Financial Wellbeing for Gig Workers
Rethinking fundamentals of financial wellbeing for creatives in the gig workforce and designing differentiated tools of evaluation
Project Overview
Discussions about financial wellbeing are not as common as those about physical or mental wellbeing due to the social stigma and vulnerability surrounding it. This is more prominent among individuals with irregular income and sporadic workflows, such as gig workers.
To address this, we created WOGI, a service ecosystem that aims to provide digital gig workers in the UK with a comprehensive and hybrid platform for enhancing their networking capabilities, tracking their work performance, and gaining insights into the gig landscape.
ABOUT
Service Design, UX and UI
TIMELINE
Nov 2022 - Jan 2023
LOCATION
London, UK
KEY STAKEHOLDERS
Gig workers(early career to experts), Skill development platforms and co-working spaces
Context
This project was undertaken as part of the global Student Service Design Challenge 2023 hosted by Phillips Experience Design in collaboration with Service Design College, IBM, Ikea, and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. We were among the 15 finalists selected to participate, out of 90 international teams that submitted their proposals.
Process
Phase 1: Identify and Explore
The UK has the world's third-largest gig workforce, valued at £20 billion. Gig work offers flexibility and additional income, attracting one in six individuals in the UK.
However, gig work has its own set of limitations which include the challenge of finding suitable opportunities to meet financial needs while building on one's career aspirations and the lack of occupational benefits that add to stress and anxiety.
Methods - Secondary Research, Preparatory research, Brainstorming, Opportunities map and Problem Statement
A glimpse of Miro board capturing research and brainstorming from this phase
First iteration of the problem statement
Primary research and semi-structured interviews in this phase revealed that digital gig work attracts those seeking control over their career, with a low entrance barrier for exploring new pathways while maintaining a full-time job. To remain competitive in the industry, workers must invest in self-improvement through activities like attending conferences, finding mentors, and networking.
Questions were raised about the gig economy's autonomy, as gig workers may still operate within traditional working systems. Can the gig economy truly enable financial prosperity and provide genuine autonomy for gig workers? and whether it can establish an alternative operating system that enables their financial prosperity.
Methods - User research, Cultural probes, User journey maps and Empathy map
Phase 2: Empathise and Discover
Primary research and interactions with our stakeholders
The analysis of primary data, employing empathy maps and emotional journey maps along with financial wellbeing frameworks, revealed valuable insights. These maps and frameworks helped redefine the gaps and opportunities.
Our research showed a greater focus on objective financial status and financial behaviors. Therefore, while designing for gig workers, we prioritized their subjective financial status and perceptions, as these factors are most relevant to their unique circumstances.
Methods - Find themes, insight statements, how might we?
Phase 3: Frame and Define
User journey map capturing insights from field research
Financial Wellbeing Components(CIPD, 2023)
Redefined problem statement
The collected data and insights fueled the ideation phase and brought us to the drawing board. We brainstormed a wide range of ideas, utilising different tools and activities to help us better explore our topic.
Insights from this analysis formed the foundation for our subsequent actions and strategies aimed at addressing challenges and enhancing the overall gig worker experience using re-defined fundamentals of financial wellbeing for the gig workforce.
Methods - Crazy 8's, Experience prototypes, Business Model Canvas and Scenario Mapping
Phase 4: Ideate and Develop
Brainstorming ideas and sketching initial thoughts
Output
The Wogi service and app aims to provide digital gig workers in the UK with a comprehensive and hybrid platform to enhance their networking capabilities, track their work performance, and gain insights into the gig landscape. It prioritises subjective financial wellbeing, fosters a sense of community, and equips them with the necessary tools to thrive in the digital gig work environment.
By incorporating non-digital features into the app, such as networking events, and one-on-one sessions with experienced gig workers and career counsellors, we aimed to create a holistic and hybrid experience for gig workers.
Service Blueprint for Wogi capturing the physical and digital touchpoint and their back-end
Learning Outcome
Participating in the global Student Service Design Challenge provided enriching exposure to working with international teams and industry coaches. I emerged more confident in my design skills after developing critical thinking and learning to ask the right questions to empathise with users.