A rising share of workers no longer report to a single employer, and instead earn a living as contractors or cobbling together an array of gigs. Now the rush to understand this phenomenon is focusing on a new question: Do workers want these arrangements? Or do they feel forced into them by dwindling opportunity from traditional employers?
A new report from the McKinsey Global Institute released today adds to the body of evidence that the majority of independent workers actively sought out their arrangements and are happy with them, but a sizable minority is in the so-called gig economy reluctantly.
In a survey across the U.S. and five European countries, McKinsey found between 20% and 30% of the population engages in independent work. At first blush that might suggest a troubling collapse in the employer-employee relationship.
But McKinsey categorized workers further, finding that 56% do independent work on the side and have some other traditional primary source of income. The remaining 44% derive their primary income through independent work, including 30% who say they actively choose it and 14% who say they are in the arrangement reluctantly.
Asked to rank their satisfaction across a range of metrics, those who actively opted into their independent arrangement are “happier than people in traditional jobs by every measure,” said Susan Lund, a McKinsey partner who co-authored the report. “They like being their own boss, they like the independence and the flexibility and the creativity.”
In recent years, a handful of rapidly growing technology companies have captured headlines by opening up new and nontraditional ways for people to earn money. Uber Technologies Inc. and its rivals have created a new industry where on-demand drivers are summoned by an app and paid by the ride. Airbnb has created a new market for people to rent out homes or rooms for one night at a time. Online marketplaces like Etsyhave created a large audience for people to sell handmade artisan products.
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