Tapping Gig Talent

HOW COMPANIES ARE REORIENTING THEIR SYSTEMS TO INTEGRATE SHORT-TERM WORKERS

- SONAL KHETARPAL

Mohib Malgi, 33, quit his well-paying job as a software developer in Montreal and moved back to Mumbai. He wanted to work independently. The reasons were usual: monotony, office politics and low job satisfaction. It’s been a year-and-a-half and he doesn’t want to go back to full-time work. “In office, my colleagues were my world. Now, I have the entire world,” he says. He works on projects for companies across the globe. He has worked from hills, beaches, forests, including Gokarna in Karnataka, Goa, Rajasthan. He is currently working from a tiny village, Sainj, in Himachal Pradesh, after spending a month in Bir, again in Himachal. “This is life. Why will I ever go back?” he says.

People such as Malgi used to be an exception a few years ago. With lockdown, the freelance work they do has found a much wider acceptance among companies as more and more professionals open up to the idea of gig work. India is now the second-fastest growing market for gig work in the world with an estimated 15 million freelancers, according to Payoneer’s report, ‘Freelancing in 2020: An Abundance of Opportunities’.

Chandrika Pasricha, Founder & CEO, Flexing It, a curated platform that helps organisations access and work with independent consultants, says there has been a huge change in mindset in the last one year as professionals want to be in charge of their life and career. “There is a realisation that job security is a myth. Even younger professionals want to focus on building and monetising their skills,” she says; the trend used to be more common among experienced professionals.