Changing Nature of Work and Employment in the Gig Economy: The Role of Culture Building and Leadership in Sustaining Commitment and Job Satisfaction

Abstract

Industry reports indicate a double-digit growth in India’s gig economy. In this changing world of work, sustaining employee commitment and job satisfaction becomes increasingly challenging, starting with getting clear about who one considers as an ‘employee’. In this article, first, an attempt is made to build a perspective in which ‘employee’, ‘commitment’ and ‘satisfaction’ are relooked at, in the changing context of ‘employing human resources’ in organisations. In this new perspective, we explore the role of leadership and culture in impacting employee commitment and job satisfaction. We review extant literature and present a conceptual framework that proposes to understand how organisations can integrate the gig model of working into their system, thereby making the best use of it. Further gaps and directions for future research are presented.