Under my umbrella? Gig workers' perspectives on career sustainability as employees in Swedish umbrella companies

The rise of non-standard work arrangements has increased the need for research on career sustainability within these contexts, yet insights remain limited. In this study, we explore how gig workers employed by so-called umbrella companies understand and navigate their seemingly contradictory work arrangement. Building on the framework of sustainable careers, we conducted a reflexive thematic analysis with gig workers employed by Swedish umbrella companies. Results challenge the common portrayal of gig work as inherently precarious, as workers found ways to create a meaningful and sustainable career sequence. Participants perceived umbrella companies as enabling hyper-flexibility and hyper-individualization, thereby enhancing their person-career fit. However, they also acknowledged the limitations and potential societal challenges of this work model. We discuss how the sustainable career framework can capture the complexity of how employed gig workers made sense of their careers. • Employed gig workers create meaningful careers through umbrella companies despite gig work's precarious reputation. • Umbrella companies enable hyper-flexibility and individualization, fostering a personalized person-career fit. • Research on non-standard work based on the sustainable career framework may profit from studying layered career sequences.