The Covid lockdown and gig startups accelerated the Great Resignation movement, where talented employees started leaving their well-paying full-time employment. When respective governments imposed the lockdown, employees could not travel to their workplace. They had to work from the comfort of their homes. This comfort made many realize that gig startups are not that bad, they pay well, and allow you to have the necessary flexibility according to your needs.
Some took advantage of the situation and launched companies that work on harvesting talent for gig economic organizations. They offer a full-time salary with a flexible working environment. However, this caused numerous people to leave at the peak of their careers for gig startups, which was never a wise decision in the first place.
Growth opportunities in gig startups are considerably higher, with people gaining experience and promotions quicker than in conventional organizations. This is one of those reasons why people have started preferring working remotely themselves or with a gig startup. Remote working lets you take out more time for your family, as you can easily save the commute time. However, there are numerous reasons to believe that gig startups won’t replace jobs for great resigners.
These organizations are great! Or are they?
Conventional organizations extend numerous benefits and protection to their employees. If you’re a full-time employee in a big corporation such as Google or Coca-Cola, you might be protected through numerous fairness and safety laws. These protect the employees from unfair or unsafe working conditions that their employer might create for them.
Gig organizations are yet to be brought under these types of laws. Therefore there are chances that they might mistreat their employees. Even when they promise to provide fair opportunities and safe working conditions to everyone, no one can stop them or regulate them from taking advantage of their employees if they were so inclined to do so.
Increased personal expenses
The next problem with these organizations is their compensation. Even when they give you a full-time salary, they do not give you the other allowances that conventional organizations give to their employees. These allowances usually were estimated to be more than the base salary. As a result, the employees have more money for themselves as their employer takes care of a significant portion of their expenses. The most common offered compensations are house rent, fuel allowance, mobile allowance, etc.
In terms of equipment, you also have to buy a laptop and pay for the internet connection in case you’re working entirely remotely. However, you can claim them as a capital expense on your taxes, but you need to work with an accountant to determine all of the items you can write off. You will also have to maintain a folder full of documents to prove your tax claims.
It can get stressful as well
As a remote worker, stress can become a powerful aspect of your life because you are constantly looking for new gigs or trying to stay prepared for changes in current projects. This approach can lead to stress as you will have to be vigilant and always be available to talk to your clients about work and changes.
Another reason why remote work causes stress is the unexpected changes that come with them. A single mishandled project can lead to a severe reduction in salary and work. Regular clients are an asset that needs to be handled well for recurring jobs. Without recurring clients, surviving often becomes difficult.
For conventional organizations, this is not an issue. They already have so many clients that reduce the level of impact in case of mishandling. Also, losing a client often has zero impact on the salaries and benefits of the employees as it’s not their job to talk to them and handle the situation. They just need to do their work and submit the project to the concerned department.
The work doesn’t get divided into segments
Organizations consist of numerous departments that handle segments of work. However, there may not be departments in the beginning in gig startups. Therefore, you might have to do all the hard work by yourself. You would have to talk to them and convince them to give you a chance to get clients.
Once you convince them and start getting work, you will have to complete projects yourself. Then, you’ll have to make revisions and extend additional services to make them regular clients. Even when they will appreciate you, offer you good money in exchange for your services, and send occasional bonuses, it may still be too much for one person to handle.
In the end, all that matters for many employees is their mental health and overall happiness. If you feel your mental peace is compromised at your workplace, there is no harm in changing it. You can work wherever you like. People realized that they could efficiently work remotely, partly thanks to the lockdown. However, they should consider every aspect before switching to gig organizations as many great resigners have come to realize that these startups are not a good job replacement fit.
