India is witnessing a great revolution from the technology to the kind of employment shaping up in the country. Imagine a country where half of the people you know don’t have a fixed office, a corporate badge, or even a permanent employer. But they are earning through driving a cab today, freelancing as a designer, or even running deliveries in the evening. This is not something unrealistic but something that we are witnessing and shaping up right before us.
Not just in India, across the globe this kind of change is taking place. To put it in simple words, gig workers have increased phenomenally over the last 5 years, especially in India. Globally, platforms like Uber, Airbnb, DoorDash, Fiverr, and Upwork have transformed the way people work. In India, too, the rise of Ola, Swiggy, Zomato, Urban Company, and Dunzo has created millions of opportunities.
Well, this gig economy isn’t just about the delivery workers or drivers, but this is also for someone who is doing freelancing. Gig work means short-term, flexible jobs where people get paid for each task or project instead of a fixed monthly salary. It includes app-based workers like Uber and Ola drivers, Swiggy or Zomato delivery partners, and Urban Company service providers, as well as freelancers such as designers, writers, and coders who take up projects online. Even dailywage laborers, tutors, or event staff come under gig workers.
Unlike regular employees who have job security and benefits like PF, health insurance, and paid leave, gig workers enjoy freedom and flexibility but often lack long-term stability and social security. Let’s dive deeper into this, but before that, understanding the numbers gives us the clear picture. According to Niti Aayog, over 3 million gig workers were employed by around 11 platforms in 2020, but this is going to rise drastically to about 23 million by 2030 and 60+ million by 2047. So, when we look at these numbers, we need to understand the rationale behind them and how this impacts the country.
But here’s the bigger question: What happens when gig work becomes the dominant mode of employment? What does this mean for startups, for workers, for governments, and for the economy itself? Some of the major reasons why the gig economy is rising are because of the technology and then the changing work preferences. Well, today many Millennials and Gen Z prefer and value flexibility, autonomy, and multiple income streams. And in addition to that, due to the rise in technology, there are multiple opportunities waiting for the right set of people to grab on. When a person gets paid with flexibility and sometimes gets an additional income, they tend to do it.
That’s the root-level cause for this rise. Then it’s not just the one-way. The demand is rising because of the economic pressures. Let me explain: when work needs to be done, if a company hires any full-time person, it may cost them more, but when a company outsources the work, it reduces the fixed costs. That is the reason why today many startups and companies prefer doing it. In addition to that, COVID-19 normalized remote work, boosted digital services, and expanded gig opportunities across sectors.
Globally, the numbers are staggering; by some estimates, over 1.5 billion people are already part of the gig workforce in some capacity. In the US, more than 36% of the workforce engages in gig work. Europe and China are also seeing exponential growth. Well, this rise is beneficial to startups. It is like a superpower for the startups. Traditionally, scaling a company meant hiring, training, and retaining employees, which is a costly and slow process, but the gig model changed that equation.
Instead of maintaining large permanent teams, startups can hire workers only when needed. Swiggy and Zomato didn’t have to put millions of delivery executives on payroll; they simply connected supply with demand. And access to talent is another advantage. Whether it’s a coder in Ukraine, a designer in Bengaluru, or a digital marketer in the Philippines, startups can tap into global skills instantly. Startups can experiment with services without being tied to permanent employees. If the experiment fails, the financial burden is lower. This advantage is why many unicorns are built on gig models. Without gig workers, the likes of Uber, Airbnb, Swiggy, and Upwork may never have existed.
So, this seems like a win-win for all sets of people, but everything comes with certain limitations. Now comes the critical question. What happens if gig work becomes mainstream, not just 20% or 30%, but 50% or more of the workforce? According to the sources available online, nearly 97.6% of gig workers in India earn less than INR 5 lakhs annually, and in that 77.6% of people earn less than INR 2.5 lakhs. So, it clearly shows the low-income levels. When the country moves towards this, it may create income disparity, and again it hits the per capita income figures, which impacts the whole economy.
Then comes the second possible risk, which is long working hours. In a full-time job you have better timings, but according to the data of TeamLease, around 21% of people work for more than 12 hours doing gigs. So, it again raises the concern. And most of the work is decided by the algorithms, as the apps control the work these gig workers get.
If gig work continues to grow at its current pace, India could soon have a workforce where half of the people you know are gig workers. This can either turn into a story of economic democratization, where millions participate in a flexible, modern economy, or into a story of inequality and insecurity if structural safeguards are not built. The real challenge lies in creating balance: startups need to treat gig workers as partners, governments must build policies that ensure social protection, and workers themselves must continuously adapt and upskill. Only then can the gig economy evolve into a sustainable revolution, not just a short-lived disruption.
Also Read: India may emerge as second-largest economy by 2038 with $34.2 trillion GDP – EY report
