Gig Economy

Definition

A labor model where companies hire contractors instead of full-time employees, avoiding benefits while pretending to offer 'flexibility.'

Example Usage

Our company is shifting toward gig economy workers to reduce overhead costs.

Origin

Term popularized in the 2010s with rise of platforms like Uber and TaskRabbit

Fun Fact

Gig workers now comprise 59 million people in the U.S., about 35% of the workforce

Source: Labor economics, modern workforce trends

Related Terms

Intermediate

compensation philosophy

A formal document explaining why your company pays what it does, usually involving phrases like 'market competitive' that somehow justify paying 10% below actual market rates. It's a philosophical treatise on why you deserve less money than you think.

👥 Human Resources

Intermediate

skills gap

The chasm between the skills employers need and what job seekers actually have, often cited when companies can't find candidates willing to work for their offered salary. Sometimes it's a real shortage; sometimes it's just unwillingness to train.

👥 Human Resources

Beginner

merit increase

A salary raise based on individual performance rather than cost-of-living adjustments or tenure. It's the carrot companies dangle to make you work harder, usually sized more like a baby carrot than a normal one.

👥 Human Resources

Beginner

vacation

That magical time when you're temporarily excused from adulting—HR's polite way of saying 'go away and stop sending emails.' A formal period when employees are released from their obligations, though modern culture ensures they'll check their inbox anyway.

👥 Human Resources

Intermediate

High Potential (High-Po or HiPo)

An employee identified as having the potential for significant career advancement. Also known as 'the person we're grooming to take over, but we haven't told them they're destined for leadership.'

👥 Human Resources

Beginner

monitoring

The systematic observation and tracking of employees' activities, performance, or communications, ostensibly for productivity and security purposes. Modern monitoring ranges from benign time-tracking to dystopian keystroke logging and AI-powered webcam analysis. It's either "accountability" or "Big Brother" depending on which side of the surveillance you're on.

👥 Human Resources

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