What Does the Gig Economy Mean for Workers?

[Excerpt] Technological advancement and the proliferation of the smartphone have reshaped the commercial landscape, providing consumers new ways to access the retail marketplace. On-demand companies are one such innovation, and underpinning on-demand commerce is the gig economy, the collection of markets that match service providers to consumers of on-demand services on a gig (or job) basis. Flagship on-demand companies such as Uber (driver services) and Handy (home cleaners and household services) have garnered significant media attention both for their market success and recent legal challenges, particularly concerning the classification of gig workers. Broader questions about the pros and cons of the gig economy have emerged as on-demand markets grow and the gig economy expands into new sectors. By some accounts, workers’ willingness to participate in the gig economy provides evidence that gig work is a beneficial arrangement. Indeed, gig jobs may yield benefits relative to traditional employment in terms of the ease of finding employment and greater flexibility to choose jobs and hours. The gig economy may facilitate bridge employment (e.g., temporary employment between career jobs or between full-time work and retirement) or provide opportunities to generate income when circumstances do not accommodate traditional full-time, full-year employment. At the same time, however, the potential lack of labor protections for gig workers and the precarious nature of gig work have been met with some concern. The nationwide reach of gig work and its potential to impact large groups of workers, and their livelihoods, have attracted the attention of some Members of Congress. These Members have raised questions about the size and composition of the gig workforce, the proper classification of gig workers (i.e., as employees or independent contractors), the potential for gig work to create work opportunities for unemployed or underemployed workers, and implications of gig work for worker protections and access to traditional employment-based benefits. In support of these policy considerations, this report provides an overview of the gig economy and identifies legal and policy questions relevant to its workforce

Measuring The Gig Economy in Indonesia: Typology, Characteristics, and Distribution

Abstract. Work in the gig economy is defined as short-term and task-based jobs mediated by digital platforms. In Indonesia, the emergence of an online motorcycle taxi driver platform in 2015 marked the discourse about the gig economy as the future alternative of jobs on the one hand, and as a new form of exploitation of labor on the other hand. This study is the first to define the typology of the gig economy and identify the platforms of the gig economy service providers in Indonesia. Furthermore, this study estimates the number of gig economy workers by using micro data from the National Labor Force Survey (Sakernas) released by the Central Statistics Agency. It was found that 0.3 to 1.7% of Indonesian workers participated in the gig economy as their primary job. This study also compares the characteristics of gig workers in the transportation sector and in the other service sectors with the overall demographics of the workforce. It was found that gig workers shared more characteristics with the formal workers than with the informal workers. Finally, this study maps the distribution of gig workers throughout Indonesia at the city/district level. It can be concluded that the gig economy is an urban phenomenon. Most gig workers in the transportation sector are concentrated in the provincial capital and in Metropolitan Jakarta. Meanwhile, gig workers in other service sectors are distributed more in tier 2 cities in Java.Keywords: Gig economy, gig worker, digital worker, labor economics, jobs Abstrak. Pekerjaan di dalam ekonomi gig didefinisikan sebagai pekerjaan berbasis tugas jangka pendek yang dimediasi oleh platform digital. Di Indonesia, kehadiran platform pengemudi ojek online di tahun 2015 menandai ramainya wacana mengenai ekonomi gig sebagai kesempatan pekerjaan di masa depan di satu sisi dan juga sebagai bentuk baru eksploitasi pekerja di sisi lain. Studi ini merupakan yang pertama mendefinisikan tipologi ekonomi gig dan memetakan platform penyedia layanan ekonomi gig di Indonesia. Lebih lanjut studi ini juga mengestimasi ukuran pekerja ekonomi gig menggunakan data mikro survei angkatan kerja nasional (Sakernas) yang dirilis oleh Badan Pusat Statistik. Didapatkan bahwa terdapat 0,3 hingga 1,7% dari angkatan kerja Indonesia yang menjadikan ekonomi gig sebagai pekerjaan utamanya. Kemudian, studi ini membandingkan karakteristik pekerja gig di sektor transportasi dan di sektor jasa lainnya dengan demografi pekerja keseluruhan. Didapatkan bahwa pekerja gig memiliki karakteristik lebih mirip dengan pekerja formal daripada pekerja informal. Terakhir, studi ini memetakan sebaran pekerja gig di seluruh Indonesia hingga ke tingkat Kota/Kabupaten. Dapat disimpulkan bahwa ekonomi gig merupakan fenomena urban. Pekerja gig di sektor transportasi banyak terkonsentrasi di Ibukota provinsi dan di Metropolitan Jakarta. Sementara pekerja gig di sektor jasa lainnya lebih terdistribusi ke kota-kota tier 2 di Pulau Jawa.Kata kunci: Ekonomi gig, pekerja gig, pekerja digital, ekonomi tenaga kerja, pekerjaa

“No Matter I’ll Be Selected; in the Next Challenge I Will Be Better!” – Understanding Non-Technical Skill Development in the Gig Economy

