As more workers turn to gig work as their primary employment, a new study warns that employers will need to adjust their talent strategy or they will be left behind in an increasingly competitive marketplace.
Nearly 30 million American workers now rely on gig work as their primary income source, constituting nearly a fifth of the total workforce, 85% of whom are interested in continuing contract work in the next five years, MetLife explains in “The Gig Economy: Opportunities, Challenges, and Employer Strategies.”
And this number is expected to keep growing. An additional 15 million workers supplement “traditional” full-time work with “gigging/freelancing” and, of those, nearly half (49%) say they intend to leave their current employer for contract or freelance work in the next five years. Moreover, 67% of full-time employees expressed interest in gig work over their current jobs, according to the report, which is based on the firm’s 17th Annual U.S. Employee Benefit Trends Study 2019.
This trend provides a serious challenge for traditional employers who need to understand the overlapping interests of both gig workers and full-time employees, MetLife notes. And while these statistics may concern many employers, the firm emphasizes that employers should be approaching their gig strategy with two key questions in mind:
- How can they keep current employees from leaving in favor of gig work?
- How can they attract and retain the best gig workers for short-term and contract needs?
The study explains that the perks that help attract and retain full-time workers – increased flexibility and better benefits – are the same that gig workers look for in employers when crafting their ideal working situation.
MetLife notes that very few employers today offer subsidized benefits to their gig population. According to the study, only 5% of gig workers say their employer offers a retirement plan, and 4% say their employers offer medical insurance. Many also fail to provide access to other traditional and non-traditional benefits.
This indicates a missed opportunity when it comes to leveraging benefits to attract existing and potential gig talent. According to the findings, 43% of gig workers say employers can offer better benefits to attract them to consider a full-time job. What’s more, 29% of full-time employees who intend to leave their jobs for gig in the next five years say better benefits may make them stay.
“Offering a holistic selection of traditional and nontraditional benefits can differentiate organizations from others in attracting gig workers and can keep existing employees from turning to gig,” the report states. “No matter the type of opportunities gig workers are seeking (short-term or full-time), it’s clear that better benefits are needed to engage and attract this group.”
