You will have probably already heard of the gig economy by now. It’s received quite a bit of media attention recently, and not always for the best reasons! Many people think that we should look for permanent careers rather than jump from job to job as is promoted by this modern economy. But is it really all that bad? Some people can really thrive from working gig-economy jobs. It’s all about learning to survive working this way, though. Once you get the hang of it, you might find that you can turn this way of working into quite a lucrative opportunity indeed!
Always Be On The Hustle
One of the main ways to survive in the gig economy is to be proactive. You always need to be aware of any new jobs or projects that are available, even if you are currently happy with your workload. After all, you never know when one particular line of work will come to an end, so you need to always be ready to pick up new work however and wherever you can. If you aren’t a very proactive individual, perhaps this kind of work isn’t for you?!
Know Your Rights
There are a lot of workers in the gig economy who have been taken advantage of. You can find out more about that by reading media reports and online blog posts. At the end of the day, though, as long as you know your rights, you shouldn’t run the risk of ever being taken advantage of. Just be prepared to stand up for yourself every once in a while!
Don’t Take Anything Too Personally
You might be faced with quite a bit of rejection once you start working in the gig economy. That will be in the recruitment stage but you might also be let go before a project comes to an end. It’s nothing personal, it’s just because client budgets and briefs can constantly change, and they might need to reduce the size of their team. If you use rejection as a learning curve, I’m sure you’ll bounce back from it quickly.
Learn To Say No
Lots of gig workers love the flexibility of working in this economy. They are able to take on more work whenever they need more cash and at times to suit them. However, it’s always good to learn how to say no. Don’t feel like you need to take on more work if you are already extremely busy. You’ll end up getting very stressed and that won’t be good for your health at all.
Don’t End Up Isolated
If your particular line of work requires you to work from home, you might start to feel quite lonely and isolated. There are ways to solve this, though. Why not work from a coffee shop or coworking space? If you have a friend who does similar work to you, you might want to invite them over to yours so you can work together.
As you can see, there are ways you can make the gig economy work for you!
