Most companies aren't using such workers strategically; instead, they're using them transactionally—just to “fill slots” and not to meet long-term needs with efficiency. (Photo: Shutterstock)

Well, it used to be regarded as alternative work—but now, as organizations transform themselves, freelance, gig and contract work are now mainstream.

But businesses will have to get better at managing the so-called alternative workforce, according to Deloitte's 2019 Global Human Capital Trends report, particularly since the formerly mainstream workforce is under pressure globally from a short supply of workers, a lack of qualified candidates, workers' desire to make more money from “side hustles,” lower birth rates that are shrinking the labor pool and the reentry of retirees into the labor market.

According to the report, the alternative workforce is composed of a range of types: contractors who actually work for another company and are brought in to meet specific needs, freelance/independent workers who don't necessarily want to have a regular boss, gig workers who take on projects or parts of projects and crowd workers, who compete to become part of a project and may not get paid if they're not among top performers.