NEW APPROACHES IN HRM

19 GIG ECONOMY Often called the „ Fourth Industrial Revolution ”, the current business environment is one that has reshaped how people interact with companies. Technology today is replacing older modes of work at an increasing rate and with an ever-growing search for profitability in an increasingly competitive world, businesses today have welcomed the benefits of newer technology with open arms. And as it is with any system of interconnected entities, aspects such as labour markets have greatly evolved too in the wake of these changes. The Gig economy is one such result. The recent spree of changes that modern-day economies are undergoing due to the adoption of newer technology, today, has loosened a previously structured and often regulated access to formal work opportunities. The rapid adoption of technologies, in addition to changing candidate preferences, today means that workers are able to procure multiple pieces of work or ‘ gigs ’ while companies have an option of reaching out to candidates with requisite skills. With such shifts within the labour markets, it remains important to note how pervasive has the impact of a growing gig economy been for an economy like India. With a large working population and an overall workforce which grows by over four million every year, the advent of the gig economy in the country has had a major impact on the country’s labour market. Reports show how there has been a significant rise in both the number of gig workers across the country, as well as growing numbers on the hiring side. According to one such study that captured this growth, over 70% respondents from the hiring side have used gig workers at least once or twice for solving organizational issues in the last year. Further, the report said, nearly 45% of the human resource (HR) heads surveyed wanted to hire a gig worker so that they can supplement skills of the existing workforce, 39% would do this to reduce the cost and 10% for filling temporary vacancies in their teams. India, due to its sheer number of the working population, many of whom are beginning to get digitally connected, has found a growing acceptance to gig work. While the gig economy is popular amongst the blue-collar workers in India – Uber/Ola drivers, there is now huge potential for the white-collar workers as well, due to increasing demand in industries – project-specific consultants, logo/content design, web design etc. (For example – Tap chief in India). The gig economy is expanding from less skilled services (For example – domestic chores at Book My Chotu in India, Task Rabbit in US) to more skilled jobs (For example – Guru in India, Up work in US).