Independent work: choice, necessity, and the gig economy

GROWTH COULD ALSO BE FUELED BY DEMAND FROM ORGANIZATIONS AND 
CONSUMERS FOR INDIVIDUAL SERVICES
Millions of individuals want to work independently to earn their primary income. Based 
solely on the share of our survey respondents expressing a desire to change their working 
style, the independent workforce has the potential to grow by almost 65 million people in 
the United States and the EU-15. Could enough work be created or converted to enable this 
many people to pursue the working style they say they would prefer? 
The answer, it seems, is yes. We looked at both the latent demand in unpaid household 
work and the potential for organizations to enable independent work arrangements. 
Together, our analysis suggests that at least in theory, there is more than enough potential 
to create opportunities for a much larger independent workforce. In practice, the number 
of jobs that could be performed by independent workers will depend on the ability of 
organizations to reshape occupations to work with external labor and the willingness of 
individual consumers to convert currently unpaid housework to independent work. More 
research is needed on both dimensions.