(Sponsored Content--) Chicago Uber driver Isaac King III values rideshare driving because it gives him the flexibility to spend time with his family.
"It does give me the opportunity to spend more time with them," King said. "We home educate our children. My wife is a stay-at-home mom, so she's our primary educator. It does allow for flexibility, you know, in the evenings, because I don’t, I can come home and hang out with them, hang out for dinner. You know, we all have fun, and I can relax a little bit before I go out."
Flexibility is a major reason many gig workers have chosen to participate in the gig economy.
According to a 2021 Pew Research Center study, 56% of current or recent gig workers cited "wanting to save up extra money" as a major reason for participating in the gig economy. Slightly more than 50% cited the need to cover a change or gap in income, while 49% reported that flexibility and the ability to control their schedule was a major factor in choosing to do gig work.
Other top reasons included "wanting to be their own boss," working for fun or as a hobby, and not having many job opportunities available in their areas, according to the study.
In the "Freelancing in America: 2019" survey of 6,000 U.S. workers, 79% of full-time and 76% of part-time freelance workers reported that they joined the gig economy because of their desire to have a flexible schedule and choose what days and hours to work.
"If there is something going on (during) the weekend, I can always opt not to drive on Saturday," King said. "I make a decent enough income with Uber that if I miss a day or so every now and again, it's OK, you know. I mean, I've had weeks where I've only made like $140 because I just didn't drive, and I had weeks where I didn’t drive at all. And I've had weeks where I've created $1,500 driving. You know, those are my two, those are my extremes."
A 2018 Gallup poll found that 36% of U.S. workers are doing gig work in some capacity. Gallup also reported that 64% of gig workers said they preferred their alternative work arrangement.
According to Gallup, "Independent gig workers (such as online platform workers and independent contractors) experience high levels of work-life balance, flexibility, autonomy, meaningful feedback and creative freedom. In fact, they score much higher on all these factors compared with traditional workers and other types of gig workers."