More and more American companies are realizing the benefits of having a blended workforce, where freelancers and full-time staff work together on corporate projects. In fact, 40 percent of top-performing American companies hire freelancers.So many of these companies are putting these freelancers to work on teams with full-time employees that teamwork is one of the main qualities employers look for when engaging freelancers.+ Also on Network World: Is outdated legislation holding back the gig economy? +To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
It’s no secret the tech industry has a diversity problem. Google, Twitter, Facebook, Microsoft, Yahoo, Amazon, Apple and Pinterest are among the companies that have publicly shared how few of their tech positions are filled by women and minorities.This lack of diversity is a big problem for these companies, affecting their innovation and damaging their culture. One study found that companies with racially diverse leadership teams financially outperform their peers by 35 percent. Diversity boosts the bottom line.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
There are a lot of misconceptions about freelancing. Often, people assume the life of a freelancer is filled with boring work without the benefits that accompany traditional employment.Yet this picture doesn’t match reality. Most freelancers enjoy their work and value the autonomy of the freelance life. They see how freelancing offers both quality work and a quality of life not always found in traditional employment.+ Also on Network World: Hiring trends for 2016: Welcome to the gig economy +To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Work “works” differently than it used to. More and more people are working as freelancers in the gig economy, and today 40 percent of the workforce does freelancing, contract work and part-time work. That means many more organizations have blended workforces with a variety of employees, including full-time, permanent employees, contractors and freelancers.Multiple factors are enabling the disruption of the traditional employer-employee model and the rise of the blended workforce. Technology enables people to work from wherever they are, societal attitudes towards work have changed, and competitive demands place more pressure on organizations to be agile. More than 30 percent of workers for nearly 40 percent of top-performing firms are already contract or freelance workers. In fact, these firms intend to hire even more freelancers in the future.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
We are in the midst of a dramatic shift in the way we work. In the new gig economy, some 40 percent of the American workforce consists of contingent workers: contract workers, part-time workers, independent contractors and those who freelance.The U.S. government doesn’t currently collect much data on the many American contingent workers, which means it can’t keep up with their needs. Recognizing this, the Department of Labor is introducing the Contingent Worker Supplement in its next population survey in 2017.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Mynul Khan