at. This means, the freelance culture of work frees people from conventional work setups and allows them to set their own rules of where to work, and when to work, as long as the work is being completed. 

The freelancer or Gig work culture offers temporary or contractual work, where freelancers come into business with companies or clients for specific periods or particular projects. It offers ample work flexibility and independence to the freelancer or Gig worker. For instance, many college students do freelancing after their college hours, or the food delivery people you interact with are also a part of the Gig economy. 

Key areas of employment in Freelancers' or Gig work culture

Currently, the Indian freelance or gig economy is growing in a few specific sectors, such as technical services (software development, Web development, etc.) creative industry (content writing, graphic design, and more), logistics and delivery services (food industry, travel partners, parcel delivery, etc.), but that’s not the end of it. Gradually, people from different fields of work are opting for Gig work mode, such as chartered accountants, dieticians, project managers, etc. 

Benefits of Freelance or Gig Model of Work

The freelance industry has many perks as there are reasons to join it. Firstly, it offers a sense of control over one’s time. With time and place flexibility, Gig workers can choose when to work and when not, without the fear of losing their livelihood. Similarly, on the business side, it eliminates the need for physical office space and ensures that the business owners can invest that money in advancing the technical resources and putting expert workers on tasks. 

This also helps in dealing with one of the prevalent challenges in the Indian economy, i.e., the lack of jobs per the high demographic dividend. But with freelance and Gig work culture, young individuals can be employed and assured of a certain income even if for a short period, which in turn will make them skilled and experienced at the job they are doing, ultimately securing similar or better opportunities in the future. 

Is the future of the Indian economy bright in Gig or Freelance culture?

Certainly! Since the pandemic period, and with the growing focus of the government on boosting digital technologies to survive such situations, freelancers have come up as a workforce of the future. This is evident from the continuously growing worker share in the Gig/Freelance economy.  In the Future of Work report by NITI Aayog, it has been highlighted that since 2020, the freelance workforce has witnessed a constant rise, with people from different sectors such as retail, transport, food, technology, etc joining the workforce. 

Therefore, the freelance work culture is not only shifting the mindset of India’s youth towards itself but also catalyzing India’s growth considering India is both a start-up mine and the world’s youngest economy. 

Can students also do freelance work?

Freelancing offers an open ground for any individual seeking an opportunity to make an earning, either part-time or full-time. Students are among those section of freelancers who do it part-time. Students can leverage their specific interests and skills and utilize them to earn money, new skills, and experience in that particular field. Freelancing can also help students build their portfolio from early on, without disrupting their ongoing studies. Especially if someone is planning to turn their passion/hobby into a profession, freelancing in that case presents an easy gateway. 

Steps to follow to become a part of this booming workforce:

• Pick a niche or any skill set you are interested in/good at. 

• Find out necessary add-on skills, for example, if you like graphic design, you would be expected to understand the basics of design tools.

• Search for work opportunities in the specific field.

• And start building your experience right away. 

To sum it up, freelancing is the future of work, considering its easy entry and immense results. One can start freelancing or Gig work as a part-time thing, for building their professional/work history, or even to practice their learning with hands-on projects, but whatever your reason, in this tough battle for earning a livelihood, freelancing certainly serves as the first step at your rescue. After all, it’s starting what matters.