The Gig Economy

The Gig Economy Embed from Getty Images I’ve been talking and writing about gigs for years, so when I heard someone choose “gig” as his word of the year, my ears perked up. This thoughtful essay by linguist Geoff Nunberg on NPR’s Fresh Air examines how the word “gig” has evolved since its origins in the 20th century. Nunberg describes the “Gig Economy” as “final chapter in the life of a little word that has tracked the rise and fall of the great American job.” Nunberg writes that “Gig goes again greater than a century as musicians’ slang for a date or engagement.” But it will definitely took on the other that means: “But the word didn’t have any particular glamour till the 1950s, when the hipsters and the Beats adapted it to mean any job you took to maintain body and soul together whereas your real life was elsewhere.” He goes on to say (referring to Jack Kerouac) “For the hipsters, calling a job a gig was a method of saying it didn’t define you. A gig was a commi tment you felt free to stroll away from as quickly as you had 50 dollars in your pocket.” Here’s where Professor Nunberg and I half methods. He feels that calling gigs “gigs” is just a method to make momentary work sound cool, a luxury for people who can afford to fake they don’t want a job to survive. Mr. Nunberg believes that the rise of the gig economy (also known as the On Demand Economy and “Free Agent Nation”) alerts the top of jobs as we all know them. He may be proper. But I argue that the change has been lengthy overdue. We’re exchanging the safety of employment for the uncertainty of labor. It feels much less secure (it's) and scary (yes) because it’s based mostly in actuality, instead of in a stubborn perception in fairy tales. When I converse in regards to the Gig Economy, I typically talk about how musicians get it right. When the gig is over, they don’t spend time agonizing. If they’re good, they already have another gig lined up. They are continu ally targeted on the present (doing an excellent job) and the long run (lining up the subsequent job.) In distinction, workers tend to consider their employment as a right, separate and somehow unrelated to points the homeowners face, like profitability, altering markets and advancing expertise. When shops close or jobs end, employees are often caught flat-footed; they don’t realize that they’re responsible for their subsequent gig. They typically get caught up to now, grieving for what that they had instead of trying forward to what’s coming next. Here’s how musicians (and naturally other artists) get it proper â€" and how staff may re-think about their careers. I even have heard that the good seventies duo Loggins and Messina obtained their begin as a result of they were available to fill in for a band that didn’t show up for a gig. They the home and caught the attention of a promoter who happened to be in the audience. Proving once and for all that there aren't any smal l gigs, solely small performances. Make certain you rock your subsequent gig in 2016. Published by candacemoody Candace’s background consists of Human Resources, recruiting, coaching and evaluation. She spent several years with a nationwide staffing firm, serving employers on each coasts. Her writing on business, profession and employment issues has appeared in the Florida Times Union, the Jacksonville Business Journal, the Atlanta Journal Constitution and 904 Magazine, as well as several national publications and web sites. Candace is commonly quoted within the media on local labor market and employment points.