Timed Essay 1 – The Gig Economy

Question: Workers within the gig economy suffer poor working conditions.
How far do you agree with this statement?
Name: Li Momei
Class: 10.31
Word Count: 587
There is a public discussion today on the issue of the gig economy which has
become popular recently. Gig work is generally defined as temporary or short-
term tasks which are completed by “independent contractors” rather than full-
time employees (Friedman, 2014). It is believed that gig economy offers
various work opportunities and makes work more flexible (Berg, 2015).
However, some researchers take a different view that gig workers may suffer
poor working condition at the present stage (Huws et al, 2017). This essay will
argue that it is inaccurate to regard gig economy as negative since it does
bring flexibility of work time and place and an extra income for people who
have full-time jobs, although it may have some negative impacts to gig
workers such as no social insurance and possible physical and mental
illnesses. To demonstrate this, this essay will discuss the common poor
working conditions of gig work firstly, the possible illnesses and secondly, the
lack of welfare are solvable problems.

The main reason for people considering the working conditions of gig work is
poor is because of the possible physical and mental illnesses it causes. This
is because the working hours of gig workers tend to be difficult for companies
to restrict. For example, an Uber driver may start his gig work after an eight-
hour shift in a supermarket, which means he is likely to be exhausted after
working overtime, but it is hard to be known by Uber company (O’Connor,
2017). Furthermore, as gig workers, there is less chance for them to
communicate with others. If things continue this way, it may affect the
interpersonal ability of gig workers, as a Uber driver complained “…You notice
these low mood swings; there’s times where you can’t talk properly, you’re
shaking, you’re not thinking straight.” (O’Connor, 2017). Such situations have
been one of the primary factors that have led people to claim that the working
conditions of gig work are poor.
However, a series of solutions are adopted by companies such as Uber and
Deliveroo trying to improve this situation. A typical example is that Uber
decided to offer discounted illness and injury insurance to its drivers. In
addition, Deliveroo also promise that they will provide safety measures for
their riders. (O’Connor, 2017) With the help of such actions, gig workers could
still enjoy the flexible work time without any shifts and minimum work hours.
This could hardly be regard as ‘poor’ condition anymore.

Another reason for people to be against the working conditions of gig work is
that few companies will offer essential benefits for gig workers. Under this
condition, gig worker could hardly get legal welfare and insurance for health
and other aspects. For instance, gig workers in America may not have the
opportunities to enjoy the benefits of normal employees, which means when
they suffer illness, the Medicare would not be available for them. (Friedman,
2014) Moreover, there would not any pension for gig workers after they
retired. This is also an aspect of the poor working condition of gig work.

Nonetheless, the government is already adjusting to this, and planning to offer

social support for gig workers. This means that if gig worker could not enjoy
the necessary benefits from their employers, the universal social insurance
and benefits should be provided by government (Friedman, 2014). For
instance, the U.S. state government has already made proposals for
individual insurance and pension plans. (Walsh, 2012 in Friedman, 2014). So,
soon, there is no need for gig workers to worry that they are not protected by
labor laws.

In conclusion, it is unfair to say that the working conditions are poor without
considering the future adjustment. Not to mention that the development of gig
economy is becoming a trend, it caters to people's desire for flexible working
and gives public an opportunity to reconsider whether the current social policy
applies to the gig economy. So, it is predicted that there will be more and
more workers involve in gig economy.
Berg, J., 2015. Income security in the on-demand economy: Findings and
policy lessons from a survey of crowdworkers. Comparative labor law
and policy journal, 37(3), pp.506–543.

Friedman, G. (2014) Workers without employers: shadow corporations and

the rise of the gig economy. Review of Keynesian Economics, 2(2),
pp.171–188.

Huws, U., Spencer, N., Syrdal, D.S., and Holts, K. (2017) Work in the
European gig economy: Research results from the UK, Sweden,
Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Italy. FEPS in
cooperation with UNI Europa and the University of Hertfordshire.
Available at:
https://uhra.herts.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/2299/19922/Huws_U._Spenc
er_N.H._Syrdal_D.S._Holt_K._2017_.pdf (Accessed: 13 May, 2020).

Kalleberg, A.L., and Dunn, M. (2016) Good jobs, bad jobs in the gig
economy. LERA for Libraries, 20(1–2), pp. 10–74. Available at:
http://lerachapters.org/OJS/ojs-2.4.4-
1/index.php/PFL/article/viewFile/3112/3087 (Accessed: 13 May, 2020).
O'Connor, S. (2017) Driven to despair: The hidden costs of the gig
economy. Available at: https://www.ft.com/content/749cb87e-6ca8-
11e7-b9c7-15af748b60d0 (Accessed 13 May, 2020).