On-demand economy: Power to the workers?

Uber opened the way to the on-demand habits: ‘You wanted to get somewhere quickly, but had not planned it ahead nor have cash in the pocket? »No worries » (Aussie habit since I am in Sydney now!) Uber is here to fix it and even better, will provide great service thanks to its drivers!

Now, in Australia, you feel in the mood to get a burger straight away or get some booze or forgot your partner’s birthday and need urgent flowers? Why don’t you #Sherpa’ it?

How convenient is it to be able to ask for anything, anytime and get it delivered right to your door?

Since I started @Sherpa, I’ve discovered a whole new world behind the scenes of the on-demand economy: you can provide great service done by people who do not actually « work » for you. Indeed, no longer do you need to hire people for a specific business – they now choose to work for you at one point during the day and might switch to another mission later on for someone else. No longer do they need to choose between a job and an employer, nor between leisure and activities. If they wish to work on the weekend but not on weekdays, so can they! Yet how do you retain people to work on a frequent and consistent basis?

How do you structure this new market place? How should a frame be given to these “non employees”? The work place is switching towards an open field of competencies, tasks to achieve and collaboration: who will lead this revolution? Silicon Valley with #HEC Entrepreneurs last April was fascinating: start-ups and mentors there are convinced they are changing the world and thanks to them, people won’t need to work as much. What would they do then? How should work be distributed? Whilst in Europe, countries fret about the level of unemployment, Singularity University (part a think tank, part a business incubator, for sure a reference in Silicon Valley) gets excited about the diminution of working hours and employment habits! They are indeed convinced we are heading towards an on-demand world where things will be done without having people at work, nor stuck in specific locations nor employed by companies: welcome to the freelancing world!

Work gives meaning, values, context and self-esteem to millions of humans. What about now? If we all become our own boss, work whenever we feel like it, for multiple customers and industries, act on the on-demand basis for everything…will that be sustainable?

@Sherpa, we are striving to build our part of a sustainable on-demand economy. We want to give people the ability to work and become their own boss, while earning a living and choosing to do so anytime. Thus, giving a sense of purpose, confidence and a feeling of belonging. We must not forget where we are heading and how we can build a strong market place where things continue to be shared, jobs created with a sustainable ecosystem a result.