The future of the gig economy
By ANDREA HERB & GRACE HEBRON
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writers
What this story covers
Being a freelancer comes with benefits (flexible hours and autonomy) but also drawbacks (lack of a regular paycheck and guaranteed health benefits). Websites such as Upwork and Fiverr allow this gig economy marketplace to thrive, and organizations such as the Freelancers Union have helped advocate for workers’ rights.
Why it matters
More than 50 million Americans are part of the gig economy workforce. As freelance work becomes a more viable source of income, more attention has been paid to the winners and losers in this economy.
Rebecca Guevara had no plans to leave her job last year – at least not permanently. The 27-year-old enjoyed her back-office position at a company that does financial planning for retirement. It was full-time work and a steady paycheck.
Then, in October 2018, her son was born a month early. She planned to return to work after New Year’s Day. She and her husband found a daycare for their newborn son that was right on their way to work.
But on Black Friday, they received unexpected news that would change their plans: Their son’s daycare was suddenly down a teacher, and he could no longer be guaranteed a spot.
Other daycare centers that Guevara and her husband had considered were too expensive. “I would literally just be working to send [my son] to daycare,” she said.
So Guevara decided to stay home to care for her son, but she still needed to make money. Guevara had done “just about everything” before landing her back-office position, from retail to fast-food service. Now she needed a job that would also give her the freedom to tend to her son’s needs while her husband was gone during the day.
Guevara was with her son when she decided to investigate ways to make extra money while at home.
“I looked at a blog or a YouTube video about how to make money from home and it was basically just like ‘Look at freelancing,’” Guevara said.
Then she came across Upwork, a website that connects freelancers with potential employers.
“I was like ‘Oh my gosh, I could totally do this.’”
In early 2019, Guevara joined 56.7 million other Americans who are part of the freelance workforce in the United States, according to the Freelancing in America Report, produced by Upwork and Freelancers Union, an organization focused on championing the interests of U.S. freelancers. Guevara represents one type of freelancer: She finds all of her gigs online, working remotely and part-time.
The term “gig economy” best describes Guevara’s work. It refers to a labor market that favors short-term contracts, making it much like freelance work. The hours are flexible and schedules customizable, making the gig economy an enticing line of work for many. But the gig economy has its drawbacks, most notably lack of a regular paycheck and a lack of guaranteed health benefits.
The growing gig economy
[pullquote]“It’s a competitive labor market and many enter into these fields thinking that determination and dedication will eventually be rewarded. But this is not the case for a vast majority of creative freelancers seeking permanent work.” — Pariece Nelligan, gig economy expert [/pullquote]
Not only is the population of freelancers in the United States sizeable, with more than one in three Americans reporting having freelanced in 2018, but it’s growing. According to the Freelancing in America Report, within five years, the number of freelancers has grown by 7%, compared to the 2% growth in the non-freelance workforce.
Freelancing has increased in popularity for many reasons. Some, like Guevara, are parents to young children and require more flexibility in their schedule than a traditional workplace can provide. Others might become freelancers in order to pursue a hobby or skill of theirs as a potential career.
“Some freelancers may do so with the aim in mind to secure a more permanent role,” said Pariece Nelligan, co-author of The Creativity Hoax: Precarious Work in the Gig Economy. “Others may already hold a permanent position somewhere but have ambitions to work in other fields.”
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As for freelancers with more creative aspirations, Nelligan said many of them use freelancing as a way to work in their desired field, usually under the assumption that they have to first pay their dues with a part-time position.
“It’s a competitive labor market and many enter into these fields thinking that determination and dedication will eventually be rewarded,” Nelligan said. “But this is not the case for a vast majority of creative freelancers seeking permanent work.”
A number of websites and apps have emerged to help connect freelancers and potential clients. Fiverr and Upwork are two examples. Fiverr allows freelancers to post their “gigs” online and set a price for one type of work, while Upwork allows clients to advertise their jobs for which freelancers can then apply.
Guevara had used Upwork at her back-office job. “[My job] hired someone off of Upwork to make an Excel sheet to track sales,” she said.
Now using Upwork from the other side, her first gigs didn’t pay much.“It started off as just a little $5 here, $5 there,” she said.
Then Guevara found what seemed to be the perfect job creating content for a website geared towards new and expectant mothers. Guevara answered questions online and spoke to other new mothers. But since phone service came with the risk of having to tend to her newborn mid-call, Guevara was limited to online correspondence.
“My son dictates most of my day,” she said. “He usually takes two naps: one in the morning and one right before my husband gets home.”
