The increasing digital needs of every business are creating more job opportunities for the skilled-based workforce in the digital marketplace. Plus, the pandemic, loss of jobs, and increased time spent online seem to have fueled up the entire idea. People are becoming more inclined towards short-term, contractual jobs rather than 9-5 strict jobs because the former promises greater flexibility and versatility.
Research predicts that about 52 percent of the entire US workforce will comprise gig works, which of course, is a major increment considering the current number of gig works, i.e., 59 million. It is the increasing integration of technology that is blending contractual means of work with permanent jobs.
However, history has never seen progress without struggle. Like all other fields, we see newer challenges surfacing in the gig economy, both for workers and employers. Here in this post, we will look into a few prominent challenges as well as the top four most effective tips for financially thriving in the Gig economy.
Challenges of Gig Economy
Gig Economy has its own set of pros. You can work at your convenience without risking your job position. You can earn as per your capacity and take a break whenever you wish to.
But then again, nothing comes without a cost. Gig Economy may have its own drawbacks include no proper rights of employees, standard and routinely pay raise, allowances, and office perks. Amongst these challenges, a major challenge that will feel much more of an individual-level issue is the efficient management of earned resources. Hence, following this, you will find the topmost four effective tips for thriving in Gig Economy.
1. Allocate Resources Wisely
When working on short-term contracts, or say freelance basis, your income may not be steady, at least for the first few months. You may have a month of tremendous success and another with no projects at all. Although this can be highly discouraging and demotivating, we encourage you to stand your ground nonetheless. In the initial stages, it’s like that with everyone. Trust us!
Over time, as you gain experience and command in your respective field, you will eventually welcome a stable figure. Do not worry. But for a while, let us keep the worst-case scenario in front of us and decide accordingly.
Hence, when planning your budget, consider your lowest sum of total income and determine your monthly expenditure accordingly. You ought to cut out extravagances on your entertainment, food, clothing, utilities, etc. Predetermine which aspect requires what amount and try to stick to it. Any surplus amount will serve as a bonus.
2. Save but Don’t Deprive
Just right now, we advised you to cut down on extravagances as much as possible. Does that mean that you will not get to enjoy life to its full as a short-term worker? Will you never be able to spend the time the way you always planned to? Will you never get the chance to save for, let alone live your dream honeymoon or luxurious vacations?
Not really. That’s the beauty of freelance work. You can do anything you want whenever you want. Hence, although it’s wiser to keep yourself planned and restricted in the day-to-day hustle, you should not ignore your life goals. Plan and save for them side by side. If it’s a Disney honeymoon that you dream about then you’ve got to save for it separately alongside your monthly income.
3. Don’t Work for Free
At your conventional 9-5 job, no one asks you to work a month for free, so they could assess whether you’re a good fit for the company or not. However, here in this world, almost everyone’s ready to try a free sample. Now that’s mostly because people wish to get their work done for free. As soon as they receive your free sampling of work, they will most likely turn you down for lame reasons. Hence to save your valuable time (and the money you’ll be making at this time), try not to agree to such conditional offers unless they offer proper compensation.
4. Keep Yourself Ready 24/7
Your projects are short-term, but your goals are not. Remember, your work easily shifts from one sphere to another, but life naturally doesn’t.
It’s best to keep yourself ready for emergencies. Set aside a separate sum solely for this purpose or invest in insurance policies. Similarly, you ought to keep yourself ready to embrace the newer changes and developments in the market. The more skilled and updated you are, the better positions you will be able to access.
You can also use the easy-transitioning nature of your work to your advantage and keep a look in the market for newer vacancies. If you see a better deal, go ahead and aim for it!