This document discusses the future of work in the context of the growing freelance/gig economy and digital platforms. It begins with an overview of the digital economy and sharing economy models. It then discusses key trends in digital freelancing like the rise of crowdsourcing and various types of crowd platforms. Global reports project strong growth in the sharing economy and freelancing workforce. Challenges and ways forward are also examined. Standards organizations are working on frameworks and guidelines around sharing economy concepts. The document provides several examples of successful freelancers and analyzes different segments of the freelance workforce.

1. Freelance / Gig
Economy and
the Future of
Work
IEEE Computer Society
SYP Global Congress 2023

2. FLOW OF PRESENTATION
First Part
• Overview of Digital Economy; Roles of Digital Platforms
• Rise of Crowdsourcing; the Sharing Economy model
• Global initiative on Sharing Economy
Second Part
• Overview on Digital Freelancing
• Key Trends and Challenges
• Way Forward

4. DEFINING DIGITAL ECONOMY
”That part of economic output derived
solely or primarily from digital
technologies with a business model
based on digital goods or services”
Bukht and Heeks, 2017
“Digital economy is defined as
economic and social activities
that involve the production and
use of digital technology by
individuals, businesses, and
government”
Malaysia Digital Economy
Blueprint, 2021

5. Technological, Demographic and Socio-Economic Trends Affecting Business Models
The Future of Jobs Report, World Economic Forum (January 2016)
• Crowdsourcing, the sharing economy
and peer-to-peer platforms
THE FUTURE OF JOBS IN THE 4IR ERA:
ROLE OF DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES & PLATFORMS

6. ROLE OF DIGITAL PLATFORMS
“Digital platform provides the mechanism
for bringing together a set of parties to
interact online.”
”Transaction platforms are two / multi-
sided markets with online infrastructure
that support exchanges between a number
of different parties.”
“Innovation platforms create
environments for code and content
producers to develop applications and
software ….”

7. BASIC MODEL : CROWDSOURCING / SHARING /
PLATFORM / GIG / ON-DEMAND ECONOMY
Users : Businesses,
organizations and/or
individuals outsource tasks,
jobs, projects OR request to
have access to assets
Digital platforms in the form of native
web, mobile applications acting as
intermediary / mechanism that
enable exchanges / facilitate
transaction of products (goods or
service) and assets between
providers and users
Supply of / Access to
Assets / Services
Demand for / Requests /
Requirements
CROWDSOURCING/
SHARING ECONOMY/
GIG PLATFORMS
Individuals and/or Businesses as
Provider of Services – Independent
contractor, part-timer, gig,
freelancer, remote worker, asset
owner
USERS / CONSUMERS DIGITAL PLATFORMS SERVICE PROVIDERS

8. Source: Getting
Results From
Crowds, Oct 2012
DIFFERENT TYPES OF CROWD PLATFORMS & BUSINESS MODELS

9. as of March 2023
Total : 143
Local: 123
Foreign-Owned: 20
VALIDATED SHARING ECONOMY PLATFORMS* IN MALAYSIA
9
CONTENT
CREATION
CONTENT
REVIEW
TOURISM RELATED
SERVICES
HEALTHCARE,
LIFESTYLE &
WELLNESS SERVICES
FOOD DELIVERY &
HOMECHEF SERVICES
MAINTENANCE &
DOMESTIC SERVICES
EDUCATION
& TRAINING
LOGISTICS & DELIVERY
SERVICES
PERSONAL
HELPER & CAREGIVER
DIGITAL &
PROFESSIONAL WORK
BUSINESS
PROCESS
DROPSHIP &
REFERRAL
ON-DEMAND WORKFORCE
CROWD
MARKETING
* Digital Labour & Location-Based Work Platforms
RIDE &
TRANSPORTATION

10. PROJECTED GROWTH OF THE SHARING ECONOMY
Sharing Economy was projected to grow at higher rate
and will be levelling the traditional industry sector
market revenue in 2025
Various report supporting the evidence on the
growing trend of Sharing Economy globally
Sharing Economy is here to stay – the majority of respondents
expects Sharing Economy not only to be a short-term trend but
an important, sustainable future market.

