While the gig economy offers flexibility and opportunities, it also presents significant challenges that need to be addressed to ensure the well-being of platform workers.
Articles on Gig workers
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Experts say gig economy workers are less protected as more companies create benefits packages for self-employed workers.
Companies like Uber and Lyft have a long way to go in improving worker safety to ensure both drivers and passengers feel safe on the road.
A suite of protections for gig workers will be contained in legislation to be introduced into parliament next week, and will also include measures on rights for casual workers and stopping wage theft
Although work in journalism has never been a safe bet, it’s now rife with deepening uncertainty. The TVO strike aimed at job security is a matter of public interest.
Now that EU ministers have reached agreement on the platform work directive, the big question is whether the UK will follow suit.
Since 2011, I’ve worked in more than 20 precarious workplaces in hospitality, manufacturing and logistics – and I have only seen a union once.
To focus on sustainable development goals, platforms need to change from being exclusively focused on profits and value appropriation to perceiving themselves as public goods.
Gig companies like Uber often promote the freedom that comes with independent contractor arrangements. They talk less about the impact that pay volatility can have on workers’ health.
What a ‘gig worker’ is remains ill-defined, which can suit employers. But the spread of the gig economy means more workers don’t have the same rights and protections as employees.
Gig workers navigate the challenges of solo work by seeking out relationships and cultivating skills to cope with emotional turbulence
‘Career portfolioing’ is a trend where people assemble different sources of income, such as side gigs, to give them a measure of independence from employers who provide little job security.
Alternative working arrangements like gig platforms might help immigrant workers find temporary work, but many care professionals are still unable to find permanent jobs in their industry.
The pay gap is growing in UK, which has seen increased strike activity this year.
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Innovation in the digital space is not necessarily working for people in the global south.
The Uber Files leak reveals that the company embarked on a deliberate public relations strategy that involved the media, public officials and academics.
Digital platform work is often seen to suit workers’ skills, interests and schedules. But it comes at a cost to their economic security and control over the work process.
Our five years of research reveals an industry facing push back from both workers and customers. Many workers we spoke with sought to leave the gig economy.
Rating services on ride and task apps disadvantage gig workers, whose future work assignments are affected by their ratings. Women workers are made vulnerable, and have to contend with harassment.
Uber Australia’s deal with the transport workers union signals the Albanese government won’t mess about with attempts to reclassify gig workers as employees.
Top contributors
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Senior Lecturer, Management and Organisations, The University of Western Australia
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Associate professor, University of Sydney
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Senior Lecturer, Management and Organisations, UWA Business School, The University of Western Australia
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Laurie Carmichael Distinguished Research Fellow at the Centre for Future Work, Melbourne; and Professor Emeritus, Griffith Business School, Griffith University
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Associate professor, Human Resources & Management, McMaster University
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Michael and Susan Jandernoa Professor of Management and Organizations, University of Michigan
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Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship and Organization, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa
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Associate Professor of HR and Management, McMaster University
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PhD candidate, Industrial Relations and Human Resources, University of Toronto
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Professor of Sociology, Boston College
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Associate Professor UTS Centre for Business and Social Innovation, University of Technology Sydney
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Assistant Professor of Business Administration, University of Manitoba
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Senior lecturer, University of the Witwatersrand
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Associate Professor of Management, University of North Carolina – Greensboro
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Canada Excellence Research Chair in Migration and Integration, Toronto Metropolitan University