A recent news article in Economic Times proclaimed that “White-collar gig professionals edged out salaried full-time employees in the year-on-year average payout.” As per gig platform Flexing IT studies, white-collar gig fees have risen by 11% for 2022 over 2021 whereas the average salary increments have been between 9.5% and 10.6% for full-time employees in India.  The demand for freelancers and gig workers has increased in the past two years with the greater reach of the internet and lowering market prices of technology. 

Finding a balance

If the two years of sporadic work from the arrangement and the nearly decade-long practice of remote working have taught one thing, it is work-life balance. More professionals are now finding ways to balance their lives better. The past few years have witnessed growth in the number of start-ups beginning their journey and for them, it is cost-effective to hire employees who work remotely or work with freelancers as much as possible for cost-effective and time-efficient solutions.

The freelance economy gives the skilled professional and the business an alternate route to collaborate. It has proven advantages, aided ably by online job sites such as ZoopUp, TrueLancer, Upwork, MonsterJobs and others. Companies can hire professionals on demand and skilled professionals can work outside the conventional job market, at their own pace and space. Many qualified professionals who are compelled to work at lower rates if they want to live in places with fewer opportunities, migrate for opportunities, or altogether drop out of the job market can find opportunities suitable to their situation because of a structured freelance job marketplace. 

Moonlighting is widely accepted

A direct result of the pandemic-led lockdown was that more professionals began moonlighting after work hours. Large IT companies such as Wipro tried to curb the “menace” of moonlighting, even taking drastic steps to fire thousands of employees who were moonlighting. Many companies accepted this trend from the beginning and all businesses followed suit, finding a middle ground. Companies such as Swiggy and Infosys designed moonlighting clauses which forbade employees from taking up projects that would pose a conflict of interest. With these steps, it is becoming easier for employees and businesses alike to benefit from access to opportunities. 

No company can guarantee job security to its employees, whether it is large or small. They cannot even guarantee pay hikes at par with inflation rates or promise employees creamy projects. One of the former top executives of Infosys pointed out that employees are frequently compelled to work extra hours at no extra pay, so companies cannot restrain them (employees) from using their free time to earn some extra income. Furthermore, all the large businesses today use freelancers or gig workers for project-based roles. In fact, Fortune 500 companies were the first ones to embrace the project-based hiring structure over role-based hiring. 

Easier to strike a balance between full-timers and freelancers

It is easier for company HR and teams to strike a balance between full-time resource persons and freelancers as necessity has led to careful planning to integrate the two supply streams of talent. For project-based roles that require technical expertise and technology, freelancers often have both. Since freelancers are micro-entrepreneurs who are trading their skills and expertise, they have to remain abreast with the latest technologies and trends. For businesses it becomes easier to outsource the work to a freelancer who in turn invests in upskilling, maintaining the best technologies and the know-how to use them to provide the results required by the company. 

Full-time employees have their place in the business as individuals whose careers and futures are tied to the business. They project the business’ principles, its culture, and work towards the common goals for success. Full-time employees cannot be supplanted by freelancers as a full-timer is not just invested in doing well in their role, but the bigger stake of ensuring project success for the success of the company they are working for. 

Once these boundaries are demarcated, there is greater acceptance of freelancers and collaborations are streamlined. 

The high paying Freelancer jobs

The best-paying freelancer jobs are in the IT space. Senior freelancers in finance and technical fields earn the best undertaking charges. IT sector also has the lowest gender pay gap and greater versatility in expertise contributing to better earnings. The demand for freelancers is rising with the avenues for advertising themselves. Besides freelance jobs websites, freelancers can explore opportunities on social networking sites and through word-of-mouth recommendations too. 

The projects for direct-to-consumer or eCommerce channels, digital marketing projects for FMCG, home and living, and healthcare projects are high in demand and earn well. Among freelancers, the demand is high. For graphic designers, content writers, videographers, and web developers. 

The freelance economy is thriving because there is demand from businesses and freelancers. Professionals want flexibility, explore opportunities, and not be stuck in a single role. Businesses require flexibility, cost-effective solutions, and easy engagement models which the freelance job market serves. 

ZoopUp receives many queries from businesses that are looking for freelancers. The projects are advertised in such a way that the freelancer can easily apply and get hired in one day if selected.