What is a gig worker?

 What is a gig worker?

Non-standard work, also known as gig work, refers to activities that earn money but are not part of regular, ongoing employer-employee relationships. We understand what it isn't. What, though, is gig work? What kinds of work are involved? Consider the various methods for defining this workforce before delving into the numbers.

Approaches to defining gig work

Some definitions are based on the work arrangement, which is the agreement or connection between employees and the person or business that pays them. Regular employees have a long-standing employer-employee relationship and are compensated by the hour or by the year, receiving a wage or salary. Outside of that arrangement, work is typically project-based or temporary; employees are hired to complete a specific task or for a specific amount of time. In some cases, they work for an employer, but it's a different business from the one that pays them. These kinds of agreements, which can include freelancing, temporary agency work, self-employment, and subcontracted work, are frequently referred to as alternative or non-standard work arrangements.

Other definitions of non-standard or gig work focus on the legal distinction between employees and independent contractors and their tax status. Employees receive W-2 forms from their employers, who are required to pay payroll taxes, provide them with a certain number of benefits, and cover them by anti-discrimination and minimum wage laws. Many times, work done by temp agencies and subcontractors is W-2 work, but the company issuing the W-2 instead of the one where the employee reports to work. In contrast, independent contractors who provide services for a business without being a direct employee receive 1099 forms. Neither party is subject to the same laws and regulations that govern traditional employees, and no payroll taxes are deducted.

Finally, some definitions are based on the actual work that people do on a daily basis, or on the nature of the work itself. These definitions focus on specific aspects of work, such as scheduling, adaptability, or the absence of direct supervision. These characteristics can be interpreted in either a positive or negative way depending on the variety of non-standard work.

These various classification systems for gig and non-standard work overlap. Alternative employment workers are frequently categorised as independent contractors with 1099 tax status, and frequently — though not always — have unpredictable schedules. Since there are various definitions, there are also various estimates of the gig workforce. The most typical question in surveys relates to employment arrangements, but each definition provides valuable information about the gig economy. The Data Hub presents the results of all three.