Employers looking for older workers must solve problems with gig work

For employers who have had to change their talent strategies to survive a number of challenges in recent years (skills shortages, AI changing the nature of work, and rising operating costs, to name a few), gig work, in many cases, presents a promising picture.

Non-traditional job types allow employers to use talent based on demand, often for a fraction of the cost. However, there is one big problem: Employees are not enthusiastic about non-traditional work, and their frustration depends on the nature of these jobs, according to a new survey by Realty of more than 10,000 employers and job seekers in 12 countries.

“No sense?” More than half (53%) of employers surveyed reported currently using “agile workers” – meaning non-traditional work such as gig and contract work, part-time or part-time jobs, remote “digital nomad” jobs and job rotation – although 67% plan to do so eventually.

From their point of view, other types of jobs are “mindless work,” Priya Rathod, career trends editor, told HR Brew.

“For employers, it’s increasingly a business strategy,” said Rathod. “They’re evaluating their capabilities based on what that means to them, and what that means to them is flexibility, speed, and cost effectiveness, which are things they’re most interested in using.”

Well, not for the workers. Only 25% of job seekers report currently working in a “fast-paced role,” according to an Indeed survey, although 45% expect to have one of these types of jobs in the future. Although workers have acknowledged that pursuing a non-traditional job can provide flexibility and control over when and how they work, and help them achieve a better work-life balance, 55% believe that taking part in a better job is a dangerous job.

These roles may sound good in theory, but Rathod says workers are not chasing traditional work when faced with the current state of the labor market, as well as structural issues and the nature of gig work. In the actual survey, respondents cited concerns such as unpredictable annual income, lack of opportunities, and irregular or delayed payments as their top concerns about nontraditional types of jobs.

“If you look at it from the perspective of job seekers, it’s not that they don’t want a great job. It’s that they want it to feel stable and something they can do for a long time, and right now it doesn’t feel like that to them,” Rathod said.

What employees want. When asked what would convince them to pursue advanced careers, benefits were most important to job seekers—paid time off, health insurance and a retirement plan, to be specific.

That would be a huge opportunity for markets like the US, which needs health care and paid parental leave, and is accelerating its retirement fund. Compared to the world average, fast-paced work is less common in the provinces. Only 40% of US employers are promoting active workers, and 17% of job seekers identify as active workers, compared to 53% and 25% globally, respectively.

“In America, it’s very important, in many cases, for workers to have access to things like health insurance.” And now the active workers don’t know,” Rathod said.

Working with staffing firms can help reduce that issue; Staffing giant Adecco hires part-time workers as W-2 workers, who handle wages and benefits. Some companies are exploring “portable benefits”. For example, DoorDash last year began testing a partnership with Stride Health, offering Pennsylvania workers a savings account that can be used to fund things like retirement, health insurance or vacation time.

Another option employers can consider is to introduce gig projects to their existing workforce, which employers including Workday already use. Only 15 percent of job seekers say they look to their employer for such opportunities. This can be an interesting option for workers, as they can pursue gig work from the safety of a stable job, according to Rathod.

“When people know what they’re signing up for and feel like it’s going to fit the way they view their work as a whole, it stops feeling like a risk, and starts feeling like something that can be used for them and is more stable,” he said.