Gig workers are becoming increasingly prevalent in the workforce, which has fuelled the growth of project-based and freelance employment options. Gig workers are people who work as independent contractors or freelancers on a temporary basis, usually in the service industry. This concept paper begins by addressing the rise of the gig economy, notably in Malaysia, and then goes on to analyse how job autonomy and work engagement influence the performance of gig workers. This paper employs the job demand resources (JD-R) model, which is a critical model for describing how demands and resources interact and forecasting important organisational outcomes. Job autonomy is examined in relation to work engagement and gig workers’ performance. It is assumed that these relationships reflect motivational processes of the JD–R model. Additionally, we emphasised the need for further investigation to show that gig workers' performance is influenced by their job autonomy and work engagement. We will construct a viable research agenda based on the review, which will include opportunities for theoretical advancement as well as empirical findings in gig economy studies. As a result, both employers and practitioners may benefit from fostering job autonomy and engagement in order to improve performance among gig workers.