An illustration of a photo of HR Brew reporter Paige McGlauflin.

Paige McGlauflin

From recruiting and retention to company culture and the latest in HR tech, HR Brew delivers up-to-date industry news and tips to help HR pros stay nimble in today’s fast-changing business environment.

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HRB DD—Gig work audio embed

When our ancestors dreamed of the future, complete with flying cars and robot maids, did they also imagine a shift from traditional employment?

Either way, alternative forms of employment are booming, even as workers’ primary jobs. And it’s creating big challenges for HR teams.

Understanding the current scope of gig work is…tricky. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) 

 around 14.5% of the US workforce had contingent or alternative employment as their primary job in 2023, while 5.5% held multiple jobs. But economists and former Labor Department (DOL) officials have criticized BLS data for 

Non-government research suggests a higher prevalence of gig work. A 2023 Upwork 

 found that 38% of US professionals did freelance work that year. And a 2024 LinkedIn survey 

 that 31% of US employees were balancing a side hustle or project in addition to their primary job, with remote and self-employed or freelance workers being more likely to do so.

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 in the coming decade. Workers have increasingly turned to alternative work because of the 

 to it after losing a job, instead of applying for unemployment—a strategy that may become more common if the economy slips into a recession.

“If there is a recession, as more gig work and part-time work becomes available, we may have less people laid off or completely unemployed that don’t have at least an opportunity to earn some income,” Amy Glaser, SVP of business operations at staffing firm Adecco, said.

This trend should prompt HR leaders to think about how alternative forms of employment might fit into their future talent strategy.

“I truly believe that in the future, most people who work in a company won’t be employees full-time at the company, and that’s going to happen in the next two to four years,” Rishad Tobaccowala, the author of 

. “Most of the people and most of the work will be done outside. How do you operate a company like that?”

HRB IRL-Contracting employees video embed

But this trend is creating a challenge for HR leaders. The status quo has long been that, because gig workers are not permanent employees, they do not need to be 

That’s largely because HR oversight would be a compliance risk. The IRS has 

 on whether workers should be classified as contractors or employees. Companies suspected of misclassifying workers could face investigations and fines from the 

“You have to figure out what you’re doing for [workers] in terms of, ‘Is it employment or not,’” David Lewis, national managing director at Gallagher, told HR Brew. He said, “If the person who’s the independent contractor is just designated that way” by title only, but is treated like a full-time employee, that’s when the employer-gig worker relationship has tension.

“Unless there is room to be able to create more of a friendly environment for companies to engage gig workers” in a way that affords them the pay and freedom of that role, then “the complexities and the potential compliance issues associated with engaging a larger workforce of gig people” are always going to be top-of-mind for the employer.

Businesses could also be reluctant to employ gig workers, as some that have done so have faced legal challenges from contractors demanding they be classified as employees (which experts 

 to worsen. As recruiting and retaining top talent becomes increasingly challenging, employers may consider 

But HR leaders need to be careful about how they do so, Lewis warned. As a first step, they can identify where in their company such labor might be needed, and explain to hiring managers that gig workers are not permanent employees, but rather workers intended to “parachute” in on specific projects.

“You’re gonna be [in a]much better position to be able to execute on that when it becomes necessary to do that, and I think it is going to become, for a lot of places, a good strategy going forward, only because…there’s no real reason to see (short of a significant recession, which we can never predict that) that we are going to suddenly see a much larger availability of talent,” he added.

When looking for gig workers, talent acquisition leaders can turn to gig platforms that offer “matchmaker” services. Adecco, for example, classifies contingent workers as employees, meaning they fill out W-2s, have taxes withheld, and receive benefits from the staffing firm—alleviating clients of compliance headaches.

“For the staffing industry, it’s an opportunity,” Glaser said. “There’s definitely upside with the gig workforce. This should lend some confidence to a job seeker as well, because it can be daunting to think: I’m a 1099, I’m going to have to track all my expenses and do my own taxes. And this affords them a way to continue in a normal W-2 environment.”

HR leaders should also make their interest in contingent workers known through their employer branding and job listings. They can also create their own databases of potential gig candidates.