While prior research on gig work environments studied necessary technical skills for information systems development (ISD) professionals and how they can be developed, the improvement of non-technical skills (NTS) has been rarely explored. However, to successfully engage in the gig work economy, the need for strong NTS is increasing. Based on an experiential learning theory (ELT) perspective, we explore how ISD professionals engaging in the gig economy develop NTS by following grounded theory methodology. Our results are threefold: first, we identify crucial NTS for gig workers. Second, we uncover how these NTS are developed in different phases of adapting to working on gig economy platforms. Third, we reveal several strategies for thriving in the gig economy. Based on our findings we develop a process model of non-technical skill development and discuss this model in relation to implications for gig economy literature and practice

Speculations on Solidarity: From Fordism to the Gig Economy

In this paper, Roedl traces the decline of worker solidarity starting with labor’s heyday in the 1930s and beforehand through an analysis of Fordism, post-Fordism, and ending on the recent phase of the gig economy. She employs Marxian theory on the base and superstructure to explain how economic phases have always been used to push free-market ideology, but differences in power workers leverage particularly between New Deal Fordism and the hyper specialized, hyper individualized gig economy have reinforced liberal and neoliberal ideology, and prevented unity and solidarity among workers of today

Uber Effort: The Production of Worker Consent in Online Ride Sharing Platforms

The rise of the online gig economy alters ways of working. Mediated by algorithmically programmed mobile apps, platforms such as Uber and Lyft allow workers to work by driving and completing rides at any time or in any place that the drivers choose. This hybrid form of labor in an online gig economy which combines independent contract work with computer-mediated work differs from traditional manufacturing jobs in both its production activity and production relations. Through nine interviews with Lyft/Uber drivers, I found that workers’ consent, which was first articulated by Michael Burawoy in the context of the manufacturing economy, is still present in the work of the online gig economy in post-industrial capitalism. Workers willingly engage in the on-demand work not only to earn money but also to play a learning game motivated by the ambiguity of the management system, in which process they earn a sense of self-satisfaction and an illusion of autonomous control. This research points to the important role of technology in shaping contemporary labor process and suggests the potential mechanism which produces workers’ consent in technology-driven workplaces

The individual in the gig society: is the gig economy exploitative of the informal economy, or a means of empowerment?

This article argues that the gig economy is an exploitative extension of the informal economy. With its decentralised promise of individual entrepreneurship, I will argue that it places undue burdens on the worker as an ‘independent contractor’ that would otherwise be upheld by the employer. I will do so by applying a Marcusian analysis of the gig economy, highlighting two primary concerns. First, Marcuse’s critique of ‘industrial rationality’ explains how industrial rationality creates the framework for – and justification of – exploitation within the gig economy. Second, as Wendy Brown notes, following Marcuse, the gig economy promotes the neoliberal notion of ‘self-care’ as a means of absolving corporations from any duty towards their employees. More specifically, ‘self-care’ within the gig economy forms part of the exploitation of workers within the informal economy which is often viewed as a buffer to absorb the unemployed within a neoliberal society. Building on this critique, I refer to the work of Byung-Chul Han and his concept of ‘self-exploitation,’ arguing that the gig economy should be considered an extension of an informal economy, in which workers are left in a perpetual state of servitude

The Gig Economy: Workers, Work and Platform Perspective

In recent years, the gig economy has changed the way many people work. This research phenomenon has attracted scientists from many different fields to an emerging field of research. Given the actuality of the topic and diversity of perspectives, there is a great need to collect and connect what has been researched which can serve as a basis for future discussions. Starting with a collection of 139 publications on the gig economy, gig work and related terms, we identify some trends in the literature and the underlying research interests. In particular, we organize the literature around the concept of the gig economy in terms of gig workers, gig work, and digital platforms, and draw several interesting insights from the literature. Finally, we identify important gaps in the existing literature on working in the gig economy and provide guidance for future research

Giggin\u27 in the 21st Century

Against this backdrop and based upon an analysis of fairness and complexity principles, this comment argues for several tax policy changes that should be implemented immediately in order to address some of the most pressing concerns gig economy workers presently face under current labor classifications. Part II provides a background of the gig economy while explaining the legal rationale behind the present classification of gig economy workers as independent contractors. Part II then illustrates the mechanics of a standard gig economy transaction generally, concluding with a side-by side comparison of a gig economy worker and a similarly-situated employee. Part III begins with a brief introduction of the tax policy principles of fairness and complexity within the context of the gig economy, followed by an introduction of three of the system’s primary inadequacies: the payment of income taxes, difficulties associated with claiming available deductions, and added complexity due to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. Part IV presents and analyzes a series of solutions that, if implemented together, would significantly alleviate some of the most immediate issues caused by the system’s primary inadequacies. Part V concludes with what the future may hold for gig economy workers

Exploitation in a disruptive and unjust gig-economy

Abstract. The purpose of this report is an appraisal of the gig economy; educating and informing an academic audience of the faults that exist and how these faults lead to exploitation and unjustness in the gig economy. During the writing process, I researched the academic articles and books related to the gig economy and exploitation, enabling myself to form a solid foundation from which to conduct further research. In addition, work was conducted to synthesize the journal articles, online resources and books. The scope of this report examines the corpus of the text relating to the gig economy and exploitation and I emphasize some of the ways the writers manage to display the exploitation and the unjustness in the gig economy.Keywords. Gig-economy, Disruptive technologies, Externalities, Pigouvian taxes, Labor standards.JEL. A13, J01, K31, O30