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Entrepreneurial and Small Business Stressors, Experienced Stress, and Well-Being

ISBN : 978-1-83982-397-8 , eISBN : 978-1-83982-396-1

Publication date: 17 August 2020

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.

  • Gig economy
  • Occupational health
  • Alternative work arrangements

Keith, M.G. , Harms, P.D. and Long, A.C. (2020), "Worker Health and Well-Being in the Gig Economy: A Proposed Framework and Research Agenda", Perrewé, P.L. , Harms, P.D. and Chang, C.-H. (Ed.) Entrepreneurial and Small Business Stressors, Experienced Stress, and Well-Being ( Research in Occupational Stress and Well Being, Vol. 18 ), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 1-33. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-355520200000018002

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MAKING GIGS WORK: CAREER STRATEGIES, JOB QUALITY AND MIGRATION IN THE GIG ECONOMY

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thesis on gig economy

  • March 22, 2019
  • Affiliation: College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Sociology
  • The early-21st century has witnessed a transformation in both technological advancement and the nature of the employment relationship. Flexible workforce strategies have been adopted (Kalleberg 2003); internal labor markets have disappeared (Cappelli 2001); and large, vertically integrated firms have vanished as well (Davis 2016a). These trends have all led to a dramatic rise in the use of independent contractors. In conjunction, we have witnessed a shift in employment, from the career, to the job, to the task (Davis 2015). At the confluence of changes in the nature of employment relationships and technological advancements lies the gig economy — the focal point of this study. What differentiates work in the gig economy is that it operates within a new work ecosystem that is managed by online platforms, which broker work between employers and workers. Using in-depth interviews and secondary sources, this study examines the gig economy through three main lines of inquiry. First, it investigates the role of gig work in a worker’s labor market and career strategy. To do this, the study demarcates who is completing gig work and examines why they are completing it. Next, the project considers job quality through two lenses: a platform perspective and a worker perspective. In examining job quality from both these angles, it tries to answer the question: is gig work a good or a bad job? Finally, the project examines in what ways, if any, digital platforms and gig work may be affecting worker migration decisions.
  • Sociology of Work
  • Labor relations
  • Precarious Work
  • Gig Economy
  • Non-standard Work
  • https://doi.org/10.17615/3d4z-7y37
  • Dissertation
  • Tufekci, Zeynep
  • Davis, Jerry
  • Aldrich, Howard
  • Hagan, Jacqueline
  • Kalleberg, Arne
  • Doctor of Philosophy
  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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Universities Should Be Preparing Students for the Gig Economy

  • Diane Mulcahy

thesis on gig economy

Full-time jobs aren’t the only way to be successful.

This year’s graduates are joining a workforce where the Gig Economy — made up of consultants, independent contractors, freelancers, side giggers, and on-demand workers — has grown to an estimated 30-40% of the U.S. workforce. Despite this trend, universities have yet to integrate the study or practice of the Gig Economy into the curriculum and career services that they offer to their students. Instead, they continue to educate and prepare students to become full-time employees in full-time jobs that no longer exist. It’s a disservice to students who will graduate ill-equipped to thrive as independent workers. To succeed, students need to learn how to be self-employed, entrepreneurial, and how to run a small business, because increasingly, that’s what each of us is and will do for at least some part of our careers.

How well do universities prepare students to work independently in the Gig Economy? Today’s graduates are joining a workforce where the Gig Economy — including consultants, independent contractors, freelancers, side giggers, and on-demand workers — makes up an estimated 30-40% of the U.S. workforce. They’re also facing an economy in which alternative work arrangements are growing faster than traditional full-time jobs, and are only projected to keep growing. The recent news that the majority of Google’s workforce is made up of independent and temporary workers rather than full-time employees is just one example of the rapid transformation of the corporate workforce.

  • DM Diane Mulcahy is the author of The Gig Economy: The Complete Guide to Getting Better Work, Taking More Time Off, and Financing the Life you Want . She is an Adjunct Lecturer at Babson College, where she created and teaches an MBA course on the Gig Economy, and a Senior Fellow at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. Learn more about Diane’s work at www.dianemulcahy.com .

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What Is a Gig Economy?

Understanding a gig economy.

  • The Factors of a Gig Economy

Criticisms of the Gig Economy

  • Gig Economy FAQs
  • Small Business

Investopedia / Katie Kerpel

Gig Economy: Definition, Factors Behind It, Critique & Gig Work

thesis on gig economy

Katrina Ávila Munichiello is an experienced editor, writer, fact-checker, and proofreader with more than fourteen years of experience working with print and online publications.

thesis on gig economy

A gig economy is a labor market that relies heavily on temporary and part-time positions filled by independent contractors and freelancers rather than full-time permanent employees.

