How to benefit from the gig economy with online freelancing
KUCHING: The trend toward the ‘gig’ or ‘shared’ economy has begun characterised by temporary positions and ondemand contracts with independent workers.
This includes businesses such as Uber, Airbnb, and Freelancer. com and professionals from across the world are jumping into this environment that allows freedom, flexibility and a whole new set of work options.
In 2010, global research company Intuit issued a report, which predicted that by 2020, traditional employment will no longer be the norm. Fulltime employees will be replaced by contingent workers such as freelancers and parttime workers.
The longterm trend of hiring contingent workers will continue to accelerate with more than 80 per cent of large corporations planning to substantially increase their use of a flexible workforce.
The gig economy is dramatically changing the concept of work by generating new revenue flow with better flexibility. Renting out a spare bedroom on Airbnb can subsidise the education needed to switch careers.
Becoming a gig worker on Freelancer.com can transform the life of a skilled worker with access to millions of employers from all over the world who, on a daily basis, are posting thousands of jobs across hundreds of different fields and industries.
With Freelancer.com gaining over 43,000 new registered users from Malaysia in the last 12 months, the site recognizes the country’s potential to become a top freelancing and crowdsourcing hub in the SoutheastAsian region.
Out of over 200,000 users from Malaysia, more than 170,000 registered as freelancers on Freelancer. com. The rest are employers and small businesses that have posted freelance jobs on the marketplace.
The top five most common skills among freelancers in Malaysia are data entry, excel, copy typing, data processing and copywriting.
The most popular project types awarded to Malaysians in the last 12 months are graphic design, PHP, Data Entry, Software Architecture, Excel, Translation, Mobile Phone, Android, and Logo Design.