Modeling the job quality of ‘work relationships’ in China’s gig economy

Abstract

Policy interventions geared toward improving the quality of gig economy work depend not only on how this work is classified in legal terms but also on a fine‐tuned understanding of the relevant factors that determine the quality of the gig ‘work relationship’. Models that are used to evaluate standard work, however, are poorly adapted to gig work. This article proposes a ‘work relationship’ model adapted to the gig economy. The model is inspired by Dunlop’s systems approach and is constructed from 24 in‐depth interviews with gig economy workers. A survey generated from the model was used to verify the relevance of 3 macro‐level and 12 micro‐level factors. Its main findings are that income, labour protections, voice and client behavior are the most significant factors in determining the quality of work and of work relations as determined by gig workers.