Graduate jobs portal WikiJob surveyed 125 of its registered members to gauge their feelings about the gig economy, and found that the flexibility to work when they wanted was the overwhelming reason cited for it being positive. The three most common gripes about the gig economy were lack of sick leave, lack of holiday benefits and not being able to work as much as needed.
When asked if they would consider doing a gig economy job on a permanent basis, 30% said they would, and 26% said no - while 44% of respondents said they would only take a permanent gig role if things were desperate.
Commenting on the findings, James Rice, Head of Digital Marketing at WikiJob, said: “The gig economy seems like a double-edged sword for today’s graduates. Some of them are really appreciative of the opportunity for extra income by working around their studies, and the chance to gain new skills. Others point to the lack of job security and benefits, the difficulty of predicting one’s earnings and the lack of career development.
“So long as graduates are working out of choice, the gig economy is a good thing. What we all want to avoid is graduates being pushed into the gig economy on a full-time basis because other career options are out of their reach.”
Survey source: https://www.wikijob.co.uk/content/features/useful-resources/survey-how-do-graduates-feel-about-gig-economy