Temporary Workers Research Articles

Social insurance for gig workers: Insights from a discrete choice experiment in Malaysia

AbstractThe rise of “gig” work globally has led to both enthusiasm for its potential to create lucrative employment for a large number of workers, as well as concerns about its implications for social protection. Even where social insurance systems allow for voluntary coverage, take‐up among gig workers has remained low, leaving them unprotected against a range of risks. Looking at the Malaysian labour market, this article investigates whether the low take‐up of social security coverage among gig workers can be explained by the inability or unwillingness of these workers to make the necessary social insurance contributions? We deploy a novel vignette‐based experiment to ascertain gig workers’ willingness to pay for social insurance coverage. We find a large unmet need for social insurance among gig workers, as well as a high level of willingness to pay for unemployment insurance, retirement savings, and work‐related injury insurance. Our analysis suggests that gig workers could benefit more from better tailored, more flexible, and more easily accessible instruments for social insurance, rather than from subsidies or matching contributions alone. We also find evidence of substitution between distinct insurance instruments; those gig workers with access to retirement savings are less willing to pay for unemployment insurance, and those with private medical insurance are less likely to contribute to the public work‐related injury insurance programme. This underlines the need to consider a wider range of insurance instruments for gig workers, including those offered by the private sector.

Unveiling The Challenges of the Gig Economy in Tamil Nadu: An Empirical Study

The gig economy has arisen as a notable labour market phenomenon, propelled by technology progress and shifting work models. The objective of this research is to investigate the complex and diverse difficulties encountered by gig workers in Tamil Nadu, India. This study used a mixed-methods approach, including quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews, to collect complete data from a varied sample of gig workers in different industries. The main results reveal that gig workers in Tamil Nadu have significant challenges regarding job security and income stability, which are typically worsened by the lack of formal contracts and dependence on unpredictable demand. The research demonstrates that working circumstances are often unstable, characterized by extended work hours, inadequate safety protocols, and limited intervals for rest, resulting in detrimental effects on both physical and mental well-being. Moreover, the absence of access to crucial benefits such as healthcare coverage, compensated time off, and pension schemes greatly affects their financial stability. The study emphasizes the digital gap as a significant obstacle that hampers the productivity and income of gig workers. This split is caused by discrepancies in internet availability and proficiency in using digital technologies. Implementing these principles is crucial for promoting a gig economy in Tamil Nadu that is both sustainable and fair. This study adds to the expanding collection of literature on gig employment and offers significant information for policymakers, stakeholders, and scholars who are interested in understanding the dynamics of the gig economy in emerging nations.

Platform Training and Learning by Doing and Gig Workers’ Incomes: Empirical Evidence From China’s Food Delivery Riders

Platform Training and Learning by Doing and Gig Workers’ Incomes: Empirical Evidence From China’s Food Delivery Riders

The discontinuous fixed term contract and its renewed impact on temporary employment agencies

En este trabajo se aborda la relevante modificación legislativa introducida por la Reforma Laboral de 2021 respecto de las modalidades de contratación, singularmente del contrato fijo discontinuo. En especial, este estudio se focaliza en la relevancia y los cambios que esto ha implicado en la extensión del ámbito de aplicación de esta modalidad contractual en el marco de las ETT

The lived experience of midwives’ transitioning from a clinical role into teaching in higher education in one jurisdiction of Australia: A pilot study

