The Enshittification of Work: Platform Decay and Labour Conditions in the Gig Economy

Risk Shifts in the Gig Economy: The Normative Case for an Insurance Scheme against the Effects of Precarious Work*

Advances in technology and the increasing number of workers who are not constrained by traditional ways of working have fuelled gig economy activity, with several online platforms and gig workers springing up around the world. On the other hand, the problematic nature of value creation in the relationship between online platforms and gig workers has become an impediment to the sustainable growth of the gig economy. Although the gig economy business model is based on a triangular relationship consisting of platforms, gig workers and consumers, there has been limited discussion of the potential for customers to influence gig economy labour relations. Therefore, this paper identified the problematic nature of value creation in the relationship between online platforms and gig workers and theoretically integrated the possibility of active consumer intervention into this issue. This paper can highlight the hitherto unfocused relationship between gig workers and consumers and provide realistic sustainability options for existing gig economy business operations. Based on a systematic literature review, this paper proposed a conceptual framework that would incorporate four items in the consumer-worker interaction: rating systems/feedback, word of mouth, gig worker’s working condition and consumers’ moral awareness. As the result of interaction, there would be two possible outcomes: Pattern A suggests that the platform may be at risk of further deterioration, whilst Pattern B suggests that the platform’s labour practices could be improved. Finally, this paper also planned a specific research design, data collection and data analysis procedures for future research. Although this paper focuses only on on-demand (offline) through app services, which is the strongest link between customers and gig workers in the gig economy, it is one of the benchmark studies to focus on consumers in the gig economy triangular relationship. This proposed conceptual framework will contribute to the observation of the potential for consumers to improve the working conditions of gig workers in the gig economy.

20 | International Union Rights | 27/3 FOCUS | IMPACTS OF COVID-19 ON WORK AND THE CHALLENGE FOR UNION RIGHTS ‘Justbecauseyoudon’tseeyourboss, doesn’tmeanyoudon’thaveaboss’:Covid19 and Gig Worker Strikes across Latin America Latin America has been hit hard by Covid-19. On 22 September, the region had reported more than 8.8 million cases, and 325,000 deaths (Horton, 2020). As daily case numbers began to fall in Europe from May onwards, they continued to surge in Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Mexico and across the region. So far, Brazil has recorded the third highest number of cases in the world, 4.5 million as at September, and more than 140,000 people have lost their lives. Looking beyond the headline numbers, it is clear that the region’s high levels of inequality have shaped the course and the outcomes of its pandemic experience. Latin America includes some of the most unequal countries in the world, and these existing inequalities inevitably put the greatest pressure on those on the margins of the labour market. ‘Gig’ (or ‘platform’) workers, who perform piece-rate on-demand tasks through apps, have been particularly hard hit. Many gig workers lost their incomes overnight as a result of lockdowns, while others risk heightened exposure to the virus in order to keep earning. While the images of mass grave sites dominated news emanating from Latin America in May, weeks later another story of global significance was emerging - large, coordinated strikes by gig economy workers across the region. As early as April, workers had begun striking against dangerous working conditions and low pay during the pandemic. Protests intensified in July, with large-scale strikes on July 1 spanning ten Brazilian cities, alongside other countries, including Argentina, Ecuador, Chile and Mexico. Further international strikes occurred in August. The strikers were food delivery couriers, working for Uber Eats, Rappi, iFood, Glovo and other platforms. These strikes are particularly historic, in that they represent the first real example of an international, sector-wide, strike movement in the gig economy. They have been catalysed by the conditions of the pandemic for a number of reasons. Covid-19 has further eroded gig workers’ already tenuous financial and physical security, whilst also demonstrating the essential nature of the work they perform. These conditions highlight the core issue of the misclassification of platform workers as independent contractors without access to employment rights or benefits. As the struggle faced by gig workers in Latin America has only intensified, the pandemic has provided the impetus and platform for thousands to raise their voices against underlying structural injustices. In this article, we trace the courier strikes across Latin America, with evidence from Brazil, Chile and Ecuador from April to August. These case studies have been compiled by researchers in the Fairwork network, a multi-national collaborative research project that tracks labour conditions in the gig economy, and encourages labour platforms to meet defined standards of fair work in the absence of regulation (Graham et. al., 2020). Covid-19 and Worker Strikes Across Latin America Histories of profound social inequality mean precarious working conditions are already normalised in many Latin American countries, however so are legacies of labour resistance. In Brazil, many have worked in insecure jobs, as couriers, cleaners and drivers, for a long time before the advent of digital labour platforms. Nevertheless recent years have witnessed the further erosion of public provision of social security, education, health, and labour rights, paving the way for the gig economy model of algorithmically-managed insecure work to become widespread. As President Jair Bolsonaro pronounced early in his term; ‘workers will have to choose between more rights or more jobs’ (in Araujo & Murakawa, 2020). Covid-19 has further heightened the precarity faced by gig workers (Fairwork, 2020). In the gig economy, workers disproportionately bear both the risks, and the costs associated with the labour process (Fredman et. al., 2020). For delivery drivers, the risk of contracting the virus is now added to the everpresent risk of road accidents. Additionally, restaurant closures have increased the risk of non-payment, and deactivation. At the centre of this issue is the practice of classifying workers as independent contractors. Because gig workers are not classified as...