Gig workers gain flexibility and independence but little or no job security. Many employers save money by avoiding paying benefits such as health coverage and paid vacation time. Others pay for some benefits to gig workers but outsource the benefits programs and other management tasks to external agencies.

The term is borrowed from the music world, where performers book "gigs" that are single or short-term engagements at various venues.

Key Takeaways

  • The gig economy is based on flexible, temporary, or freelance jobs, often involving connecting with clients or customers through an online platform.
  • The gig economy can benefit workers, businesses, and consumers by making work more adaptable to the needs of the moment and the demand for flexible lifestyles.
  • At the same time, the gig economy can have downsides due to the erosion of traditional economic relationships between workers, businesses, and clients.

In a gig economy, large numbers of people work in part-time or temporary positions or as independent contractors. The result of a gig economy is cheaper, more efficient services, such as Uber or Airbnb, for those willing to use them.

People who don't use technological services such as the Internet may be left behind by the benefits of the gig economy. Cities tend to have the most highly developed services and are the most entrenched in the gig economy.

A wide variety of positions fall into the category of a gig. The work can range from driving for Uber or delivering food to writing code or freelance articles. Adjunct and part-time professors, for example, are contracted employees as opposed to tenure-track or tenured professors. Colleges and universities can cut costs and match professors to their academic needs by hiring more adjunct and part-time professors.

The Factors Behind a Gig Economy

America is well on its way to establishing a gig economy, and estimates show as much as a third of the working population is already in some gig capacity as of 2021. Experts expect this working number to rise, as these types of positions facilitate independent contracting work, with many of them not requiring a freelancer to come into an office. Gig workers are much more likely to be part-time workers and to work from home.

Employers also have a wider range of applicants to choose from because they don't have to hire someone based on their proximity. Additionally, computers have developed to the point that they can either take the place of the jobs people previously had or allow people to work just as efficiently from home as they could in person.

In the modern digital world, it's becoming increasingly common for people to work remotely or from home. This trend accelerated during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.

Economic reasons also factor into the development of a gig economy. Employers who cannot afford to hire full-time employees to do all the work that needs to be done will often hire part-time or temporary employees to take care of busier times or specific projects.

On the employee's side of the equation, people often find they need to move or take multiple positions to afford the lifestyle they want. It's also common to change careers many times throughout a lifetime, so the gig economy can be viewed as a reflection of this occurring on a large scale.

In 2020, the gig economy experienced significant increases as gig workers delivered necessities to home-bound consumers, and those whose jobs had been eliminated turned to part-time and contract work for income. Employers will need to plan for changes to the world of work, including the gig economy, when the crisis has ended.

Despite its benefits, there are some downsides to the gig economy. While not all employers are inclined to hire contracted employees, the gig economy trend can make it harder for full-time employees to develop in their careers since temporary employees are often cheaper to hire and more flexible in their availability. Workers who prefer a traditional career path and the stability and security that come with it are being crowded out in some industries.

For some workers, the flexibility of working gigs can actually disrupt the work-life balance , sleep patterns, and activities of daily life. Flexibility in a gig economy often means that workers have to make themselves available any time gigs come up, regardless of their other needs, and must always be on the hunt for the next gig. Competition for gigs has increased, too. And unemployment insurance usually doesn't cover gig workers who can't find employment (2020's CARES Act made an exception).

In effect, workers in a gig economy are more like entrepreneurs than traditional workers. While this may mean greater freedom of choice for the individual worker, it also means that the security of a steady job with regular pay, benefits—including a retirement account —and a daily routine that has characterized work for generations are rapidly becoming a thing of the past.

Lastly, because of the fluid nature of gig economy transactions and relationships, long-term relationships between workers, employers, clients, and vendors can erode. This can eliminate the benefits that flow from building long-term trust, customary practice, and familiarity with clients and employers.

It could also discourage investment in relationship-specific assets that would otherwise be profitable to pursue since no party has an incentive to invest significantly in a relationship that only lasts until the next gig comes along.

What Is an Example of a Gig Economy?

Examples of a gig economy are those jobs that individuals discover and access through online platforms that list such jobs. These jobs are often one-time or short-term contract jobs. These include driving for a ride-sharing service, painting someone's house, freelance work, coaching, fitness training, and tutoring. The job is exchanged for cash and there are no other benefits, such as health insurance.

What Are the Benefits of the Gig Economy?

The gig economy has many benefits for both the employee and employer. An employer has access to a wide range of talent that they can hire. If the talent proves to be less than acceptable, there is no contract to keep the employee on or issues of letting them go. In addition, in a time when it has become difficult to attract full-time workers, employers can hire from the gig economy.

In addition, hiring gig workers can be more affordable as companies don't have to pay for health insurance or other benefits. For employees, the gig economy's benefits include having the option to do multiple jobs, work from anywhere depending on the specific job, freedom, and flexibility in their daily routine.

