The ups and downs of gig jobs

The main disadvantage of working in the gig economy is a lack of employee benefits, according to 39% of respondents in a poll of 1,000 Americans conducted by online career site Zety.

Irregular working hours, according to 37%, and unstable income, to 35%, are the second- and third-greatest disadvantages.

These challenges, however, apparently will not deter the 88% of workers who would consider doing a gig job until retirement and the 54% of respondents who plan to find a full-time job in the next year, but still want to do a gig job on the side, according to the Zety poll.

The main advantages of a gig job, respondents said, are independence, according to 58%; flexibility, to 50%; and variety, 43%.

That variety extends to employers, according to the survey. For 59% of respondents, a gig job is their main source of income, but 84% of gig workers work for more than one company.

The survey also showed that the gig economy faces some challenges, with 88% of respondents reporting being mistreated at least once when completing a job while 81% at least once felt unsafe and 70% experienced sexual advances.