20 | International Union Rights | 27/3 FOCUS | IMPACTS OF COVID-19 ON WORK AND THE CHALLENGE FOR UNION RIGHTS ‘Justbecauseyoudon’tseeyourboss, doesn’tmeanyoudon’thaveaboss’:Covid19 and Gig Worker Strikes across Latin America Latin America has been hit hard by Covid-19. On 22 September, the region had reported more than 8.8 million cases, and 325,000 deaths (Horton, 2020). As daily case numbers began to fall in Europe from May onwards, they continued to surge in Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Mexico and across the region. So far, Brazil has recorded the third highest number of cases in the world, 4.5 million as at September, and more than 140,000 people have lost their lives. Looking beyond the headline numbers, it is clear that the region’s high levels of inequality have shaped the course and the outcomes of its pandemic experience. Latin America includes some of the most unequal countries in the world, and these existing inequalities inevitably put the greatest pressure on those on the margins of the labour market. ‘Gig’ (or ‘platform’) workers, who perform piece-rate on-demand tasks through apps, have been particularly hard hit. Many gig workers lost their incomes overnight as a result of lockdowns, while others risk heightened exposure to the virus in order to keep earning. While the images of mass grave sites dominated news emanating from Latin America in May, weeks later another story of global significance was emerging - large, coordinated strikes by gig economy workers across the region. As early as April, workers had begun striking against dangerous working conditions and low pay during the pandemic. Protests intensified in July, with large-scale strikes on July 1 spanning ten Brazilian cities, alongside other countries, including Argentina, Ecuador, Chile and Mexico. Further international strikes occurred in August. The strikers were food delivery couriers, working for Uber Eats, Rappi, iFood, Glovo and other platforms. These strikes are particularly historic, in that they represent the first real example of an international, sector-wide, strike movement in the gig economy. They have been catalysed by the conditions of the pandemic for a number of reasons. Covid-19 has further eroded gig workers’ already tenuous financial and physical security, whilst also demonstrating the essential nature of the work they perform. These conditions highlight the core issue of the misclassification of platform workers as independent contractors without access to employment rights or benefits. As the struggle faced by gig workers in Latin America has only intensified, the pandemic has provided the impetus and platform for thousands to raise their voices against underlying structural injustices. In this article, we trace the courier strikes across Latin America, with evidence from Brazil, Chile and Ecuador from April to August. These case studies have been compiled by researchers in the Fairwork network, a multi-national collaborative research project that tracks labour conditions in the gig economy, and encourages labour platforms to meet defined standards of fair work in the absence of regulation (Graham et. al., 2020). Covid-19 and Worker Strikes Across Latin America Histories of profound social inequality mean precarious working conditions are already normalised in many Latin American countries, however so are legacies of labour resistance. In Brazil, many have worked in insecure jobs, as couriers, cleaners and drivers, for a long time before the advent of digital labour platforms. Nevertheless recent years have witnessed the further erosion of public provision of social security, education, health, and labour rights, paving the way for the gig economy model of algorithmically-managed insecure work to become widespread. As President Jair Bolsonaro pronounced early in his term; ‘workers will have to choose between more rights or more jobs’ (in Araujo & Murakawa, 2020). Covid-19 has further heightened the precarity faced by gig workers (Fairwork, 2020). In the gig economy, workers disproportionately bear both the risks, and the costs associated with the labour process (Fredman et. al., 2020). For delivery drivers, the risk of contracting the virus is now added to the everpresent risk of road accidents. Additionally, restaurant closures have increased the risk of non-payment, and deactivation. At the centre of this issue is the practice of classifying workers as independent contractors. Because gig workers are not classified as...