11. ISO 42500 (2021) Sharing Economy – General
Principles
Economic model where platforms enable providers
and users to exchange products1 and assets2
NOTE 1 Platform operators can engage in interactions with
providers and users to support the exchange of products and assets
between providers and users
NOTE 2 The exchange of different assets can occur between
platform operator, provider and user in this sharing economy
system.
STANDARDS DEVELOPMENT ON SHARING ECONOMY
11
WORKING GROUP /
TECHNICAL GROUP
STANDARDS PUBLISHED / UNDER DEVELOPMENT
ISO/TC 324/WG 1 ISO 42500 : 2021
Sharing economy — Terminology and principles
ISO/AWI 42503
Sharing economy — Framework for implementation
ISO/TC 324/WG 2 ISO/TS 42501
Sharing economy — General trustworthiness and safety requirements for
digital platform
ISO/PWI TR 42507
Sharing economy – Use cases of sharing economy platforms in public sectors
ISO/TC 324/WG 3 ISO/TS 42502
Sharing economy – Guidelines for provider verification on digital platform
ISO/AWI TR 42504
Sharing economy — Illustrative examples of provider verification on digital
platforms
ISO/TC 324/TG 3 ISO/PWI 42505
Sharing economy — Shared manufacturing concepts and models
ISO/PWI 42506
Sharing Economy – Platforms Using Smart Technologies - B2B Intelligence
Sharing of Processes, Peoples and Assets

13. SUMMARY OF PART 1
o Sharing Economy
o Gig Economy
o Freelance Economy
o Collaborative Economy
o Crowd Economy
o On-Demand Economy
o Peer to Peer Economy
o People Economy
o Platform Economy
o Trust Economy
o …..
Which are the correct terms?
• There are several labels / terms used globally
• Key components are the same / similar
Freelance and Gig Worker
• Providers of services in this form of economy are generally referred to as ‘freelancer’
or ‘gig worker’; they are enabled by digital, not an employee / self-employed and
categorized as part of the informal employment
Impact to Businesses and Government
• Model is disrupting and transforming business models within various economic
sectors globally. Tech Startups continuously innovate and coming up with new
models addressing business needs and consumers expectations.
Types of Sharing Economy
* Note: Based on Malaysia’s National Framework and Strategic Roadmap on Sharing Economy, 2017
by MDEC, EPU, BNM, PEMANDU, Monitor Deloitte​
Assets Access Sharing
temporary access to owned physical assets
Goods Sharing / Redistribution
used or pre-owned goods (both durables &
perishables) passed on, exchanged, or sold
Intangible Assets Sharing
collaborate or exchange less-tangible assets (e.g.
time, skills)
Money Sharing
enable sharing of funds for investments for
entrepreneurs, artists, projects, etc.

14. Twelve Themes of the New Economy
Theme 1: Knowledge
Theme 2: Digitization
Theme 3: Virtualization
Theme 4: Molecularization
Theme 5: Integration/Internetworking
Theme 6: Disintermediation
Theme 7: Convergence
Theme 8: Innovation
Theme 9: Prosumption
Theme 10: Immediacy
Theme 11: Globalization
Theme 12: Discordance

15. The Global Opportunity in Online Outsourcing, World Bank
Group (June 2015)
Growth Rate And Market Size of Global Crowdsourcing Industry
• Online outsourcing firms have growth by 33% on average per
year
• Market size of US$15 – 25 billion by 2020
Online jobs range from the very simple that can be completed in a few minutes - such as sign-
ups, forum participation, review writing, and website testing - to the more complex, such as
software development, translation services, data entry, and administrative support. The online
work market, though still a tiny fraction of overall employment, is worth around US$1 billion
annually, up from US$700 million in 2009.
World Development Report 2016: Digital Dividends, World Bank Group (Jan 2016)
Internet-enabled offshoring and outsourcing, including online work
Outsourcing opportunities are increasing in other areas through online work, providing workers and
firms with access to larger, even global, employment marketplaces. People can work for any employer
anywhere, with parties buying and selling services that can be delivered online.

