Honeygain Explains: Gig Economy
If you’re a fan of passive income ideas and earning opportunities, you might have heard about the gig economy already. It’s the ultimate alternative to working full-time, earning a fixed wage, and having no flexibility… And yet, it’s not exactly passive income either.
The gig economy offers the freedom of freelancing without necessarily having specialized skills or vast amounts of free time. Curious? Good, because the Honeygain team is about to explain what the gig economy is all about!
What exactly is the gig economy?
If you’ve ever looked for a clear definition online, you already know people interpret things differently. The most detailed explanation so far is the one provided by the UK's Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy in 2018 – here’s what it says:
The gig economy involves the exchange of labour for money between individuals or companies via digital platforms that actively facilitate matching between providers and customers, on a short-term and payment by task basis.
Can’t understand half of the complicated lingo? Don’t worry: you’re not alone. Here at Honeygain, we’re all about clarity and ease. Here’s a simple breakdown of what this definition means in human language:
- Gig workers are paid for tasks (‘gigs’) and not hours or months
- These tasks take little time, so there’s no need to commit for months or years
- Gigs can be found on digital platforms that match workers and clients
What are some examples of ‘gigs’?
There are two main types of short-term tasks gig workers complete to earn – microtasks and macrotasks. The difference between the two lies in their complexity and the time it takes to finish them (a.k.a. get paid).
Microtasks are quick and simple. Typically, they take minutes, and you don’t need any specific experience and knowledge to complete them: some simple examples may include short surveys, audio transcriptions, or content classification. The fee per task is fixed and defined from the get-go. One of the best-known examples of a microtask marketplace is Amazon’s Mechanical Turk, which offers short-term gigs like data validation, content moderation, etc.
Microtasks are great for those who don’t have a ton of free time to invest into earning on the side. You don’t make much, but you also don’t even feel like you’re sacrificing any time since you can complete the short-term tasks as you wait for appointments, ride the bus, or watch your lunch as it cooks!
Macrotasks, on the other hand, take more time and might require some professional skill. It’s what we usually imagine when we think of freelancing: a gig can mean building a website, creating a company logo, writing an article, etc. Macrotasks also include driving Ubers, delivering food via DoorDash, or helping people with things like furniture assembly or gardening via TaskRabbit.
How big is the gig economy?
The gig economy offers unmatched flexibility, which makes it hard to define its size exactly. A lot of people worldwide do it on-and-off or only dip into gigs part time to supplement their primary income. However, there certainly are some statistics that might help us understand how big it is on the global scope:
- The gross volume of the gig economy is expected to top $400,000,000,000 next year
- There are now 150,000,000+ gig workers in North America and Western Europe
- The US gig workforce is forecasted to grow by 50% in the upcoming 7 years
- Gigs are the primary source of income for44% of gig workers – the other 56% see it as a way to earn extra money in their free time
- 1 in 3 gig workers say they work on paying gigs every day
Some believe the gig economy is the future of the workforce, while others prefer the dependability and security the traditional contracts bring. We believe full-time jobs are not going anywhere soon – and yet, the importance of the gig economy will surely grow in the future since more people are starting to prioritize flexibility over stability in their daily lives.
Is Honeygain a part of the gig economy?
Technically, Honeygain cannot be called a part of the gig economy since there are no tasks (or ‘gigs’) you’re required to complete to earn money. With Honeygain, it’s completely effortless: the app does all the work for you, and all you need to do is keep it running on your desktop or mobile device and make sure it’s connected to the internet.
Yes, you heard that right – it’s basically free money for doing nothing!
