Does the Gig Economy Have an HR Department? By
Kayla Matthews
The gig economy, also called the “on-demand economy,” represents
a growing sector of the job market where millions of people work as freelancers
and independent contractors, hiring themselves and their skills out for income
as clients need them.
Many workers love this lifestyle due to the freedom it offers,
but one of the notable challenges is that these freelancers may not have access
to a human resources department and, if they do, they probably don’t get to
meet its representatives face to face.
Essentially, the gig economy has changed how some human
resources departments operate and has subsequently shaped what freelancers do
when they need job-related assistance.
A Huge Portion of the
Workforce
Statistics from 2015 indicate there are 53 million people who
worked as freelancers that year. Although those individuals earned 17 percent
more on an hourly basis than full-time employees working in traditional
settings, their overall career earnings were 28 percent less than their peers
because they didn’t work as many hours.
The gig economy has the most workers in Los Angeles, but it’s
growing most rapidly in Orlando. Plus, it’s expected the on-demand workforce
will continue to prosper. Employers particularly like hiring workers to
contribute to the gig economy because they can save significant amounts of
money on payroll costs by doing so. But, what do on-demand workers do when they
need help with something that would characteristically be handled by an HR
department?
Mobile Technology
Moves to the Forefront
Until recently, on-demand workers were often largely, or
completely, on their own when it came to being assigned work, getting feedback
and resolving problems. However, things are changing.
Forward-thinking companies have realized HR solutions for the
gig economy are needed and will be most readily adopted if they’re offered via
mobile platforms. HR professionals often manage their teams in very fluid ways,
and they need to be able to monitor things from wherever they, or their teams,
are.
Of course, certain tools are needed to make this process run
smoothly, and many remote team have found services like VPNs and Cloud
documents to be real lifesavers. As Ksenia Votinova, Technology Entrepreneur
& Chief Marketing Officer at Le VPN, explains of the former:
“Connecting without a VPN means remote or traveling employees
could be compromising their security and all their business communication,
documents, access codes to online platforms, even the content of VOIP calls.
Using a VPN resolves these issues.”
However, using mobile tech for gig workers extends further than
just giving them secure ways to connect to workplace interfaces. When gig
workers rarely or never see HR professionals, it can make them feel like
there’s no recourse when problems arise, or even if they need clarification
about something in the worker agreement they signed.
That’s why it’s important for companies to give gig workers ways
to touch base with them as needed. Teleconferences conducted with headsets and
tablets, smartphone messaging apps and project management interfaces are all
things that could be used effectively to help HR professionals stay abreast of
what’s going on with gig workers, when applicable.
Disputes in the On-Demand Economy
The gig economy offers a favorable way to work for people who
love to get tasks done, often while doing things that are naturally part of
their lifestyles, such as driving. Also, they go about their business without
being under the constantly watchful eyes of their bosses. However, it can also
become hectic if customers make complaints.
Companies like Lyft and Uber allow freelance workers to directly
interact with clients who need transportation assistance. Although, when
disputes arise, these workers are usually out of luck.
Uber has published a descriptive list of things that could cause
drivers to get “deactivated,” meaning they can’t work. Although the company
says drivers may get transportation privileges reinstated if they do things like
attend training sessions, there’s not yet an appeals process in place.
Uber drivers, and similar service providers, are considered
independent contractors. The companies that provide them with income don’t have
to offer benefits, and they make the workers take care of their own taxes. HR
departments are nonexistent for these freelancers. The only thing left for
these workers to do when they have problems, then, is to file lawsuits against
the respective businesses.
Things get even trickier because the laws determining whether a
worker is an independent contractor or employee vary by state, and gig workers
often don’t fit neatly into either category. Also, because most work becomes
available through apps, many of the companies in the industry are considered
“software technology companies.”
The legal framework for that sector is still being developed,
because current labor laws don’t fit what gig workers do. Some workers may find
a precedent has not yet been set, leaving them caught in a stressful legal
limbo.
Access to a Worldwide
Market
In the United States, nearly a third of workers complete
on-demand tasks. Although this option isn’t yet as popular in the United
Kingdom, it’s going through a period of similarly fast growth. There, the
number of self-employed workers is nearly the same as amount of public sector
employees.
Many of the top gig economy websites advertise how clients get
nearly instant access to workers from around the globe. That’s good news for
people who need specialized work done fast or at odd hours, but as should now
be clear, these worldwide contributors often don’t have access to an HR
department when they have questions or things go wrong. If they do, help may be
a continent away.
Although it’s true many gig workers have the good fortune of
earning income flexibly without ever running into problems, that’s not a very
realistic expectation. After all, gig workers often interact with dozens of
customers daily. A gig worker’s earnings could be compromised by poor feedback
or even disputes about things that never actually occurred. When these things
happen in traditional workforces, people can usually go to their HR
representatives, but for gig workers, an HR department is often unavailable.
Hopefully HR resources offered by companies or independent HR firms can fill
the gap for workers as the gig economy continues to grow.
Regards!
Librarian
Rizvi Institute of Management
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