The Airtasker Future of Work Research Monitor January 2015, conducted by Pureprofile, reveals major changes in the labour force including a shift away from the traditional 9am-5pm office working model in favour of increased flexibility and freelancing.
The research, based on a representative survey by Pureprofile of 1,004 employed Australians nationwide, also revealed that 92% of Australians are looking for ways to supplement their income in 2015.
“Australians are increasingly embracing online peer-to-peer platforms to find work which allows them to be their own boss and earn a decent living by capitalising on their skills, from logo design to transport to assembling furniture to even mechanical engineering,” said Airtasker co-founder and CEO Tim Fung.
The major results of the Airtasker / Pureprofile research include:
• 43.5% of working Australians say they are either “likely” or “very likely” to look for a new job in 2015.
• 84.8% strongly agree or moderately agree that: ““The traditional employment model of the 9-5 office job is inflexible for workers in 2015 and into the future”.
• 76.4% strongly agree or moderately agree that: “The flexibility of freelancing / working for yourself makes up for the lack of certainty/predictability of work”.
• 92% of Australians are looking to supplement their income in 2015.
• 68% of Australians are considering earning some extra money in 2015 through online platforms such as Airtasker, Freelancer, 99designs, UberX and AirBnB.
• 4% of Australians are already using these online platforms to earn some extra money (10% of those aged 25-34).
• Asked what the most important thing in a job was, the respondents’ overall ranking in order of importance was: pay, flexibility to choose hours, predictability of work and satisfaction of helping others.
