We are very happy today to invite Melinda Livingstone of IncomeConnection (helping you to earn income from what you want to do), to share her thoughts about the on-demand working environment...Take it away Melinda...

‍In Australia we are seeing the rapid growth of the on-demand economy.

Whilst the noise has been around Airbnb and ride-sharing, the surprising growth has been in professional service platforms like Expert360. Initially offering management consulting jobs, Expert360 has expanded into a broad range of functional and project roles.Among the new professional service platforms operating in Australia are:

  • Cahlia, who offers an online platform matching female talent to consulting projects.
  • The Freelance Collective matching freelance creative talent to opportunity.
  • And the disruptor in the recruitment space; the recruitment platform Recstra, who provide flexible on-demand recruitment charged at an hourly rate.

Why has there been so much growth?  

Technology has been a huge driver; cloud data storage and smartphone technology has made on-demand work as easy as calling an Uber. But the growth is driven by the fact that many people prefer on-demand work to employment. These are the reasons why:

  1. Conventional jobs are often inflexible, requiring us to be on-site between certain hours or face judgement if we aren’t. On-demand work is by nature flexible. 91% of Americans who work ‘on-demand’ do so because they can control their own schedule¹. Flexibility enables us to have a career AND be true to our priorities.
  2. Often we can work from home. This means that we aren’t wasting time on travel and can conveniently choose when we work, such as a few hours during the day and a few more hours in the evening.
  3. Meaning, purpose and personal values are key as people seek to live an authentic life. Being tossed around by company politics can be exhausting. We can wonder whether our hard work for a company is actually contributing to something good.
  4. The simplicity of being paid for on-demand work helps us to focus the actual work itself. So refreshing to work without distraction.
  5. People are increasingly defining 'success' as the freedom to make independent choices, to take charge of their own career, feeling empowered to grow, develop, achieve. For people who are inner-directed, traditional markers of success such as promotion within a corporate model are less important.
  6. Self-determination, a desire for freedom away from a manager and a self-identity as a passionate professional are reasons why people work independently of the company model. Working on-demand can be a stepping stone to establishing a small business and many people use it as a time to learn more about themselves and the world of micro businesses.

For most people who work in this way, it's a quality of life choice. One that enables people to live according to their values and priorities. Given the number of platforms that are being launched, the growth is only going to increase. Melinda Livingstone