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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:
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.
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