Over the last three years, adoption of the on-demand gig model has grown significantly due to a shift in the way enterprises delegate work, and talent or jobseekers approach work. A report released by work-as-a-service platform Awign, titled ‘The Power of Gig: Shaping the Future of Work’ suggests 13X increase in demand for gigification compared to pre-pandemic levels. ‘Gigification’ refers to the process of breaking down critical work into smaller tasks, thus eliminating the challenge of talent utilization.
According to the report, Awign’s data suggests that companies in e-commerce, fintech, healthtech, edtech and quick commerce sectors have been leading demand for gigification in recent years. Enterprises are delegating fulfilment of critical hyperlocal and digital work such as business development, auditing, invigilation, along with telecalling, content and data operations, which have emerged as the top areas of work fulfilment since the pandemic. The company also reported a 148% increase in demand for gigification of digital work in FY22 compared to FY21, highlighting the trend of digitalisation and accelerating growth of the digital economy.
Talking about the findings of the reports, Annanya Sarthak, Co-Founder & CEO, Awign said, “In the last few years, there has been a radical shift in the way stakeholders, both enterprises and individuals choose to work. While the on-demand model was assumed to be limited to consumer-facing blue-collar work prior to the pandemic, today rapid adoption of the enterprise-gig model is revolutionising the execution of grey-collar and white-collar work as well. Enterprises enjoy effective utilisation of human capital for work fulfilment, while job seekers find meaningful and accessible work opportunities without any barriers.”
Interestingly, there is an increasing influx of talent which prefers to work on a task-based or project-based model, wherein access to work, flexibility and financial independence are steering India’s workforce dynamics.
Awign’s data in the report shows that 55.6% of its gig workforce are aged between 18-25, as they are more agile and prefer flexibility in work. The company has also witnessed rising participation of gig workers from Tier 3 cities, showcasing geographical penetration of enterprises and work opportunities in Bharat. As of December 2022, 41.3% of Awign’s gig workforce came from Tier 3 cities, while 35.6% and 22.9% came from Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities, respectively. Moreover, Awign has observed almost 3X growth in registrations from women gig partners in FY22 compared to FY21, emphasising the accessibility for women to enter or re-enter the workforce, and gain financial independence based on their own flexibility and convenience.
Examining the expansion of skill level in the gig economy, the report also suggests almost 240% increase in participation of high-skill or white-collared workers in the gig economy last year, with demand for tech roles such as full-stack developers, data scientists, react and java developers, mobile app developers and cloud engineers.
“While gigification is still at a nascent stage, it truly holds value and potential to rise multifold and bolster India’s economic growth. By popularising an ecosystem for grey-collar work execution in India, we’re unlocking the true potential of India’s gig economy towards sustainable growth for India Inc” added Annanya Sarthak, Co-Founder & CEO, Awign.
The report also slates retail operations, merchandising, market intel & consumer insights, consumer product testing, AI operations and on-demand knowledge as the next areas for gigification, to be significantly driven by tech-based enterprises.
Being the largest work-as-a-service platform in India, Awign boasts of its community of 1.5mn+ registered gig partners across 500+ cities and 12,000+ pin codes in India. The company enables enterprises to ‘gigify’ critical business functions such as business development, telecalling, proctoring, invigilation, content & data operations, last-mile delivery, auditing, due diligence and Awign Expert to optimise PnLs and execute work at a scale.
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About Awign Enterprises Pvt Ltd:
Awign is India’s largest work-as-a-service platform, founded in 2016 by IIT Ropar alumni Annanya Sarthak, Gurpreet Singh, and Praveen Kumar Sah. With over 1 million gig partners, 100+ large marquee enterprises as customers and with 9 core enterprises functions, the company’s vision is to predominantly ‘gigify’ core enterprise work and variablise large enterprises’ PnLs across sectors such as Assessment Industry, Media and entertainment, AI/ML Data Operations, Automotive, Electrical, Construction, FMCD, and many more. The company is committed to helping enterprises run their businesses at scale by solving end-to-end outcome-based execution along with discovery, deployment, and payroll management. Awign’s vision is to make the gig more accessible and deliver full-time career opportunities in order to create the Work of the Future! For further details, please visit: https://www.awign.com/.
