Gig work: Does it get you more happiness?

Abstract

Gig work is one of the fastest‐growing trends in the labor market, one that accelerated during the COVID‐19 pandemic. It is therefore important to understand its impact on individual happiness. A simple theoretical framework is constructed to analyze aspects of gig work and their effect on happiness. In particular, we model happiness as being dependent on various characteristics of work, such as income, work flexibility, job stability and job security, employee benefits, and non‐pecuniary benefits. We demonstrate that merging salaried work and gig work can be an effective way to increase happiness. The proposed framework identifies the characteristics of an individual who will achieve greater happiness in gig work. These insights may help to understand the effect of recent changes in the labor market on workers' happiness.