Purpose This paper aims to explore and conceptualize the emotional labor of racial minorities and women in the gig economy. Design/methodology/approach The paper draws on current research on gig workers' engagement in emotional labor and accounts of unfair practices in the gig economy. It calls out the presence of bias in algorithmic systems used within the gig economy as a means of control and gig worker management. The negative impact of such bias on a specific gig worker demographic is theorized. Findings Through a review of research on the nature of work in the gig economy, the paper suggests an unspoken mandate exists for gig workers to engage in emotional labor practices. Specifically, the nature of gig work in terms of algorithmic control, coupled with gig work dependence, often creates a need for gig workers to engage in emotional labor. This need is heightened for racial and ethnic minorities and women gig workers. Research limitations/implications As gig platforms increasingly rely on algorithms for management and gig workers face biases, this paper offers valuable insights that contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the gig economy's impact on worker well-being. The paper discusses the need for more profound research into the nature of work in the gig economy and the life experiences of gig workers. Practical implications This paper has significant implications for organizations and gig workers. Understanding the relationships proposed in this paper can inform organizational strategies to enhance the well-being of gig workers and improve their overall work experiences, potentially leading to increased satisfaction and reduced turnover. Additionally, the paper recommends strategies gig workers can utilize to achieve positive outcomes. Originality/value The evolving work landscape, driven by the gig economy, necessitates a thorough understanding of new work dynamics. This paper sheds light on the often-overlooked diversity within the gig workforce, mainly focusing on the unique experiences of women and racial and ethnic minorities.

