Independent work: choice, necessity, and the gig economy

4. MAKING INDEPENDENT WORK A 
WIN FOR ALL STAKEHOLDERS

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McKinsey Global Institute
4. Making independent work a win for all stakeholders
effect of empowering millions of people to set the parameters of their own working lives. 
Our research did not attempt to size these benefits, but we offer some thoughts and early 
evidence on how independent work could contribute to growth and economic dynamism.
Independent work could raise GDP through several channels
If the shift to independent work gains momentum, the effects on workers and companies 
could eventually translate into several types of macroeconomic benefits: 
 
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Increasing labor force participation and hours worked for the underemployed.
 An 
analysis of government labor data indicates that there are 232 million people of working 
age across the United States and the EU-15 who work less than full time or are inactive. 
At least 100 million of them say they want to work more. Particularly in Europe, where 
many countries have persistent labor market woes, there is a strong desire among 
workers to become more productive. A previous MGI report on Europe found that 
80 percent of survey respondents would like to work more hours each week to earn 
more income if they had flexible options.
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 Similarly, in a global survey conducted by 
LinkedIn in 2015, 55 percent of part-time workers and 31 percent of full-timers said they 
would like to add hours for a proportionate increase in pay. As more people are put to 
work, their incomes could bolster sagging demand across national economies that need 
an infusion of momentum.
Independent work could enable this group to start working or to add hours. As 
discussed in Chapter 3, the flexible opportunities afforded by independent work can be 
especially well suited to seniors, caregivers, and students. Retirees make up 44 percent 
of the inactive population in the United States and between 30 and 50 percent of the 
inactive population in Europe. Many of them have both financial and non-financial 
reasons to continue working, provided they can find ways to stay engaged without taking 
a structured full-time job. In Europe, there is clear evidence that countries that have more 
part-time and flexible work options also have higher rates of labor force participation by 
older people (Exhibit 29). The same is likely to apply for independent work as well. 
Caregivers, who make up 5 to 15 percent of the inactive population in our survey 
countries, are often forced to drop out of the labor force because they cannot work 
regimented hours—and in countries with aging populations, the need for caregiving is 
increasing. A recent MGI survey in the United States found that three-quarters of self-
identified homemakers, or stay-at-home mothers, would be likely to return to work if they 
had flexible options.
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 As some share of unpaid household work is converted to paid 
work on digital platforms, some women may find it possible to seek higher-productivity 
positions even as they create new opportunities for less skilled workers.
Digital tools and platforms lower barriers to entry for anyone who wants to start working, 
allowing them to start fresh or build on their previous skills and work experience. 
Platforms such as HourlyNerd or SkillShare can give caregivers and retirees an 
opportunity to utilize their education. This raises GDP by increasing hours worked in the 
economy (assuming the economy is not suffering from too little aggregate demand). 
Previous MGI research estimated the global impact digital platforms could create by 
engaging a small share of inactive workers to a modest degree (10 to 15 hours per week, 
depending on their demographic characteristics). Even this conservative estimate of time 
spent working would raise global GDP by 0.9 percent, or $1.3 trillion.
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A window of opportunity for Europe
, McKinsey Global Institute, June 2015. 
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The power of parity: Advancing women’s equality in the United States
, McKinsey Global Institute, April 2016.
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A labor market that works: Connecting talent with opportunity in the digital age
, McKinsey Global Institute, 
June 2015.