“Talent sourcing is a multifaceted Swiss army knife of stuff. It’s not one thing anymore. It’s not post and pray, where you post a job on a website and pray for a good result,” Lewis said. “They need to be the storytellers and the designers and the articulators of the communicated message. Just as much as you are selling your product or your service, you need to sell your company, you need to sell your culture.”

File folder with several papers scattered on top including a 1099 form, contractor agreement, and contractor badge.

How will HR adapt to the rise of gig work?

Employers have been reluctant to use contingent workers for fear of compliance headaches, but talent shortages are forcing them to reconsider that stance.

Gig work is taking over the labor market—and creating challenges for HR

HRBR-Holiday Hiring Audio Embed

The holiday season is in full swing, and it’s shaping up to be yet another 

 for big shipping companies—even before we all start panickedly placing our last-minute online gift orders.

This holiday season, shipping giant UPS aims to hire 125,000 total seasonal workers—about 

 than the year prior—who will primarily work for the company during its largest “peak season” during the end-of-year holidays. These temporary roles include drivers, operational workers, seasonal support drivers who deliver packages from their own vehicles, and driver helpers who primarily assist drivers in making deliveries.

It’s probably no surprise that hiring for this many workers takes quite an amount of prep work. In fact, hiring for peak season has become a year-long planning process for Jeff Grant, VP of HR of the west region at UPS, told HR Brew.

Come January, Grant will begin planning hiring again for the 2025 holiday season. So it makes sense that throughout the year his team is already thinking about ways to retain the best of these workers, either for future seasonal roles or permanent positions.

Grant spends a “good amount” of his time trying to re-recruit former workers for a seasonal job.

His team focuses on a year-round strategy to keep these workers engaged, including maintaining “touchpoints,” like reaching out and asking if they would be interested in coming back, and then letting them know when hiring for peak season has begun. While former seasonal workers have to apply and be considered like everyone else, they benefit from that early notice.

There’s a strong incentive to re-hire these seasonal workers. They’ve already been trained, and can help new hires during the onboarding period. And frontline managers are usually happy to welcome back familiar faces.

“Our operators love it when I go to them and I tell them, ‘Hey, I hired you 25 people, and 10 of them were employed with us last year and had a positive rehire status,’” Grant said.

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In addition to bringing back seasonal workers, UPS also focuses on hiring seasonal workers into permanent roles.

The company can’t guarantee seasonal workers roles immediately following their tenure because of the nature of their contract; the fact that some roles (like seasonal support drivers and helpers) don’t exist year-round; and permanent positions may not be available until later in the year. But high performers are encouraged to keep an eye on UPS’s careers website and apply to opportunities as they open up, stay in touch with the managers they worked with, and update their résumés so that they include their work for the company.

This approach seems to be working well: Currently, over 128,000 of UPS employees started in seasonal roles and moved into positions. In the US specifically, more than one-third of the company’s workforce started in seasonal positions.

Management is encouraged to look for the “rock stars” among the seasonal workers, Grant said. One significant trait that these high-performers convey is having the right attitude and being able to excel in a high-pressure environment.

“They’re coming in at a pretty interesting time at UPS. The volume is going up significantly, the days are a little bit longer, it’s the stress that's out there in the environment with our customers,” he said. “It’s really a lot of pressure for them. So I want somebody that comes in with a great attitude.”

But it’s not just attitude; Grant also wants to see employees who are career-motivated and interested in advancing within the company.

Grant himself is one such former temporary employee. He joined UPS more than 25 years ago, first starting a six-month college internship. Initially, he wasn’t envisioning a career at UPS, and was open to other opportunities. But he became impressed by how invested his management team was in his career growth.

“As soon as I got to UPS, I had people just continue to pull me in and give me more experience, more exposure, people that saw things in me that I didn't see myself, to be honest,” he said.

Every few years he took on responsibilities in other functions—a 

 that has benefitted many HR pros who excel into leadership roles. Grant, who attained a bachelor’s degree in HR, held roles in security, communications, sales, and project management, before eventually landing back in the people function.

