Welcome everybody to Navigating the Gig Economy, how to support your clients (and yourself) through this emerging trend that is making lifelong careers and stable jobs a thing of the past!My name is Silvia Di Blasio, I’m a certified career practitioner and life coach, I work full-time as a case manager and facilitator and on weekends, evenings and some days off, I run two businesses and provide services as independent contractor to different organizations in areas that cover life coaching, social innovation, food sovereignty and emergency preparedness, among other things

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Look to this picture for a minute...what do you see? What’s the first word or thoughtthat comes to you?Some will see this as a sunset: the day is over and darkness is approaching...others will see it as a sunrise: the sun is raising after a long dark night.What about the tree and its branches? What season is that? Again, some will see this as the start of the fall: the tree branches look bare, as if all the leaves have fallen...others, will see that it may actually be spring, and the bare branches are now beginning to cover themselves with small buds...I chose this picture to represent my views on the emerging gig economy because it can be seen as both: the start of a dark period for workers or the rebirth of independence and the opportunity to re-think career, work and even life design!In the next hour and a half, we will explore the options and you will decide whether this is an end, a beginning or both and what is our role as career practitioners, program developers and managers, funders and social advocates.

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This is the quote that resumes the gig economy: what was once a rare phenomenon practiced by a few (free-lancers and self-employed people) is now becoming more and more common, many times not as a choice but as a concerning trend from employers...the stable and lifelong job is no longer the norm.

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Let’s take a look at the employers’ side: “When it rains in San Francisco, Papa John’s has a problem: pizza orders skyrocket, they suddenly need more deliverers...for that night only! They contract gig workers through Wonolo...” There are now dozens, if not hundreds of “gig” apps and sites where people get texts about “work”: this can be someone needing a ride (such as Uber) or someone who needs a house repair (like Trade Pros), or Handy when you need a cleaner...But the Gig is not only about apps and temp or on call work, it is also about what’ happening from regular employers’ side: they are reducing staff and reducing or eliminating benefits. They may fire staff and re-hire them as independent contractors. Or they may ask regular staff to do more than what they originally signed for...

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We’ll see that the gig reflects in different ways for different people: there are mainly four types of “giggers”: those who choose to work as self-employers, independent contractors or doing different gigs because of the convenience of organizing their own time and work schedule; those who take advantage of the emerging gigs to supplement income when they need some extra money (but they trust they have a reliable and stable full-time, sometimes part-time job); those who are reluctants and do gigs because can’t find a stable job (or may be unable to maintain one) and finally, those who need to use the gig economy to suplement an income that is becoming more and more unable to cover their expenses...

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free agents, who actively choose independent work and derive their primary income from it; casual earners, who use independent work for supplemental income and do so by choice; reluctants, who make their primary living from independent work but would prefer traditional jobs; and the financially strapped, who do supplemental independent work out of necessity.

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The gig economy is a serious and concerning trend: remember that first picture when I asked what you saw? The gig economy has a dark side: stable jobs are over(a concept we had been used for the last 150 or so years, as jobs didn’t exist before, at least not as we know them now). We are now talking about “work” instead of “jobs” as work can be done in almost any sector and using any set of skills and with no fixed schedule...careers are no longer linear: the old idea of going to school, getting a degree, then a master, find a good job and stay in that sector (if not that same company) until retirement is quickly disappearing...income is becoming unstable and uncertain as jobs come and go and even income in the same company is not guaranteed...benefits are being cut or reduced or slowly absorbed by employees; retirement packages are a thing of the past and now is the employee who needs to have the initiative and discipline to save as even the government can’t promise they would be able to delver when it is time...the gig means multiple gigs, sometimes at the same time, invading people’s lives and schedules and creating stress...there’s a story of a woman in US who drove for Lyft when close to deliver her baby and ended up with contractions while driving someone to a place...thanks goodness the drvingwas short and close to a hospital! That’s the gig economy..and its terrible dark side