AimThe aim of this pilot study was to explore clinician’s experience of transitioning from midwifery clinical practice into university in an academic teaching role within one jurisdiction in Australia. BackgroundThere is a dire shortage of midwifery academics globally. In Australia the shortage is symbiotic with the persistent deficit in the midwifery clinical workforce, which is the predominant recruitment pool for universities. The midwifery workforce cannot be replenished without sufficient academics to provide education. DesignPhenomenology was selected as the most appropriate research approach for the study seeking to illuminate the lived experiences of clinicians as they transition into their new role as academics. MethodsSeven participants were recruited purposively from one jurisdiction in Australia between November 2022 and March 2023. Qualitative conversational interviews were performed facilitating each participant to share their narrative. Participants were then able to direct the conversation to share their lived experience of the transition from a midwifery clinician in practice to a midwifery academic in a university. Demographic details were collected for context. ResultsThematic analysis was used following Giorgi’s four stage phenomenological process. Four themes were identified from commonalities between the participants, ‘Being a drifter”, ‘Keeping a foot in both camps to maintain clinical credibility’, ‘In at the deep end: Not prepared for the reality of academia’ and ‘Best of both worlds’. ConclusionsThe lived experiences of the participants in this study, as they transitioned from clinical midwifery practice to academia can be related to the Theory of Transition where participants navigate: Preparation, Encounter, Adjustment and Stabilisation. A new role in higher education requires adjustment to the reality of working in academia. Midwives who had experiences of being a casual staff member felt they had the best of both worlds, as they gained an insight into the role of an academic whilst remaining in clinical practice. However, many reported that mentorship would have been beneficial to facilitate stabilisation.

The Impact of Tourism on the Labor Market of Local Service Industries in Barcelona

This study examines the impact of tourism on the labor market of local service industries in Barcelona, focusing on employment trends, job quality, and economic implications. Utilizing quantitative data from the Spanish National Institute of Statistics and the Barcelona Tourism Board, the research reveals that tourism has significantly driven job creation in sectors such as hospitality, retail, and transportation, with employment growth rates outpacing the city’s overall average. However, the predominance of part-time and temporary positions, coupled with lower wage levels, raises concerns about job stability and quality. Seasonal employment variations and spatial distribution analysis highlight the dependence of certain districts on tourism, leading to economic volatility and socio-economic challenges such as rising housing prices and cost of living. The study underscores the need for balanced policy approaches that enhance job security, improve labor conditions, and address housing affordability to ensure sustainable and inclusive economic growth. Recommendations include promoting year-round tourism, diversifying tourism offerings, and implementing regulatory measures to protect local residents’ quality of life.

Navigating the gig economy: exploring challenges and motivations for the wellbeing of Gen Y and Gen Z gig workers

Navigating the gig economy: exploring challenges and motivations for the wellbeing of Gen Y and Gen Z gig workers

The Temporary Nature of Temporary Agency Work

The Temporary Nature of Temporary Agency Work

Death by A Thousand Cuts: Double Burden and Subordination of Female Ride-Hailing Drivers Towards Social Security Services

Ride-hailing platforms have mushroomed ever since the digitalization and technology development occurred in Indonesia. This could absorb most of the workforce, one of which is the ride-hailing drivers. Nevertheless, the informality of ride-hailing drivers has put them in a vulnerable position, especially for female drivers. This study aims to reveal the regulatory loopholes of gig workers, not to mention the ride-hailing drivers, subordination and vulnerabilities towards female ride-hailing drivers in Indonesia, as well as the urgency and best practice of social security that should be provided for female ride-hailing drivers. The research method utilized in this study is Participatory Narrative Inquiry (PNI) by gathering personal stories of the research subject, female ride-hailing drivers, through in-depth interviews. This study found several critical issues: (i) regulatory loopholes that emerge under the partnership scheme, leaving no obligatory for the ride-hailing platforms to provide social security services; (ii) female ride-hailing drivers in Indonesia experienced subordination and vulnerabilities, including gender stereotyping, sexual harassment, double burden between care work and paid work, as well as the absence of employment basic rights and access to social security services; (iii) providing and expanding National Health Insurance (JKN) to childcare and elderly care, as well as Employment Insurance (JKK, JKM, JHT, and pension insurance/JP) may lighten up the burden of female ride-hailing drivers.