“This is really a career-minded company,” he said. “I’ve been with UPS for 25 years, different rotations. It wasn’t just a job for me. It’s that career momentum.”

One major HR mantra for Grant is a career development phrase called the “three Es”:

It’s something that he wants all employees to get from their time at UPS, even those in brief seasonal roles.

“What they get from that time frame can really kick start their career,” he said. “They can go to logistics, they can learn about the supply chain and how that works, they can have a pretty good education within a short time frame. I’m not sure how many other jobs allow you to get that insight in a seasonal gig.”

Three shipping boxes with present bows on top and resumes on the sides

How UPS preps for seasonal holiday hiring year-round

“It’s really a lot of pressure for them. So I want somebody that comes in with a great attitude,” UPS’s Jeff Grant tells HR Brew.

Seasonal hiring is a year-round strategy at UPS

Adam DeRose

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Skills, credentials, degrees, and professional experience can fit in a digital wallet too. 

Move over Bitcoin, the ‘Internet of Career’ is primed to be the next big use of blockchain

Super-charge your industry know-how with insights, tools, and tips from our team

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Kristen Parisi

2D illustration of colorful building blocks spelling out “DE&I”

With DE&I being the subject of corporate conversation lately, HR Brew investigated what makes up a good DE&I program.

RSM’s Ty Beasley says that diversity initiatives should be incorporated into every part of the business.

Basic components of a good DE&I program

“Total rewards” is an umbrella term that covers everything a company offers its employees, like salary, PTO, health insurance, and retirement. But what about financial wellness? Does this offering get a designated slice of the total rewards pie? Ramsey SmartDollar breaks down why your total rewards package might not be so total (yet) and why financial wellness is a pivotal piece you might not want to overlook.

Ramsey Smart Dollar

man celebrating with sign about being debt free 

Is there a hidden gap in your total rewards?

Happy employees aren’t just nice to have around. They’re also good for business. In Zendesk’s 

10 Insights for Leaders on AI-Driven Employee Experiences

 guide, you’ll learn how human-centric AI can empower your people.

With insights from 800+ HR and IT leaders, you’ll discover how to:

Transform employee experiences: Leverage AI-powered tools to modernize support, enhance self-service, and meet evolving expectations.

Create a more productive workforce: Explore actionable strategies to drive efficiency, engagement, and innovation.

Stay ahead in the future of work: Discover how scalable AI solutions empower teams, optimize operations, and enable smarter decision-making.

Unlock the future of work with human-centric AI

Talent and L&D pros can focus their upskilling strategy to help employees harness a number of broad skills and a few deep ones.

Leapfrogging AI tech is shrinking the shelf life of skills and changing the way we skill employees

Staying ahead in HR is tough, but having the right info goes a long way. In the 

, SHRM breaks down key ways you can balance inflation with talent retention, leverage AI effectively, and enhance workforce engagement. Download it for free.

SHRM Business

Future-proof your HR strategies

Economic uncertainty, smaller pools of qualified candidates, and shrinking budgets, oh my! HR managers are facing some 

 challenges in today’s new era of recruiting. But one topic always remains relevant, especially throughout job market changes and economic instability: compensation.

High costs of living are driving up candidates’ salary expectations, but recruiting budgets and strategies are struggling to keep up. We partnered with 

 to dig into how compensation is affecting companies and candidates—and how businesses can respond effectively. Let’s get started.

Expectations vs. reality: When high salary expectations meet low hiring budgets

Hiring managers didn’t see the last few years coming—just like the rest of us. With smaller pools of qualified candidates, economic uncertainty, and fewer open roles to fill, HR teams are scrambling to do more with less.

Ready for a helping hand? We teamed up with the pros at CareerBuilder to ask HR Brew readers what challenges they’re facing in 2024. We’ll dig into hiring, how recruiting processes are shifting, and recruiters’ top priorities for the year.

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Gig work is taking over the labor market—and creating challenges for HR

Seasonal hiring is a year-round strategy at UPS

Move over Bitcoin, the ‘Internet of Career’ is primed to be the next big use of blockchain

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