Introduction: The growth of gig work has transformed the contemporary labor market, provided flexibility and independence but also subjected workers to high stressors like job insecurity, economic uncertainty, and irregular workloads. Gig workers work in various sectors, such as ridesharing, food delivery, freelancing, and on-demand services, and usually encounter distinctive occupational hazards. Gig Workers' Well-being (GWW) Model, based on the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model and Psychological Capital (PsyCap) theory, presents a systematic approach to understanding job demands and resources and their effect on stress resilience, mental well-being, and job performance among gig workers. This research explores how resilience interventions can reduce stress and improve work engagement and productivity among gig workers. Objectives: The main aim of this research is to create and test a multi-dimensional stress resilience framework that explains the dynamic interaction of multiple influences on wellbeing among gig workers. More specifically, the research intends to explore how job demands can intensify burnout while job resources promote work engagement, and to investigate the dual nature of gig-related factors that can benefit or detract from job performance. Furthermore, the study aims to investigate the contribution of technostress in exacerbating burnout, evaluate the effectiveness of boundary management in enhancing work engagement, and identify the degree to which resilience is responsible for enhanced job performance. Through this holistic examination, the study aims to offer detailed insights into the stress and coping processes in the gig economy, ultimately guiding strategies to enhance the wellbeing and performance of gig workers. Methods: A qualitative research design was used to obtain rich insights into the well-being of gig workers. A stratified random sampling strategy provided representative diversity across work categories, demographics, and geographic regions. Data were collected through structured online questionnaires distributed through LinkedIn, social media groups, and gig work platforms. The questionnaire contained validated scales assessing stress levels, financial security, work-life balance, resilience, and well-being. 400 questionnaires were distributed and 338 returned (84.5% response rate). After excluding incomplete or invalid responses, the final sample of 323 gig workers was analyzed. Statistical analysis using IBM SPSS 25.0, including correlation and regression analysis, was conducted to examine the relationships between job demands, burnout, resilience, and work engagement. Results: Correlation analysis indicated significant relationships between the most important variables. Job demands were positively correlated with job resources (r =.900, p <.01), indicating that as stressors, resource needs also increased. Burnout had significant correlations with job demands (r =.489, p <.01) and technostress (r =.804, p <.01), supporting the negative effect of workload unpredictability. Regression analysis showed that job demands strongly predicted burnout (β = 0.489, R² = 0.239, p <.000), whereas job resources positively affected work engagement (β = 0.415, R² = 0.172, p <.000). Gig-specific factors also significantly contributed to the formation of job performance (β = 0.368, R² = 0.135, p <.000). In addition, technostress strongly raised levels of burnout (β = 0.476, R² = 0.227, p <.000), whereas resilience helped job performance to the extent of β = 0.499, R² = 0.289, p <.000, highlighting its significance when managing stress. Conclusions: The results highlight the intricate interaction between job demands, resilience, and performance in the gig economy. Digital stressors and high job demands are sources of burnout, which is detrimental to well-being. Nevertheless, job resources such as autonomy, skill development, and social support improve work engagement and reduce stress. The GWW Model highlights the importance of resilience in mediating stress outcomes and proposes that interventions like boundary management, adaptive coping, and financial security programs can enhance mental health and performance. Policy measures should aim to augment gig workers' access to social security, training, and mental health care. By building resilience, gig platforms can establish a more sustainable and supportive work culture, guaranteeing long-term well-being and productivity.

Despite widespread interest in the gig economy, academic research on the topic has lagged behind. The present chapter applies organizational theory and research to compose a working model for understanding participation in the gig economy and how gig work may impact worker health and well-being. Drawing from past research this chapter defines the gig economy in all its diversity and advances a framework for understanding why individuals enter into gig economy. Next, the authors discuss how various characteristics of the gig economy and gig workers can be understood as both demands and resources that influence how gig work is likely to be experienced by the individual. To understand how these characteristics are likely to influence worker health and well-being, we draw from past research on alternative work arrangements and entrepreneurship, as well as the limited extant research on the gig economy. Finally, a research agenda is proposed to spur much needed research on the gig economy and its workers.

The gig economy is an expanding sector that extensively utilizes mobile digital apps to connect freelancers with customers. This article is a review-based article that aims to examine the potential of the gig platform and identify possible regulatory strategies for Nepal's future development of the gig economy. The gig economy provides opportunities for earning revenue, enhances the flexibility of workers, and contributes to employment generation in the country's economy. However, gig workers lack benefits such as a minimum wage, paid maternity leave, social security payments, and protection against occupational and health hazards. There is a lack of suitable legislation to effectively regulate the gig economy. The rise of Nepal's gig economy is disrupted. It is imperative to formulate precise legislation that specifically addresses the rights and working conditions of gig workers. It is imperative for Nepal to establish comprehensive legal frameworks to effectively regulate the gig economy. The government should introduce measures to enhance working conditions and offer comprehensive insurance programs to ensure that gig workers do not experience discrimination compared to traditional workers.

