The Decentralised Workforce
The rise of freelancers, creators, and one-person empires - how digital platforms are reshaping work and wealth creation
Many workers seek greater autonomy, flexibility, and equity in their professional lives. For many, even achieving two of these would represent meaningful progress.
As traditional jobs fragment into discrete tasks, digital platforms are stepping in to rebundle these tasks into opportunities for freelancers and gig workers, creating new pathways for income generation.
The digital workforce has evolved far beyond ride-sharing and food delivery.
There are examples of teachers using platforms for private tuition, livestreamers making millions from YouTube, and kitchen-table solopreneurs.
This week’s Workforce Futurist article looks at how digital platforms are helping people make money and reach their potential outside regular employment.
Why work off a Platform?
Several factors drive individuals to pursue gig work or develop side hustles, these include:
Neither working, nor looking - under 30s are rejecting traditional employment. Platform work often fills the gap left by disinterest in traditional employment. The level of NEETs – not in Education or Employment, is 15% in UK. Two-thirds of these are ‘neither working, nor looking’. Compared to earlier cohorts of society, A J.O.B is not required for this group to access decent quality streaming entertainment 24 hours a day, to find a date, and generally live in societies where they won’t starve. Platform work has a low-barrier to entry to top-up their cash.
No way never - Gen Z is increasingly selective about employers, prioritising ethical alignment and flexibility over traditional full-time roles. 44% of Generation Z have turned down an employer based on personal ethics or beliefs. (Source – Deloitte Survey) with another survey reporting that 75% of Generation Z have no plans to go full-time in their whole lives. (Source – Dazed magazine survey)
Increased flexibility - for those reading this article and thinking about what to order off the food delivery app tonight, working from a platform might seem like the last resort. There is no sick-pay and no pension. However surveys of platform workers show a different picture - London Uber drivers reported a strong preference 80% for flexibility over labour rights. (Source - Berger et al. 2019)
One-Person Digital Empires – it’s not all about putting enough food on the table, many entrepreneurial individuals have used platforms to earn substantial incomes. It’s hard to cut through the hyperbole, but there are high-profile examples like NomadList and Kat Norton’s Miss Excel.
People > brands – society has an underlying loneliness trend which explains many phenomena in business and politics. In an anodyne AI-generated world, people want to engage with real people, not a hammy consumer and employer brand. This is a recommended essay on the topic.
How many people are their own Boss?
Traditional gig economy roles include freelance, contract, and project-based work. Platform work, however, involves using digital platforms to trade labour, goods, and services.
It is hard to estimate the extent of the gig economy globally, but here are some factoids:
The size of the gig economy is estimated at $556.7 billion in 2024 and is projected to more than triple to $1,847 billion by 2032 (Source - WEF).
16% of U.S. adults earned money through an online gig platform in 2021 (Source -PEW Research Center).
14.5% of EU workers are self-employed, and 48% of workers globally are self-employed and work informally (Source – OECD)
Direct Service Marketplaces: From Side Hustlers to Specialists
The gig economy has evolved from simple side hustles to specialised marketplaces that empower caregivers, developers, and other skilled workers.
While Uber and DoorDash dominate headlines, specialised marketplaces are growing rapidly. Upwork reports that 59 million Americans performed freelance work in 2023, contributing $1.35 trillion to the US economy. As you can see from the main image, Upwork report that there has been a significant uptick in interest related to artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) professionals.
High-skill platforms like Toptal, which accepts only the top 3% of freelance talent, report average developer earnings of $70-120 per hour, challenging traditional consulting models.
And these platforms also offer opportunities for those with all sorts of skills, from Carers to Dog Walkers, and Songwriters to Strippers. See more at the Sidehustle stack.
The pandemic accelerated this trend, with platforms like TaskRabbit seeing a 50% increase in new tasker registration. Care.com reports that professional caregivers can earn 25% more through their platform compared to traditional agencies.