Cogs in the code: Applying labor process theory in algorithmic management of platform-mediated gig work

This article examines the evolving work landscape in the context of technological advancements, addressing a significant gap in understanding the foundational principles of algorithmic management. Employing labor process theory (LPT), this study focuses on power dynamics and control mechanisms within algorithmic management systems in platform-mediated work settings. By exploring managerial aspects such as task assignment, work organization, monitoring, surveillance, and performance evaluation under algorithmic management, this research utilizes LPT to meticulously explore the social relations of production, technological deskilling, division of labor, potential alienation and exploitation, and complex dynamics of control and resistance in the gig economy. By emphasizing the pivotal role of algorithms, this study reveals their influence on shaping the structural aspects of the gig economy, highlighting the intricate interplay between technological advancements and fundamental labor processes. This work also contributes to a deeper understanding of contemporary work dynamics by offering valuable insights into the evolving intersection of technology and labor in the modern workplace.

Storytelling as connectivity: expanding the digital geographies of the gig economy

ABSTRACT The last decade has seen unprecedented changes in working forms, not the least through technological innovation while leisure time is equally reshaped by platforms. Although relatively new, the gig economy – temporary work mediated through platforms – is increasingly an important form of employment globally and consequently, the gig economy is represented in popular culture. Popular culture is part of social-technical-spatial relations making these important spaces in digital geographies. However, digital content, for example from streaming programs, is often not considered in labour geography studies. By conducting ethnographic content analysis and doodling ‘think-with’ work on Beforeigners, a piece of speculative fiction from Norway, I explore how storytelling conjoins parallel digital practices. I show storytelling as a kind of softening of ground narrating technological-spatial relations and demonstrates how, from this Nordic example, storytelling is part of the continuative geographical ordering of work forms in digital spaces and places. Exploring other sites of digital spaces highlights the ways digital geography is multi-layered, inter-relational and gradient, and demonstrates the need to go beyond established sites of inquiry to understand the gig economy as a social-technological-spatial relation.

Jobs and Careers in the New Normal: A Systematic Review of GIG Work Research Since the Covid-Pandemic

Jobs and Careers in the New Normal: A Systematic Review of GIG Work Research Since the Covid-Pandemic

De kallar oss för partners: Betydelsen av maskulinitet för konstruktionen av gig-arbetare som nyliberala subjekt

In today’s neoliberal era, the gig economy is rapidly expanding. Gig jobs span various sectors of the labor market and have been both lauded as an opportunity to enter the workforce and criticized for their insecure and precarious nature. While previous research has emphasized the importance of gender in understanding contempo-rary neoliberal development, such as how ideals of femininity are used to interpellate female subjects as malleable workers in developing countries, less attention has been paid to masculinity. This article offers an empirically based analysis of how masculinity is employed to construct subjects within a specific context of gig work situated in the urban space, and the resulting implications for the gig workers’ understanding of themselves and their situation. Drawing on interviews with six gig-working food delivery drivers – all young men – the study sheds light on the precarious positions these workers inhabit while being framed as neoliberal masculine subjects through ideological associations to entrepreneurship. The overarching argument of the article is that the neoliberal structure of the gig-platforms propels exploitative relations in the labor market, masked behind gender associations.

Gig Work Self-Efficacy and Its Effects on Flexibility, Career Adoptability, and Adoption in the Metaverse: A Moderated Mediation Model

This study aims to investigate the exciting world of metaverse gig work, exploring how gig work self-efficacy influences their adoption of gig work itself, along with two key factors: work flexibility and career adaptability. We also examine how these factors act as mediators, mediating the relationship between gig work self-efficacy and gig work adoption. Furthermore, this study explores the moderating impact of professional isolation, a feeling of disconnect from virtual colleagues, on this relationship. This study collected data from gig workers from Pakistan, both from freelance settings and established gig work firms. The data were collected from 316 participants by using a convenience sampling approach, our study findings supported our proposed relationships by indicating gig workers with high gig work self-efficacy are more likely to enjoy both the freedom of schedule (gig work flexibility) and the ability to explore different career paths (career adoptability). These benefits act as significant mediators, helping gig workers embrace gig work in the metaverse more readily. However, professional isolation threw a wrench in the works, and gig workers with high self-confidence may encounter challenges in capitalizing on the full potential of flexibility and adoptability within the gig economy. Results show that professional isolation in the online world surprisingly made it harder for gig workers to connect their belief in themselves, and self-efficacy, with important skills like flexibility and adoptability. This study provides insights into gig workers who have significant effects on organizations and the gig economy in the complex world of the metaverse.

