Emerging World of Gig Economy: Promises and Challenges in the Indian Context

Abstract

The use of non-standard workers in organisations has taken different forms in the last two decades. The recent development in this segment is the use of workers through technology-mediated platforms known as gig workers. Over the years, there has been an increase in use of gig workers in India as well as abroad for several reasons, like the changing nature of work, availability of technology and work preferences. We start the article by examining reasons for the rise of gig work, followed by an explanation of various types of gig platforms, their characteristics and examples in the Indian as well as global context. We elaborate on some of the risks and challenges faced by Indian companies as they deploy non-standard workers through different online platforms. At the end, we offer some recommendations to the HR fraternity.