In Kenya, platforms like Ajira Digital connect youth to online freelance opportunities. A program supported by the government has enabled over 1 million young Kenyans to earn supplemental income by providing services such as content writing, virtual assistance, and graphic design.
The Creator Economy: Building One-Person Digital Empires
The creator economy offers unprecedented opportunities for individuals to monetise their expertise and passions in education, entertainment, and beyond.
The creator economy has matured into a sophisticated ecosystem.
It is estimated that more than 50 newsletters on Substack earn over $500,000 annually, with established journalists moving away from being employed by a paper to running their own business.
Gaming platform Twitch reports that over 50,000 Partners earn full-time incomes through streaming, with top creators generating millions through multiple revenue streams. Former classroom teachers are now earning six figures through Outschool, transforming kitchen tables into classrooms for kids worldwide. Teachable reports that over 500 course creators earned more than $100,000 in 2023, with the platform facilitating over $1 billion in creator earnings. Outschool's teachers, earn an average of $50 per hour teaching specialised online classes.
As of 2024, the global creator economy was valued at approximately $250 billion, with projections estimating it could reach $528 billion by 2030.
The creator economy offers not just income, but autonomy – a stage where millions build audiences and income streams on their own terms.
Digital Commerce: From Kitchen Tables to Global Marketplaces
Digital commerce platforms have democratised entrepreneurship.
Shopify reports that its merchants generated $444 billion in economic activity in 2023.
The platform hosts over 1.7 million merchants, with the average successful store generating $72,000 annually. The Shopify Global Entrepreneurship Index illustrates the economic impact in their ecosystem across 40 countries.
Etsy's success stories are equally impressive. The platform's active sellers grew to 7.5 million in 2023, with top sellers earning over $100,000 annually. What's notable is the rise of hybrid models – 48% of Etsy sellers combine platform sales with other income sources.
There are also other ways to earn, including:
Passive Income Innovation - Turning Time Into Tokens - Passive income is no longer just about dividends or rent – it’s about earning while you scroll, game, or code. The Brave browser, with over 67 million monthly active users, pays users in BAT tokens for viewing ads.
The Decentralised Workforce - Challenges and Opportunities
For all the talk of millionaires, kitchen-table entrepreneurs and side-hustlers, there are problems with the platforms. Platform fees often range from 10-30%, eating into worker earnings. Benefits access remains a critical issue – only 22% of full-time platform workers report having health insurance through their work. To address these challenges, policymakers must rethink social protections to ensure platform workers have access to fair earnings and essential benefits.
As I have written and spoken about previously, the Future of Work is not all about JOBS. We need a new social contract that provides financial security, innovation and problem-solving, and meaning. Policy-makers in successful cities and countries need to be developing long-term solutions in these areas, to include all types of workers.
In a global workforce of 3.5 billion people, these platforms are becoming lifelines for millions in emerging markets, enabling workers to supplement their incomes. Workers with a laptop and an internet connection can tap into global demand, regardless of their location.
Work is not going away, our most important work is building healthy and harmonious societies.
Some Questions for Workforce Futurists
In the world of work, old centralised command-and-control modes and business models will fall apart as better structures take their place.
This generates some interesting questions for workologists…
How can employers attract and retain different categories of workers in a decentralised workforce?
Do we need to update the Work Design Manual for 2025?
For knowledge work, who will the development of generative AI impact the demand for freelancers?
What is the impact of ‘the Firm’ and what new types of organisations might emerge from the decentralised workforce?
What new services and markets do freelancers need, and who are the emerging providers to watch?
Work is not disappearing—it’s transforming.
To thrive, we must reimagine its structures and purposes in a decentralised, digital world.
Let me know your views.
Your platformer,
Andy
This post is well thought out. Solid level of effort!
Everything about the Upwork Most in-demand skills graphic says that skills are still upstream from jobs, which they are clearly no longer.