The subject of the article is impact the gig economy to the legal regulation of labor, civil, tax relations.The purpose of the article is to identify the problems of legal regulation of relations between gig workers and digital platforms in the gig economy and suggest ways to improve it.The methodology includes systematic approach, comparative method, formal-logical method, formal-legal method, analysis, synthesis.The main results of the research. The transition from a “classic” industrial employment relationship between an employer and an employee to one based on the gig economy, using digital platforms to link the employee to their job, has created problems in classifying employment arrangements in labor law. In the current situation, the state needs to do a lot of work: (1) the sphere of the gig economy requires the compilation of clear terminology, as well as the analysis and identification of the functions of digital platforms and gig workers, then it requires amendments to labor legislation; (2) it is necessary to develop criteria for gig workers or independent contractors, one of the criteria can be proposed: the performance of work by a gig worker without the control of the hiring firm. The hiring firm's control should be limited to accepting or rejecting the results a gig worker achieves, not how they achieve them; (3) It is necessary to delimit the sphere of regulation of hired labor from the sphere of regulation of gig-employment, to withdraw gig-employment from the regulation of labor legislation.An analysis of the current legislation and law enforcement practice shows that the cornerstone of legal regulation in the field of the gig economy is the issue of legal registration of relations between digital platforms and their partners. Thus, with a rigid approach that identifies these relations with labor relations, the gig economy loses its specificity, digital platforms lose their competitive advantages in many ways, and in some cases, their ability to function. At the same time, the current relations in the field of employment of individuals on digital platforms allow us to speak about the presence of certain differences between such relations and labor relations, which are manifested mainly in greater freedom on the side of the "employee" and less control on the part of the employer – the digital platform, and also the unstable nature of this form of employment and its subsidiarity to more traditional forms. The specificity of the relationship between platforms and its counterparties also raises the question of the need to reform the provisions on civil liability, aimed at formulating special grounds for the responsibility of digital platforms, the distribution of this responsibility between them and their partners. Such provisions may be based on the existing norms on the liability of the employer for harm caused by his employee.Conclusions. The change of labor relations between employees and the employer to the relationship between the digital platform and gig workers predetermines the transformation of tax legal relations, in terms of the following aspects: what taxes should a gig worker pay, should there be any special tax regime; how the issue of paying insurance premiums should be resolved, whether they should be mandatory or voluntary; what role digital platforms will play in tax relations, whether they should act as tax agents or data providers; what requirements for gig workers, as taxpayers, should be imposed by tax legislation in terms of record keeping and reporting; how tax control should be exercised over gig workers and digital platforms.

Industry experts estimate that there could be over 15 million gig economy workers in India. Despite its massive potential, India’s gig economy is still at a very nascent stage. Due to the recent pandemic, many companies were forced to trim staff and hire gig workers due to uncertain market conditions. This has dispelled many reservations about the dependability and long-term viability of a gig workforce. India can emerge as one of the largest markets for flexible staffing globally. It is therefore apt that a research article traces the Indian gig economy and draws valid inferences for the human resource (HR) function. The objective of this article is to review and synthesise themes and narratives around gig economy from the perspective of people’s function. The study analyses the concepts in two phases. In phase I, we summarise the key concepts from academic research. We, further, extract the opinions of business professionals; in phase II, using text mining techniques in SPSS Modeler Text of qualitative data discussed in the Indian context is used to come up with the gig economy narrative in India. This inductive research draws inferences from secondary data available in newspapers, magazines, blogs, research journals and comments posted on social media like LinkedIn and Twitter. The findings of this article reveal how gig economy has shaped the employer–employee relationship. While doing so, we present the opportunities and challenges for the gig workers, the influence of the pandemic in fuelling the gig economy and perception of the organisations. There is more positive sentiment and optimism around the gig economy in India. The role of the managers will transform in this model, and functions like learning and development and performance management will undergo vital changes. Creating a sense of inclusion and belongingness among the gig workers will become a priority. Therefore, to become a stable employment model, there is a need to create a robust gig ecosystem where expectations of all the important stakeholders are understood and met. Implication: The union budget 2021–2022 for the first time acknowledged the gig economy and announced social security benefits for the gig workers. It is time for HR and policymakers to redesign policies and processes that will not just accommodate gig workers into the formal employment but also foster inclusion. The exhaustive review of literature provides a holistic picture of gig economy to scholars interested in the field of gig economy, psychological contract, and diversity and inclusion. Practitioners can use insights from this research study to manage, engage and retain their gig talent.