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This is a real add posted by “Fiverr” one of the gig economy “employers” as featured in “The New Yorker”, an article named: “THE GIG ECONOMY CELEBRATES WORKING YOURSELF TO DEATH” http://www.Newyorker.Com/culture/jia-tolentino/the-gig-economy-celebrates-working-yourself-to-deathFiver promotes jobs starting $5 dollars...people are so desperate that they offer their skills (and time) for $5 and up...I’m not taking about $5 an hour, I’m taking $5 a task! Off course, there are offers from really skilled people for much more than that, but just knowing someone is willing to work for even $5 tells a tale of desperation... https://www.fiverr.com/gigs/canada

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The gig economy, however, offers a bright side too: from flexible schedule and being able to work at your pace and when you are more productive; or working from home or from a remote cabin in the woods...you can work on contract, be self-employed, be a consultant or have your own business offering a diverse portfolio of goods or services; it allows you to have different jobs and careers through your lifetime and enjoy diversity; you can use your skills and experience in diverse areas instead of being stuck in just one and having the others as a hobby or worse: something you hope to do when and if you ever retire!....Other advantages include the opportunity to self-manage, manage your time and finances as well as decide the work you do and how...It gives us the opportunity to re-think our life and work views, from how we consume, how we invest our time an money but more importantly, how do we invest our most valuable asset: our life and our health (in all senses)We may be able to re-think our role in the wider picture of family, community and the world, our role towards the planet and other beings and the ethics of what we do and why...the gig economy may be a waking call, to wake up from this dream of “stability” that is destroying our planet and making our lives miserable...

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Let’s now take a look at the numbers: while is difficult to track due to its informal and unregulated nature, there are some important studies done by Linkedin US/Canada, Pymnts and Hyperwallet (US/Canada) and McKinsey (European Union) according to different studies, 1 in 3 workers are already employed in the gig economy, they predict that at least 43% will be doing so by 2020; more than a third of millennials are already independent workers and they are in fact the largest group in the gig economy...the gig economy is concentrated in large cities for now and unevenly distributed

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Why is this happening?There are many probable factors: from the decline of the manufacturing jobs to the advance of technology and the emerging of digital platforms that anybody can create and run as an “employer” such is the case of AirBnb who was started by two college students in LA who rented a few beds during a conference season (the rest is history)...automation has closed jobs and displaced people, shifts in the economy are creating new areas of needs and demands. For employers is all about legislation that allows them to reduce costs by re-hiring employees as sub-contractors or by projects, etc.

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What are the areas affected? There are many, but for us as career practitioners the more important ones are career planning, training and life design. Retirement plans and financial planning are most affected due to the uncertainty of steady income, time management due to lack of regular schedule and obviously an impact on values, priorities and interests as well as personalities and behaviours, we’ll see how this plays out later

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So....

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Changes are already here...we can change either by design (we choose to change and how) or by force (change is imposed to us by others or life circumstances)...how you choose it to be for you and your clients will make a HUGE DIFFERENCE

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The big question is...are we ready??? What do all this mean for us and how can we prepare???

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So I’ll give you five minutes to exchange your thoughts with someone close to you or write them down: what are the specific challenges you see for you and or your clients? What are the opportunities?

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Here is where life design comes handy...who does your and your clients life design?

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This is what the current model delivers in terms of life design...we don’t really stop to design our lives and definitely we don’t manage our time, finances or priorities: our time is set by an employer and we need to sit there for eight hours a day whether we finish our work in three or 12 hours...all our financial “management” consist on waiting for the next paycheck...our priorities are defined by how many days of sick leave or vacation we are given and we work on projects we may or may not be fully invested...we have no much say on how or with who or when we work either...our training and experience are set by the markets and the employers, not by real needs of other humans or the planet or by our own needs and interestss...right now, we live just one of many possible lives, when we could be living at least three of those lives, if not more...

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My model is based on two books, a course I took with Bill Burnett & Dave Evans from Standford (authors of “Designing your life”), my communication with Diane Mulcahy(author of the gig economy) and a few courses on life design using permaculture principles...