Casualization and Employee’s Job Attitudes in the Financial Sector

There has been a rise in the number of temporary jobs available in Nigeria, which has had a negative impact on worker productivity. It is becoming increasingly difficult to absorb workers into benefit programmes like social protection systems, and even if they are, the benefits that are made accessible to them are pitiful, due to the prevalence of casualization. The purpose of this research was to analyze the effect of casualization on GTCO employees' job attitudes. This study adopted descriptive research design. The target population of study comprised of Ten thousand and ten GTCO temporary and casual employees. Three hundred and eighty-four (384) temporary and casual employees were chosen with the help of purposive and snowball sampling techniques as the sample size. The hypotheses were tested using Pearson Correlation, and the data were analyzed using frequency and descriptive statistics. The results showed that workers' job commitment was lower when they were employed on a contract basis, that they were less satisfied when they were employed for a shorter period of time, and that they were more likely to leave their current job if they were on a temporary contract. The study concluded, among other things, that businesses should work toward making it easier for workers to transition from temporary to permanent positions following the legally mandated six (6) month trial term.

Unlocking the Potential: HRM Integration of AI in the Gig Economy for Enhanced ERP Performance

This study explores the relationship between interaction with the gig economy and human resource management (HRM), emphasizing AI integration to improve corporate processes. It looks at important factors such as employment flexibility, organizational support, and work-life balance to improve work efficiency, output quality, job satisfaction, and stress management among gig workers. It highlights the importance of getting involved in the employee community and developing professional networks to progress in the gig economy. The study focuses on the changing HRM strategies in the gig economy by grouping findings into three categories: rising, redefined, and outdated relevance, based on a thorough investigation of current literature. By incorporating AI technology, HRM processes could be improved, labor management can be optimized, and organizational efficiency can be increased. AI-powered solutions can support focused learning programmers, streamlined communication channels tailored to the requirements of gig workers, and predictive analytics for workforce planning. Organizations can adapt to the changing nature of gig employment and promote agility, innovation, and competitiveness in the digital age by utilizing AI alongside HRM strategies.

Narratives of lingua franca English for transnational mobility

This paper explores, through narrative inquiry, the acquisition and use of English as a lingua franca in the careers of three transnationally mobile managers in the global hotel and hospitality industry. The narratives presented here are interwoven with the context in which the multinational participants were situated at the time of the study: the United Arab Emirates (UAE) which is diversifying economically and socially in preparation for the post-fossil fuel era. In a country where the temporary immigrant population outumbers national citizens, participants’ situated language practices are explored through narratives of their multilingual and translingual repertoires, while focusing on English as a key resource for their self-initiated transnational mobility. These personal stories of the acquisition and use of English as a global language weave a linguacultural web that connects the Gulf region across global space, people, and time. Participants tell of the utility of English for their careers, their multilingual repertoires, and their enjoyment of their temporary working lives in the Emirates. Such voices are seldom heard in the literature.

Platform work and traditional employee protection: The need for alternative legal approaches