17. 21% of First
Class Grads in
UK choose
Freelancing
29% of Grads
in UK stated
freelancing is
career strategy
45% increase
in IPROS in 9
EU’s countries
from 2004 -
2013
Fast Growth
rate in all
Professional
Sectors

18. FREELANCE / GIG PLATFORMS ARE TRANSFORMING
HOW PEOPLE WORK AND EARN FOR A LIVING
Freelancers/Gig Workers increasingly dominating the global workforce
38% of total US workforce are freelancers
(2017)
People involved as
service providers
(2018)
US Workforce by
2023
50%
US Citizens are
Freelancers
(2017)
1.4T
Freelancing Economy
in US (2017)
USD
57M
75M
Sharing Economy in
China (2018)
Y-o-Y growth over
the next 5 years
(2018)
30%
Fastest growing Sharing Economy in the
World
People as service
providers
(2016)
394K
Collaborative Economy
in EU (2016)
Freelancers are full-
time professionals
(2017)
74.5%
Working flexibly in creative, managerial,
scientific & technical works
2.9T
RMB
Source: State Information Centre, China
Source: Freelancer Union, US
Source: European Commission, EFIP-EU
26.5B
EUR
Note: Calculation methodologies and definitions differ among these economies

19. WORLD BANK REPORT ON
DIGITAL FREELANCING
Online gig work now
constitutes a growing
and non-negligible part
of the labor market,
accounting for 4.4 to
12.5 percent of the
global labour force.
Online gig work is
not only a
developed-country
phenomenon but is
also becoming a
popular source of
employment in
developing
countries, with the
emergence of many
local gig platforms
as well as
increasing demand
from the
developing world.
Local gig platforms play
a vital but less known
role in the local
landscape by lowering
entry barriers, but they
face challenges in
establishing a viable
business model.

20. YOUTH AND DIGITAL FREELANCING
il of Online Gig Work – Short Notes Series
eelancingorsettinguptheirownfreelancingagencies.
to
s.
kers
gig
ve
m Survey

21. DIGITAL FREELANCING IN TECH ROLES
In-demand skills & jobs for 2023
1. Machine learning
2. Automation
3. Data analytics
4. Mobile application
development
5. VR (virtual reality)
6. Video production
7. SEO (search engine optimization)
8. Product management
Source: Upwork

22. SUCCESS STORIES

23. SUCCESS STORIES

24. SEGMENTS OF GIG WORKER / FREELANCER
WORKFORCE
SEGMENTS
INCOME
MOTIVATION
FREE AGENTS
derive their primary
income from
independent work and
actively prefer it
CASUAL EARNERS
use independent work for supplemental
income and do so by choice. Some have
traditional jobs, while others are students,
retirees, or caregivers
RELUCTANTS
derive their primary income
from independent work but
would prefer a traditional
job
THE FINANCIALLY STRAPPED
do independent work for
supplemental income, but they
would prefer not to have to do side
jobs to make ends meet
Primary Income Primary Income
Supplementary Income
PREFERENCE
NECESSITY
WORK
PREFERENCE
vs NECESSITY
A self-employed plumber or
a chiropractor in private
practice
A retired professor who
gives paid speeches
A janitor who doubles as a
housepainter on the
weekends
A short-term temporary
worker who would prefer a
more permanent job
EXAMPLES
SOURCE : McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) - Independent Work: Choice, Necessity, And The Gig Economy (October 2016)

25. WAY FORWARD
25
“...the ability or inability of societies
to master technology, and
particularly technologies that are
strategically decisive in each
historical period, largely shapes
their destiny…”
Manuel Castells,
The Rise of the Network Society (1996)

26. Thank You!
redzuan@computer.org