Guevara’s new roles found through Upwork, including a virtual assistant position on Poshmark, allow her to build her schedule around the needs of her son — all from her phone.
App-based freelancing
Upwork and other websites/apps help to connect freelancers with potential employers. According to the Freelancing in America Report, more than 75 percent of freelancers said that technology made their job search easier, and 67 percent said that the amount of work they received online increased.
In addition to Fiverr and Upwork, which are typically used for more technical projects, apps such as GrubHub, Lyft and Uber help users find people to perform service-based tasks. These can range from walking dogs through Wag, ride sharing through Lyft or Uber, or food delivery through GrubHub.
Xavier Guzman is making use of apps like these to support himself through college.
“I figured that I can do [Grubhub] while I’m in college because it’s really lenient when it comes to scheduling,” he said. “And I have to pay bills obviously while going to school. It helps me as a student big time.”
Guzman’s Grubhub driving shift typically begins at 6:30 p.m. On one Tuesday, his mass communication research class, which usually ends at 6:15 p.m., was running late. Guzman had to run to a parking garage on campus where his car was parked on sixth floor. He made it to his car with just enough time to promptly start his three-and-a-half hour shift.
Guzman’s form of freelancing is quite different from Guevara’s. As a driver for GrubHub and Lyft, Guzman’s evening gigs do not require training or interacting with long-term clients. Instead, all he needs is a car, a phone and a few hours of spare time in the evening.
But that schedule isn’t for everyone. Taylor Scantling, a graphic design and mass communication double-major from Towson University, doesn’t work in the gig economy and said she doesn’t plan to pursue freelancing after graduation.
“I think a big part about being an experienced graphic designer is being open to being commissioned to make things for people, and I always tell people, ‘Oh, I’ll make your wedding invitations,’ or ‘I’ll make your grad cap or anything you really need, just come talk to me about it,’” Scantling said. “Obviously, graphic design is a really competitive thing to be part of and to get into, so money is a big issue sometimes.”
Scantling began her studies at Towson not expecting to pursue art. However, after changing her major a few times, she finally settled on something she loves.
“I realized that’s something that makes me happy, and out of everything I’ve done, that’s the one thing that’s clicked the most, I think,” Scantling said.
The downside of gig jobs
Job insecurity and lack of benefits are among the drawbacks of gig work.
“Long-term job insecurity is commonplace and has always been a defining feature of the creative industries,” Nelligan said. “More job security and benefits for long-term interns and freelancers is necessary in order achieve true and full work-life balance.”
The issue of benefits is being tackled by one of the organizations behind the Freelancing in America Report, the Freelancers Union. The Freelancers Union provides a platform for freelancers to receive benefits from, as well as providing members with resources, advocacy work and a community.
The Freelancers Union has successfully lobbied for the passing of the Freelance Isn’t Free Law in New York City. This law is designed to protect freelancers from nonpayment, a problem that is very common among the freelancing community. Nonpayment occurs when a client refuses to pay freelancers for their work, either by cutting off contact once they have received the finished product, complaining that some aspect wasn’t done to their liking and requesting a refund or denying that a payment agreement was reached in the first place.
According to New York City’s Department of Consumer Affairs, this law guarantees freelancers the right to “a written contract, timely and full payment and protection from retaliation.” While this law only applies to freelancers in New York City, the Freelancers Union is working to advocate for similar laws across the country.
The other main problem that freelancers face is inconsistency with their work. According to Nelligan, websites like Fiverr and Upwork can be useful to freelancers, but are not necessarily the best option for those who wish to freelance full-time.
“They help freelancers without the social capital or networks required to secure work or build social relations and may even assist people starting out,” she said. “But the work available is not always challenging or rewarding, so I think they are useful to people trying to earn extra cash.”
Though Guevara still uses Upwork to find clients, it is not the only place she advertises her services as a virtual assistant. She posts gigs to Fiverr as well as to her Instagram, and advertises open slots as her contracts expire.
“It’s mostly word-of-mouth, but also some of me going out and marketing,” she said. “I’ve never not had a client, but it’s only been a month, and I don’t have a waiting list or anything.”
Guevara has made freelancing work for her. She has been able to maintain consistent work, allowing herself to have a job and also be a full-time mom. However, she doesn’t rely on this income. Her husband has a regular full-time job, and freelancing provides her with extra money while she looks after their son.
While Guevara represents a success story for other freelancers, this line of work can be challenging for many.
“Freelancing is difficult because of the lack of job security it represents,” said Nelligan. “It can be socially isolating, and erratic work patterns are mentally, physically and financially challenging.