Listening to those with a steady income sell a lack of rights and security to vulnerable people, while dressing it up as a lifestyle choice, is a bit rich.

It's true that, even if you have a steady pay cheque, these days you might not have a lot in the way of job security. Even so, that insecurity goes to a whole new level when you become a gun for hire, whether or not it's by choice.

Some people choose to be self-employed whilst others have it thrust upon them, but either way you need the skills to pay the bills – knowing that your next rent or mortgage payment is always looming, not to mention life's other expenses.

Freelance v gigging

I've been a full-time freelance writer for 12 years, almost twice as long as I worked as a Fairfax staff writer. I left by choice and I now have a range of clients but I don't consider myself part of the "gig" economy. What's the difference? From my experience I'd say freelancing is about relationships, whereas gigging is about transactions.

The idea of not having a boss looking over your shoulder sounds like you're living the dream but — whatever industry you're in — as a busy freelancer you've really just traded one big boss for a dozen mini-bosses who all expect you to treat them as your highest priority.

You need the organisational and people skills to handle this, always keeping in the mind that your primary job is to make your client's life easier. It doesn't matter how good you are at what you do, if you're more trouble than you're worth then they'll start to look elsewhere.

Of course you're free to do the same if a client becomes more trouble than they're worth, assuming you can afford to walk away.

The importance of relationships works both ways for freelancers, your regular clients don't go elsewhere — even though they know they couldn't probably find someone who will do the job for less — because you've built up a good working relationship. The best ones will even cut you a little slack when you need it.

Even if clients do ask suppliers to bid for work, the smart ones know that choosing a successful bid on price alone tends to be a recipe for disaster.

A numbers game

The gig economy turns this freelance relationship into a numbers game. It pits suppliers against each other in a race to the bottom, usually with a middleman taking a slice of the action via an online platform to keep down their own overheads.

The ones spruiking the virtues of this model tend to enjoy better financial security than the people they're pitching it to. It's proponents are also painting it as the new norm, expecting their expendable workforce to happily embrace this shift.

However you paint it, the trouble with the gig economy is that it devalues both people and the skills they provide – especially in creative fields. It makes it harder for the talented ones to make a living, while encouraging all of them to believe that they're disposable.

Unfortunately the gigging mentality also emboldens traditional employers to treat their workforce will the same lack of respect. Australia has seen some major exploitation scandals in recent times, often affecting some of society's most vulnerable people.

Counterproductive

In the long-run a cut-rate gig economy isn't just going to hurt workers, it's also going to hurt those businesses hoping to benefit from it – unless they ensure the system is fair and equitable.

Many industries are starting to rely more heavily on freelancers, but for this to work there needs to be an adequate supply of skilled workers. This isn't sustainable if you make it too difficult for quality freelancers to make a living because they're undercut by low-skilled rivals in a gigging model.

Businesses won't benefit from the gigging economy if they drive all the talent out of the marketplace, forcing them to become Uber drivers because it's no longer possible to make a decent freelance living from their skills.

When proponents of the gig economy fall on hard times because they've decimated their labour market, it will be interesting to see what they're prepared to do for a fiver.