Alternative work arrangements, including temporary and contract work, have become more widespread. There is interest in understanding the effects of these types of arrangements on employment and earnings risk for workers and the potential for existing social insurance programs to address this risk. We study employment and earnings risk in the context of workplace injuries among temporary and contract workers. We link administrative workers' compensation claims to earnings records to measure the employment and earnings risk posed by workplace injuries, comparing labor market outcomes after injury between temporary and contract workers and direct-hire workers injured doing the same job. We use a triple-difference identification strategy to isolate the effect of alternative work arrangements. We find that temporary workers have significantly lower probabilities of employment post-injury relative to similar direct-hire workers; temporary workers also have more severe earnings losses, which persist for at least three years after injury. This difference in income risk cannot be explained by differences in employment dynamics between temporary and direct-hire workers. We find evidence that the additional earnings losses suffered by temporary workers are offset by workers' compensation benefits, suggesting that the program provides insurance for the incremental risk faced by temporary workers.

Labour‐management practices and workers’ experiences in the gig economy are topics of major interest for researchers, regulators and the general public. Platform companies project a vision of gig workers as autonomous freelancers, but pervasive features of their own labour practices, along with workers’ traits, create new vulnerabilities and risks. Efforts to improve gig workers’ conditions to date have made in‐roads without achieving a general shift in platforms’ practices or gig workers’ conditions. In this paper, we explore how another, less‐recognised stakeholder group—consumers—shapes the conditions of gig work. Drawing on Australian public opinion data, we study consumers’ views of the gig economy and ask whether these will help or hinder pro‐worker campaigns. While consumers are sympathetic to gig workers’ financial plight, they also see benefits in the work’s flexibility and opportunities for jobseekers. We explain how our findings can inform advocacy campaigns and further gig economy research.

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

The purpose of the study is to analyze the direct effect of Sightseeing the Value Propositions of Freelancers and their Influence on Gig Worker Engagement. This study also examines the mediating role of motivation between Value Propositions of Freelancers and gig worker participation. The quantitative research design is employed to get insights into what drives gig workers to stay in the gig economy. The data was collected from freelancers who are working on online platforms such as Fiverr, Freelancer.com, Upwork, and Guru.com. The findings of this study demonstrate that economic and hedonic values have a positive significant impact on gig worker participation but autonomy value does not show any positive association with gig worker participation. It can be concluded that economic rewards and interest are drivers for gig workers but autonomy value is not a driver of freelancers especially for new entrants to participate in the gig economy. This study has focused on online working. Future studies should focus on e-commerce. This study has practical implications for new entrants, gig platforms, and organizations. These stakeholders follow the findings of this study and more contribute to the gig economy. According to the researcher's knowledge, this is the pioneer study conducted on the gig economy as well as mediating role motivation between the value propositions of freelancers and gig worker participation.

The gig economy in India has grown significantly over the past decade, with millions of workers engaging in platform-based employment. Simultaneously, the world is transitioning to the Fifth Industrial Revolution, characterized by the integration of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics, and automation with human-centered values. This study explores the impact of the Fifth Industrial Revolution on gig workers, focusing on working conditions, job security, access to skills development, and the adequacy of current regulatory frameworks with special reference to Delhi &NCR region. A mixed-methods approach was employed, combining quantitative data from surveys of gig workers and qualitative insights from in-depth interviews with platform executives and policymakers. The study found that while technological advancements have improved working conditions in some areas, job security remains a significant concern for gig workers. Additionally, access to skills development is strongly correlated with workers' ability to adapt to new technologies, but many face barriers to acquiring necessary training. The study also reveals a widespread perception that current regulations, including the Social Security Code, 2020, are inadequate in addressing gig workers' needs. These findings highlight the urgent need for comprehensive regulatory reforms and greater investment in skills development to ensure that gig workers can fully benefit from the opportunities of the Fifth Industrial Revolution while being protected from its risks.