Help Your Gig Workers Become Their Best Selves: A Self-Actualization Action Framework

Abstract

With organizations moving towards a non-traditional setup, the gig economy is booming like never before. However, the psychological needs of gig workers are often overlooked and thus limited research has been observed in this area. This study explores the importance of fostering self-actualization among company gig workers to increase their productivity, motivation, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment. The purpose of this study is to shed light on why and how organizations should be concerned with drawing in and keeping gig workers who want to realize their full potential by allowing them to do so on the job. Employees who choose to actualize themselves would be happier and more driven, and this would have a significant impact on the calibre of their work with client teams and companies. For this study, a self-developed survey instrument has been used to gain insights into the job satisfaction levels of gig workers. The results indicated that gig workers strongly believe that they are not adequately oriented on company values and long-term strategic plans and that most client companies are unconcerned with providing career track plans to gig workers or upskilling opportunities. The authors, therefore, propose an actualization checklist and framework that would serve to guide managers in retaining and engaging with gig workers to improve their task, team, and organizational engagement and job satisfaction.