Gig worker

In the 2000s, the digitalization of the economy and industry was carried out rapidly due to the development of information and communication technologies such as the Internet and the popularization of smartphones.[5] As a result, on-demand platforms based on digital technology have created jobs and employment forms that are differentiated from existing offline transactions by the level of accessibility, convenience and price competitiveness.[5] In general, "work" is described as a full-time worker with set working hours, including benefits.[6] But the definition of work began to change with changing economic conditions and continued technological advances, and the change in the economy created a new labor force characterized by independent and contractual labor, such as well.[6]

36% of U.S. workers join in the gig economy through either their primary or secondary jobs.[7] The number of people working in major economies is generally less than 10 percent of the economically viable population, according In Europe, 9.7 percent of adults from 14 EU countries participated in the gig economy in 2017, according to the survey. Meanwhile, it is estimated that gig worker's size, which covers independent or non-conventional workers, is 20% to 30% of the economically active population in the United States and Europe.[5]

Many factors go into a desirable job, and the best employers focus on the aspects of work that are most attractive to today's increasingly competitive and fluid labor force.[7] Traditional workers have long term employer- employee relationship in which the worker is paid by the hour or year, earning a wage or salary. Outside of that arrangement, work tends to be temporary or project-based workers are hired to complete a particular task or for certain period of time.[8] Coordination of jobs through an on-demand company reduces entry and operating costs for providers and allows workers' participation to be more transitory in gig markets (i.e., they have greater flexibility around work hours).[4] Freelancers sell their skills to maximize their freedom, while full-time gig workers leverage platforms to level up their skills.[9]

The business model of companies situated in the gig economy has been criticised for using technology to evade worker protections such as rights to minimum wages and paid leave and disguising employment relationships as independent contracting/self employment in order to shift costs onto workers. For example, a study by the Centre for Future Work at the Australia Institute accused Uber of "creatively leveraging the advantages of its dispatch system in order to evade traditional labour regulations (and other inconvenient taxes and regulations)".[10] While in traditional industries, workers may enjoy the benefits of trade unions, healthcare provision, minimum wage, contract termination and working hours rights, employees within the sharing economy are often paid as freelancers. Freelancers do not receive pension benefits or other employee rights and benefits and are often not paid on an hourly basis.

A 2016 study by the McKinsey Global Institute concluded that, across America and England, there were a total of 162 million people that were involved in some type of independent work.[11] Moreover, their payment is linked to the gigs they perform, which could be deliveries, rentals or other services.[12]

In some jurisdictions, legal rulings have classified full-time freelancers working for a single main employer of the gig economy as workers and awarded them regular worker rights and protection. An example is the October 2016 ruling against Uber in the case of Uber BV v Aslam, which supported the claim of two Uber drivers to be classified as workers and to receive the related worker rights and benefits.[13]

It is important to distinguish employment in the sharing economy from employment through zero-hour contracts, a term primarily used in the United Kingdom. Employment in the gig economy entails receiving compensation for one key performance indicator, which, for example, is defined as parcels delivered or taxi lifts conducted. Another feature is that employees can opt to refuse taking an order. Although employers do not have to guarantee employment or employees can also refuse to take an order under a zero-hour contract, workers under such a contract are paid by the hour and not directly through business-related indicators as in the case of the gig economy.[14]

Gig workers have high levels of flexibility, autonomy, task variety and complexity.[15]

But the gig economy has also raised some concerns. First, these jobs generally confer few employer-provided benefits and workplace protections.[6] Second, technological developments occurring in the workplace have come to blur the legal definitions of the terms "employee" and "employer” in ways that were unimaginable when employment regulations in the United States like the Wagner Act of 1935 and the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 were written.[6] These mechanisms of control can result in low pay, social isolation, working unsocial and irregular hours, overwork, sleep deprivation and exhaustion.[16]

For independent contractors, payroll taxes and withholding taxes are not deducted, and neither party is covered by the same rules and regulations that apply to traditional employees. However, independent contractors must still pay self-employment taxes and quarterly estimated taxes.[8]

Measuring the size of the gig workforce is difficult because of the different definitions of what constitutes "gig work"; limitations in the methods used to collect data via household surveys versus information from business establishments; and differing legal definitions of workers under tax, workplace, and other public policies.[17] Evidence suggests that over the last 20 years, the number of people working at gig work has been increasing.[18]

Continued advances in technology have the potential to increase gig work activity. Online technology has enabled new forms of work with the potential to further change the Gig economy.

Most importantly, gig work's appearance is not an isolated trend, but is related to wide changes in the economy. Advances in globalization and technology put pressure on companies to respond quickly to market changes. Securing labor through nontraditional agreements such as gig work will enable companies to quickly adjust the size of their workforce. This can help companies increase their profits. From this point of view, the unconventional gig work is a fundamental component of today's economy, and it is unlikely to disappear anytime soon.[19]

Gig workers can be found on all levels of an organization, including top executives such as CEOs, CFOs, CROs, and VPs – typically referred to as interim or fractional executives.

• Platform economy
• Precarity
• List of gig economy companies
• False self-employment