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Curiosity about the world and its needs and about yourself and your gifts...curiosity about what else is available and what are the opportunities...This is no philosophy and day-dreaming but prototyping: life changes and career explorations as well as gig opportunities happen when we act. Burnett & Evans call this “prototyping”: making small advances and changes to test the waters before jumping...Reframing how we see problems and choices instead of being stuck on the first and “right” solution or option...being aware of our impact in the world and on others and aware of what affects and moves us and using radical collaboration to make things happen: we are not islands and things will become more and more difficult and unfair for many if we don’t get together to look for options and solutions.

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Mulcahy, on the other hand, sees the way through in what she calls “10 rules”, each one of which we can teach ourselves first and then pass to our clients. I will only mention them here as teaching them would take a workshop each at least...First of all, says Mulcahy, forget the idea of success that was handed down to you by society, family and culture. Take your time to define success on your own terms...what person do you want to become? What would be a life worth living when you see the past 10, 20 or 30 years from now?Second, diversify: using your many gifts, interests, experiences and skills, offer them in small packages and diversify your income: in that way, when one fails, you still have some coming...don’t put all the eggs in one basket!Third: forget job security, that doesn’t exist anymore. Create your own by using different strategies. First of all, reduce fixed expenses and put your finances in order. Eliminate debt, create multiple incomes and have an exit plan before you get fired or your contract expires. Have alternative sources of health insurance and retirement savings. Continuously build your skills and create a pipeline of opportunities for when you need them. Keep your networks warm and working well...and make sure your basic and real security are taken care of: your physical, emotional and spiritual health.Four: connect through social media and social or professional events but also connect by offering your free services: create presentations, offer support, be proactiveFive: learn to face fear by reducing risks (the exercises in this chapter are amazing!)

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Six: take time between gigs and use it to invest in yourself, improve your health and connections, learn new skills, plan your new gigs and put your house in order...Be mindful about time: the gig economy can eat your time away if you don’t know how to manage it properly. Mulcahy talks about the two types of times, the one that is managed for us (that’s the one we are used, where the only thing we need to make sure of is showing up 9-5, making numbers and deadlines) and the one that is defined by how much and well we deliver: knowing our own pace is key in the gig economy as we will not be paid to post on facebook or check our emails but for what we can actually deliver.The eight, be financially flexible is self explanatory, but it is also one of the most difficult for people to adopt as we are so used to have a paycheck at the end of a two-week period that we have unlearned how to plan. The flexibility she talks about here is that we need to learn to live with an uncertain and unsteady paycheck and changing budget.Nine is something new for many of us: we are used to buy whatever we need and even whatever we want: we own lawnmowers and washing machines and houses and cars and think that’s the norm, forgetting that 1) 100 years ago that was not the norm, most people would inherit things from other generations and live in the same homes for ages, not everyone had a car and much less a dishwasher, etc. With the gig economy we are asked to re-think our consumer patterns and ask ourselves if we really need to own a big house or a car and all the other appliances and stuff we think we deserve...access may be the new “norm” for younger generations, and understanding that that has a value (and the opportunities to re-localize, share, increase community resilience and reduce the carbon footprint are huge!)Lat but not least, is the topic of retirement...since the gig allows us o take time off (or forces us to take time off) we can live a live of retirement-work-retirement and not necessarily counting on the “idea” of retirement sold to us that was enjoyed by just one generation and only in certain privileged circles...still, is now more than ever our responsibility to save for retirement, not the one we dream in a cruise on the Caribbean but because we may be not healthy enough or strong enough to continue

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To summarize, life design tools we can use are: (I highly recommend all career developers to read and apply the activities on both books but particularly the ones in the designing your life)

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Lets do two activities to end this session, one for you and one for the sector and our clients, they may require time so today is just planting a seed. I encourage you to take this home and work and to your colleagues and managers and staff, I also encourage you to talk to each other about this today and tomorrow and take notes about the ideas and potential partnerships and solutions you come up with...This one is for you and for your clients who may be stuck in the idea of “one career, one sector, once engineer always engineer”

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