The gig economy – how far have we come?
The global pandemic has fundamentally upended the way we work, accelerating a worldwide shift towards flexibility. While millions more of us want choice over how and when we work, these trends are nothing new. They have long fuelled the rise of the gig economy – which now accounts for 4.5 million workers in Britain. Studies have consistently shown that this expansion has not come at the cost of the traditional job market (with full-time employment pushing record highs). Instead workers proactively seek out the flexibility that gig platforms provide. Even so, the rapid rise of gig platforms has left some policymakers playing catch up.