Paid work via digital platforms (so-called crowd work and gig work) is gaining in importance in Europe. Platform workers often suffer poor working conditions. Most platform companies treat crowd and gig workers as self-employed or independent contractors and, thus, normally protective labour laws do not apply. In response, initiatives have been taken through case law and legislation to extend the reach of the traditional employmentship to platform work. For example, the German Federal Labour Court ( Bundesarbeitsgericht) reclassified and treated platform workers as employees in high-profile rulings, which are discussed in more detail below. The recently adopted EU Directive on Platform Work enshrines a legal presumption of employment for platform workers. Regulations have also recently been introduced in EU Member States that subsume platform workers under the concept of employee. However, as argued in this article, legal and judicial initiatives aimed at extending the employee status often have limits given the market dynamics and de facto adaptation and circumvention strategies used by platform businesses. Moreover, traditional labour law protection does not always seem to be suitable for tackling the complexities and peculiarities of the various types of platforms. The following theses therefore seem worth discussing: 1. Extending employee status to platform work appears promising if this is already anchored in the socio-economic reality and if a consensus can be reached between the social partners in this regard. An existing example is the Spanish riders’ law, which pursues a sectoral approach and was supported not only by trade union organisations but also by employers’ associations. 2. In addition, the creation of a substantial core of social rights for platform workers, irrespective of employment status, should be strongly focused and legally brought forward. The long-standing scholarly discussion about alternative regulatory approaches to forms of work in the legal grey area between dependent employment and self-employment should be revived and made fruitful for the new phenomenon of digital work platforms. 3. Thirdly, self-regulatory Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives by platform companies to improve working conditions should be encouraged by legislators and policymakers. As will be shown later in this article, a wide range of CSR efforts by the platforms already exist. In order to counter the risk of window dressing, the platform business operators’ own initiatives should be made effective through appropriate flanking legal measures and public pressure.

Irish Supreme Court rules pizza delivery drivers are employees for tax purposes: What's the takeaway for the gig economy in Europe?

In October 2023, Ireland's Supreme Court handed down its judgment in the case of The Revenue Commissioners v Karshan Midlands t/a Domino's Pizza. Following the CJEU ruling in Yodel, and that of the UK Supreme Court in Uber v Aslam, this decision is yet another addition to the debate around the employment status of gig workers that European courts have been grappling with, in common and civil law jurisdictions alike. In Karshan, the Irish Supreme Court ruled that Domino's pizza delivery drivers should indeed be treated as employees for the purposes of taxation. Importantly, however, the ruling was delivered based on a different set of facts than some of the other gig economy cases heard in Europe – notably, in Karshan there was no digital platform and, therefore, the link between the delivery drivers and Domino's was more pronounced than in cases involving a platform. The scope of comparison to Yodel is, thus, limited. Furthermore, the judgment is narrow in its scope and, disappointingly, appears to deliberately leave many questions unanswered, failing to seize the opportunity to provide more clarity for gig workers and employers alike. This is typical of the current state of affairs in employment law, which, while aware that traditional approaches are inadequate to the evolving world of work, has not yet come up with a comprehensive way of addressing these challenges. Despite these shortcomings, Karhsan offers some valuable insights into the discussion on the gig economy as the EU institutions are working to adopt the much-anticipated Platform Workers Directive.

Challenge or Hindrance? The Dual Impact of Algorithmic Control on Gig Workers' Prosocial Service Behaviors.

Algorithmic technological progress presents both opportunities and challenges for organizational management. The success of online labor platforms hinges on algorithmic control, making it imperative to explore how this control affects gig workers' prosocial service behaviors. Drawing from affective event theory, our study delves into the factors influencing gig workers' prosocial service behaviors in the online labor platform setting. We utilize the challenge-hindrance appraisal framework to highlight the pivotal role of algorithmic control. To rigorously test our hypotheses, we gathered empirical data from an online questionnaire survey of 660 gig workers. Our results indicate that challenge appraisals and hindrance appraisals in regard to platform algorithm control have a nuanced dual impact on gig workers' prosocial service behaviors. This relationship is clarified by the mediating function of work engagement. A challenge appraisal of platform algorithmic control can positively influence gig workers' prosocial service behaviors. However, hindrance appraisal of platform algorithmic control can negatively influence gig workers' prosocial service behaviors. Interestingly, workplace interpersonal capitalization boosts the effect of challenge appraisal on employees' prosocial service behaviors. However, it does not mitigate the adverse effects of hindrance appraisal on such behaviors. This study has multiple theoretical implications, and it also provides valuable practical insights into organizational management.