Abstract: The GIG economy is a segment of the economy in which individuals deal with short term and temporary jobs. They find the job they want to do through various platforms where they connect with clients who need certain services. In this way, individuals can accept different jobs and offers that suit their skills. This allows them to greater flexibility as they can schedule a job that needs to be done according to their own wishes. A survey was conducted in the empirical part of the paper among workers in the GIG economy. Research assumptions were tested using these surveys and conclusions were extracted on the basis of them. The aim of the work was to explore and analyse the benefits and challenges of self-employment in the GIG economy in the Republic of Croatia, as well as the trends and opportunities that GIG economy brings. In the preparation of work, descriptive and analytical methods and a quantitative method for obtaining data in the form of a structured questionnaire were used. The data obtained were processed descriptively by statistical analysis and shown with the help of a chart. The results show that one of the biggest advantages of GIG economy is the flexibility of workers' working hours. Also, the results indicate that technological progress will further increase the number of opportunities for self-employment in the GIG economy in the future. In conclusion, the results of the research were summarized and the proposals for future research are listed.

Keywords: digital platforms, entrepreneurship, GIG economy, self-employment