India records 13X increase in demand for gig work: Awign

A report released by work-as-a-service platform Awign shows a 13X increase in demand for gigification in India compared to pre-pandemic levels. ‘Gigification’ refers to the process of breaking down critical work into smaller tasks, thus eliminating the challenge of talent utilization.

According to the report, companies in e-commerce, fintech, healthtech, edtech and quick commerce sectors have been leading demand for gigification in recent years. Enterprises are delegating fulfilment of critical hyperlocal and digital work such as business development, auditing, invigilation, along with telecalling, content and data operations, which have emerged as the top areas of work fulfilment since the pandemic.

Digitalisation

The report also noted a 148 per cent increase in demand for gigification of digital work in FY22 compared to FY21, highlighting the trend of digitalisation and accelerating growth of the digital economy. Talking about the findings of the reports, Annanya Sarthak, Co-Founder & CEO, Awign said, “In the last few years, there has been a radical shift in the way stakeholders, both enterprises and individuals choose to work. While the on-demand model was assumed to be limited to consumer-facing blue-collar work prior to the pandemic, today rapid adoption of the enterprise-gig model is revolutionising the execution of grey-collar and white-collar work as well. Enterprises enjoy effective utilisation of human capital for work fulfilment, while job seekers find meaningful and accessible work opportunities without any barriers.”

Awign’s data in the report shows that 55.6 per cent of its gig workforce are aged between 18-25, as they are more agile and prefer flexibility in work. The company has also witnessed rising participation of gig workers from tier 3 cities, showcasing geographical penetration of enterprises and work opportunities. As of December 2022, 41.3 per cent of Awign’s gig workforce came from tier 3 cities, while 35.6 per cent and 22.9 per cent came from tier 1 and tier 2 cities, respectively.

Women gig partners

Moreover, Awign has observed almost 3X growth in registrations from women gig partners in FY22 compared to FY21, emphasising the accessibility for women to enter or re-enter the workforce, and gain financial independence based on their own flexibility and convenience.

Examining the expansion of skill level in the gig economy, the report also suggests almost 240 per cent increase in participation of high-skill or white-collared workers in the gig economy last year, with demand for tech roles such as full-stack developers, data scientists, react and java developers, mobile app developers and cloud engineers.

“While gigification is still at a nascent stage, it truly holds value and potential to rise multifold and bolster India’s economic growth. By popularising an ecosystem for grey-collar work execution in India, we’re unlocking the true potential of India’s gig economy towards sustainable growth for India Inc” added Annanya Sarthak, Co-Founder & CEO, Awign.

The report also slates retail operations, merchandising, market intel and consumer insights, consumer product testing, AI operations and on-demand knowledge as the next areas for gigification, to be significantly driven by tech-based enterprises.

Awign has a community of 1.5million plus registered gig partners across 500+ cities and 12,000+ pin codes in India. The company enables enterprises to ‘gigify’ business functions such as business development, telecalling, proctoring, invigilation, content & data operations, last-mile delivery, auditing, and due diligence, among others.

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