In our introduction to this special issue on the gig economy, we provide some context to how and why this phenomenon should be studied, with a particular emphasis on Human Resource Management. We ...then describe the four articles that comprise the special issue, and we note some common themes. Our introduction concludes with some suggestions for future research on the gig economy.
The objective of this study was to understand how gig-workers interpret the effects of their laboral activity on their wellbeing. We developed a grounded theory based on interviews with 57 Brazilian ...gig-workers. The results show that (1) workers and gig-work organizations have preferences for work relationships with more autonomy or security; (2) when there is a congruence of preferences, the worker experiences greater wellbeing, and when the preferences diverge, there are episodes of preference violations that, when repeated, reduce worker wellbeing; and (3) however, not everything is a matter of fit: when both individuals and organizations have the same preference (for example, for more autonomy and less security), worker wellbeing may be vulnerable to abuse, for example, in terms of an unsustainable workload. Our study draws attention to an integrated discussion of the benefits and harms of algorithmic management, which allows overcoming a polarized view in which it would be seen only as beneficial or harmful to workers.
O presente trabalho tem como objetivo examinar a literatura científica internacional com vistas a contribuir para o aprofundamento do conhecimento acerca da gig economy, em estudos desenvolvidos a ...partir da perspectiva do trabalhador. Para tanto, empregamos três modelos de análises: bibliométrica, cientométrica e de conteúdo, que forneceram um retrato dinâmico de como se estrutura o domínio de conhecimento deste campo atualmente. Os resultados evidenciam que o campo é altamente recente e promissor, com início em 2016, marcado pela publicação em periódicos com alto fator de impacto, situados, em geral, no primeiro quartil, o que informa que o campo de estudos é de interesse da comunidade acadêmica internacional. Além disso, identificamos os principais autores e documentos cocitados, as palavras-chave com maior ocorrência e com maior explosão de citações, descortinando tendências sobre o tema. Propomos a classificação dos estudos deste campo em três perspectivas: The Bright Side, The Dark Side e Regulação do Estado. Por fim, propusemos rotas de investigação em forma de desafios a serem superados pelos pesquisadores. Tal agenda de pesquisa convida os investigadores a contribuírem na edificação de um campo em construção.
Good jobs that allow remote work have enabled white-collar professionals to stay home during COVID-19, but for precarious workers, online advertisements for work-from-home employment are often scams. ...In this article, based on in-depth interviews conducted between April and July 2020 with nearly 200 precarious workers, we find that precarious workers regularly encountered fraudulent job advertisements via digital media. Drawing on Swidler’s concepts of the cultural tool kit and cultural logic, we find that in this time of uncertainty, workers defaulted to the focus on personal responsibility that is inherent in insecurity culture. Following the cultural logic of personal responsibility, job seekers did not place blame on job search websites for allowing the scams to be posted, but normalized the situation, deploying a scam detection repertoire in response. In addition, the discovery that advertised “good jobs” are often scams affecting workers’ desire to continue job hunting and perceptions of potential future success.
While social distancing measures are essential in limiting the impact of a pandemic, such measures are often less feasible for low-income groups such as precarious workers who continue to travel on ...public transit and are less able to practice social distancing measures. In this paper, based on in-depth remote interviews conducted from April 2020 through June 2020, with more than 130 gig and precarious workers in New York City, we find that precarious workers experience three main hurdles in regard to accessing unemployment assistance that can be broadly categorized as knowledge, sociological, and temporal/financial barriers. Drawing on worker interview responses, we have named these responses: (1) Didn’t Know, (2) Didn’t Want, and (3) Can’t Wait. These challenges have led workers to turn to gig and precarious work, further highlighting the inequities of the pandemic. As a result, for some workers, so-called “side hustles” have become their primary social safety net.
•We examine the digital surge during the pandemic, and after.•Prominent issues in the use of blockchains, gig economy, workplace monitoring.•Aspects of internet governance, digital payments, privacy ...and security.•Implications for future research and technology policy.
