Helen’s Place Network | Helen’s Place LLC Update: June 30, 2022
The post-pandemic world of work is more complicated and receiving resistance from both employees and employers under stress by it.
Prior to 2020 and the Covid-19 pandemic, the gig economy ran parallel to traditional nine-to-five businesses, and people had a choice of which type of employment they preferred – as a free agent, or a company employee with benefits. Inside offices, many freelancers worked side-by-side company employees, and it was difficult to tell them apart.
Then the Covid-19 era began, and the gig economy accelerated like gas poured on a fire.
Remote work, or work-from-home jobs moved online, as many businesses were forced to run work-from-home operations to keep their employees safe. Connecting on Zoom meetings and other platforms, allowed business to continue, often seamlessly to the client.
Today, many states have implemented a living wage of $15.00 or more per hour, as a basic standard wage, and this helps all workers. Many people are joining unions and taking up the call to fight for higher wages and other benefits. Now more than ever people are working online if they have a computer and an internet connection.
People seeking remote work include those working around a child’s daycare or school schedule, supplementing a start-up business, working around attending college, and those with other responsibilities like caregivers. Circumstances dictate what work they can do around their schedules, regardless of what they’d prefer to do. Many of them long for the day they can get a permanent job outside the home, while others are happy to remain working remotely.
Freelancers, on the other hand, prefer work in the “gig” economy as a personal work preference while pursuing other interests. It allows them to get a variety of experiences, and move on after a year or two
Additionally, freelancers like working as free agents – maintaining their own retirement accounts and building a diverse resume. They also appreciate the Affordable Health Care Law, which allows them to buy their own health insurance.
But not all freelancers are happy – those driving for Uber, Amazon and other services, frequently complain that the money is not enough to make ends meet; these jobs represent the low end of the gig economy.
In some businesses, a type of hybrid work environment exists, with most crowded cubicles and packed work rooms eliminated. Many people work some hours at home and some in the office, with desks socially distanced. One good thing that came out of the COVID-19 pandemic is the knowledge that crowded offices may have been great for collaborating, but not good for most other work because people are too distracted by it to work productively.
Today, the biggest driver of the work environment design hinges around the type of work being performed, and the preferences of the business owner, as well as how any experiment with employees working from home worked out. Some employers claim that their remote workers were more efficient working from home and their productivity rates went up, while others
decided that they wanted their remote workers to return to the office, and that nothing beat a loyal full-time in-office workforce.
However, many businesses that prefer to keep their employees in the physical workplace are having to offer more flexibility and some work-from-home options. This is because their employees got used to working from home, and there’s no going back to the old days if they want to retain them in a tight labor market.
Additionally, some companies are opting to remain remote permanently. In either case, both employees and employers will have to figure out what type of business structure they want to work for and to be.
Once a job seeker figures out what type of business structure they want to be a part of, they are ready to read articles, such as from Zetty.com, “The best job search engines and boards For Finding a Job.”
Related audio/video interview recordings:
Consider what type of business you want to work for or want to be:
Problems discussed about the gig economy services industry:
YouTube, MSNBC Interview, June 12, 2021, “Who Really Benefits from the Gig Economy”
Other related articles you might be interested in:
Helen’s Place LLC, “What’s Threatening Women in the Workforce in 2022”
Other related resources you might be interested in:
Helen’s Place LLC job search links for remote jobs or jobs that pay relocation expenses as shown:
