The Baby boomers generations i.e When my Father was born, has begun to move into senior citizen Category and when they compare things then and now, it is a world apart. It is very difficult for them to adapt to this world even if most of them trying their best to march in step. One of the things which they really don’t understand about the current generation is having a short term relationship with the organization. My father started his career and retired from the same Organization and most people used to do that before. They were very proud to be identified by “what they do” and the relationship with their broader Purpose was not of much importance. Today the relationship has become so short term and Fragile that employee has started looking for some other reliable source of income apart from their regular job as relying on a single source of income can be risky. Instead, it is better to create a career path and assemble a “portfolio” of freelance or contract jobs – “gigs.”

The Term gig means a job for a specified period of time. With gigs, we often think of the music and entertainment industry, but in today’s world, this term can be applied to all types of industries and roles. In 2009 there is a word called Gig economy was coined by the former New Yorker editor Tina Brown. Gig Economy mainly consists of three components as below

• Independent Worker– They are paid by the Gig( The Task or a project)
• Consumer – They are the people who need the Gig Service like App-based ride, Food delivery etc
• Company– They connect Gig worker with the consumer directly with the help of a Technology, app-based platform.

We already have examples around us that have created dependencies already like Uber, Airbnb, Zomato, and many more. These companies give a platform for workers to find a quick earning option or a temporary job(Gig) with their freedom to work whenever they want as per convenience. The gig economy is not confined to low-skilled jobs. A gig can be any type of temporary assignment which has earning potential like an independent consultant. A 2006 McKinsey Global Institute report said 20% to 30% of “working-age” people in the United States and Europe do freelance work, or “gigs.” For 10% to 15% of the working-age population, gigs are their main source of income. Experts have started mulling over integrating the study or practice of the Gig economy in their curriculum or career services.

Looking at today’s scenario many people started to realize that post-pandemic life is not going to be the same so to play long term games and to advance in the career we will need to have diverse experiences and need to explore opportunities beyond what is being offered in the regular job. Although Gig workers are the worst affected one due to Pandemic but as per a report from Deolite”Future of work accelerated” Indian organizations are considering to expand the share of gig workers, as dependence on full-time workers reduces. With shrinking full-time jobs, assignment-based hiring will become the norm. For instance, a graphic designer working from home could be in demand with a media house. A company like Netflix would seek AI experts, paid by the hour, to personalize streaming experiences

Gig Economy comes with Various advantages as well as disadvantages for the workers but the choice of the work will become much more important than before to understand the Gig which you want to do you need to have a broader purpose which can get you hooked to the job and minimize the fear of vulnerability. Purpose creates a bridge between their personal interests and motivations and a need in the world. The work one chooses as Gig should be synonymous with your identity.

Unlike Baby boomers, the Generations Z does not want to be identified by “what you do” but would try different jobs in multiple area but one thing common to it would be the Purpose to give their jobs a meaning.

There are multiple ways available to identify your purpose but the one which I really prefer and recommend is IKIGAI which is a Japanese term which means “Reason for being” and there are many Videos available online to understand the Technique of identifying your IKIGAI or the Purpose.

As the world copes with lot of uncertainty at the moment, You can’t rely on anything except yourself and getting influenced by outside uncertain world to select your Gig can be risky so the only way is inside out once you identify your IKIGAI or the inner purpose which binds and frees by orienting and elevating your work to create Val-YOU.