The Hardest Thing About Working in the Gig Economy? Forging a Cohesive Sense of Self

Non full-time work accounts for all the net employment growth in the US economy in the last decade, and people with multiple work engagements are the fastest growing segments of this contingent workforce. While many people do participate enthusiastically in the gig economy, there are some downsides, and it’s not just logistical questions like schedules and compensation. A study that interviewed dozens of gig workers found that the toughest problem for many was forging a cohesive sense of identity across their many roles: “Who am ‘I’ really, if I’m all these things at once?” People with multiple jobs can combat this problem by doing three things: being selective about who they talk to about their careers; focus on each job alone in the beginning, and then finding a common thread that links all their gigs; and embrace yourself as being composed of multiple identities.