Is the Gig Economy Worth It?

To the individuals working in the gig economy, it is worth it. Studies show that 79% of individuals who work in the gig economy are more satisfied than when they were working traditional jobs.

Pew Research Center. " The State of Gig Work in 2021 ."

Brodmin. " Gig Economy - The Economic Backbone of the Future? "

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    This thesis explores the present state of labor in the gig economy by situating it within the context of multiple literatures and academic fields, including microeconomic theory on the gig economy itself, welfare state scholarship, and American labor law. Using the works of Arun

  5. Changing Nature of Work and Employment in the Gig Economy: The Role of

    The concept of gig economy can be traced back to nineteenth century, when people used to take up multiple jobs simultaneously and work on them independently to earn their livelihood. In the early nineteenth century, labour movement got kicked off during industrial revolution and there occurred a shift in the nature of jobs from agricultural in ...

  6. PDF Thesis Health and Safety in The Gig Economy: a Qualitative

    THESIS HEALTH AND SAFETY IN THE GIG ECONOMY: A QUALITATIVE INVESTIGATION WITH TASKRABBIT WORKERS Submitted by Kiplin Kaldahl ... Gig economy work has also been defined as precarious, which means that workers in the gig economy are not protected by the regulations or support found in traditional employment (Benach & Muntaner, 2007).Additionally ...

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    growth in the gig economy mirrors the overall recent and continuing growth of precarious work. In Toronto, the number of people describing their job as "tempo-rary" grew by 40 percent between 1997 and 2013 (PEPSO, 2013). In spite of the growing importance of the gig economy - and widespread media coverage of specific platform

  9. THE LOGIC OF GIG ECONOMY (ORIGINS AND GROWTH PROSPECTS)

    the thesis that gig economy has its own inherent logic, while it remains part of the multi-stage process of the evolution of employee-employer relations, from the industrial stage to the digital era to platform-mediated work. Based on the analysis of the current world literature, the article posits that gig economy, as

  10. The Logic of Gig Economy (Origins and Growth Prospects)

    the thesis that gig economy has its own inherent logic, while it remains part of the multi-stage process of the evolution of employee-employer relations, from the industrial stage to the digital ...

  11. Liquid uncertainty, chaos and complexity: The gig economy and the open

    A gig economy is a free market system in which temporary positions are common and organizations contract with independent workers for short-term engagements.6 ... 48 Thesis Eleven 156(1) of an item from supplier to customer, or short-term use of accommodation or air transport.8

  12. Worker Health and Well-Being in the Gig Economy: A Proposed Framework

    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 ...

  13. Emerging World of Gig Economy: Promises and Challenges in the Indian

    The gig economy has been defined as 'an economic system that uses online platforms to digitally connect workers or individual service providers with consumers' (Duggan et al., 2020). This implies that there are three main parties in the execution of work: customers who require a service, platforms that maintain the digital platform and ...

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  15. PDF Motivation in the Gig Economy

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  16. The Gig Economy: An HR Perspective to Managing Platform Workers

    Wood, Alex J., et al. "Good gig, bad gig: autonomy and algorithmic control in the gl obal gig economy." Work, Employment and Work, Employment and Society 33.1 (2019): 56-75.

  17. PDF Master Thesis U.S.E.

    Master Thesis U.S.E. Gig-workers' motivations and their entrepreneurial mindset Filippo Amedeo Pollio 2901234 ... described gig economy as massive redefinition of the labor market towards an open network that pushes to self-employment and self-management. As it was introduced previously, the job market has

  18. Dissertation or Thesis

    At the confluence of changes in the nature of employment relationships and technological advancements lies the gig economy — the focal point of this study. What differentiates work in the gig economy is that it operates within a new work ecosystem that is managed by online platforms, which broker work between employers and workers.

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  20. PDF Bachelors Thesis Zhidkova Ekaterina Gig economy a literature review of

    this thesis systematizes and outlines critics of gig economy platforms, alongside with the key features of gig economy, as outlined by scholars in the area. A broader impact of the gig ... gig economy, jak nastínili vědci v této oblasti. Širší dopad gig ekonomiky je také odvozen z článků ze vzorku. Kontrola možných nesrovnalostí ...

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  22. Universities Should Be Preparing Students for the Gig Economy

    October 03, 2019. C. J. Burton/Getty Images. Summary. This year's graduates are joining a workforce where the Gig Economy — made up of consultants, independent contractors, freelancers, side ...

  23. Gig Economy: Definition, Factors Behind It, Critique & Gig Work

    Gig Economy: In a gig economy, temporary, flexible jobs are commonplace and companies tend toward hiring independent contractors and freelancers instead of full-time employees. A gig economy ...