The Covid-19 pandemic has led to an inevitable surge in the use of digital technologies due to the social distancing norms and nationwide lockdowns. People and organizations all over the world have had to adjust to new ways of work and life. We explore possible scenarios of the digital surge and the research issues that arise.
An increase in digitalization is leading firms and educational institutions to shift to work-from-home (WFH). Blockchain technology will become important and will entail research on design and regulations. Gig workers and the gig economy is likely to increase in scale, raising questions of work allocation, collaboration, motivation, and aspects of work overload and presenteeism. Workplace monitoring and technostress issues will become prominent with an increase in digital presence. Online fraud is likely to grow, along with research on managing security. The regulation of the internet, a key resource, will be crucial post-pandemic.
Research may address the consequences and causes of the digital divide. Further, the issues of net neutrality and zero-rating plans will merit scrutiny. A key research issue will also be the impact and consequences of internet shutdowns, frequently resorted to by countries. Digital money, too, assumes importance in crisis situations and research will address their adoption, consequences, and mode. Aspects of surveillance and privacy gain importance with increased digital usage.
•Sharing economy platforms have a set of essential affordances for mediating exchanges.•Sharing economy platforms can be discussed and compared in terms of centralization.•The literature is ...preoccupied with centralized, profit-driven platforms like Uber.•Future research must develop a conceptualization of decentralized sharing contexts.•Future research must engage directly with the nature of sharing economy technologies.
Over the last few years the sharing economy has been changing the way that people share and conduct transactions in digital spaces. This research phenomenon has drawn scholars from a large number of disparate fields and disciplines into an emerging research area. Given the variety of perspectives represented, there is a great need to collect and connect what has been done, and to identify some common themes, which will serve as a basis for future discussions on the crucial roles played by digital platforms in the sharing economy. Drawing on a collection of 435 publications on the sharing economy and related terms, we identify some trends in the literature and underlying research interests. Specifically, we organize the literature around the concept of platform mediation, and draw a set of essential affordances of sharing economy technologies from the reviewed literature. We present the notion of platform centralization/decentralization as an effective organizing principle for the variety of perspectives on the sharing economy, and also evaluate scholars' treatment of technology itself. Finally, we identify important gaps in the existing literature on the relationship between digital platforms and sharing economy, and provide directions for future investigations.
Purpose This study aims to synthesize existing findings in the gig worker training literature and identify the training rationales adopted by these studies, using a synthesized framework of ...organizational training rationales. This study seeks to delineate the rationales behind gig worker training and highlight unaddressed training needs within digital platforms, ultimately proposing a research agenda for future studies in this area. Design/methodology/approach A systematic review methodology is adopted to synthesize and analyze empirical, peer-reviewed studies on gig worker training. Findings The systematic review reveals that competency and economic rationales are predominantly adopted in gig worker training studies, with the relationship rationale, common in traditional training, notably absent. This study also outlines seven future research directions to highlight identified challenges and unaddressed training needs. Originality/value To the best of the author’s knowledge, this study is the first work that systematically reviews existing findings on gig worker training.
Making Live through the Gig Hong, Renyi; Chan Mun Wei, Zachary
Lateral (Island Lake),
12/2023, Volume:
12, Issue:
2
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
Against the scholarly emphasis on precariousness, this article focuses on how gig work in 1970s Singapore was developed with the specific vision of enabling life for the working-class Singaporean ...family-man. From 1970 to 1993, the taxi company Comfort invested its operations with a powerful vision of the transformative potentials of taxi-driving labor. The gig work of taxis was made to change the work ethic of men, creating workers and fathers who could advance class mobility, nation-building, and the family, raising children who would become ideal workers of the future. Such hopes, however, still relied upon the insecurity of the gig to force the men into adherence. Entangled with patriarchy, nationalism, and familialism, this article examines the compromises exacted through the gig’s capacity to make live, and analyses how Comfort’s experiment has left a legacy in the ways that platformed gig work is governed today, which needs engagement and revision.
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