Gig-economy and the Millennials

Entering the 21st century, changes and transitions are continuously taking place within the society, including in the labor market sector.

The current system has created “New Economy”, with uncertainty and unpredictability entailing a broad range of post-industrial workplaces, services, where opportunities are intertwined with temporariness and risk (Smith, 2001; Lewchuck, 2017). Current discussions on the current labor market sector revolve around the increasing of alternative and non-standard forms of employment, characterized by the emergence of short-term or temporary contracts, freelancing, and self-employment work. While these new forms of employment encourage enterprising culture, autonomy, and flexibility, issues are being raised around low-pay, underemployment, and zero-hour contract. The common term used for this new form of employment is “gig-economy”, or crowd work, which mainly characterized by digital platform usage for selling labors.

The gig-economy has an influence on social change, as it is growing the insecurity of working, including for young adults. Surveys and studies indicate this group of people are most likely to be participating in the gig-economy, thus there are also consequences applying at the individual level. The term disruptions are often associated with gig-economy, it emerges as consequences of the increasing globalization and automation, impacting trade, jobs, immigration, and the environment (Quartz, 2020). Taking a more narrow perspective, these conditions are forcing individuals adapting to what the market has to offer. These overarching trends at the macro level have an influence on how individuals' values work, especially among millennials. This generation, in general, has a different view on work, in comparison with the previous generation.

It is common that millennials accept and embodies the idea that work does not have to be carried out in the same space and set of time, and are more likely to utilize technology (Berger et. al., 2018). Given these shifts in values and attitudes on work among the Millenials, some implications are also predicted to affect class structure and institutions. In the case of the gig economy, a study in UK context revealed how it is contributing towards greater well-being, by providing more flexibility and opportunities among laborers with migrants backgrounds and those transitioning from blue-collar jobs (Berger, et.al., 2018). On the other hand, many experts consider this sector somewhat vulnerable and problematic given different standards that apply compared to standard jobs in terms of protection and security (i.e insurance, taxation, skill development, stable wage, etc), yet creating anti-thesis to the welfare state dependency (Standing, 2011).

Gig-economy and the Millennials

The spread of the internet has significantly increased the usage of platforms, referring to the type of computer or smartphone that people utilize in their daily life. These platforms have multiple functions, including enabling global outsourcing by bringing clients and workers together to exchange money for labor in the form of digital gigs (Kuek et al., 2015). Gig-economy refers to the concept and implementation of selling labors through platforms (Taylor et.al, 2019). It consists of work in which transactions are taking place through the platform, but are being delivered locally, thus the workers are physically present, and the work is transacted and being delivered remotely (Huws et al., 2016; Taylor et al., 2019). Based on this definition, the gig-economy is mainly being classified into two types, namely local gig work and remote gig work. Some examples of local gig-work are food delivery, couriering, transport, manual labor, etc. Whereas the remote gig provides a range of specific skills, mainly presented through digital services, such as programming, video editing, photography, copywriting & translating, etc.

Globally, around 70 million workers are calculated to have been registered in online labor platforms that facilitate remote forms of gig work (Heeks, 2017; Taylor et. al., 2019). Moreover, given the role of the internet, gig-economy able to transcends across national and geographical areas. Thus, leads to a decline in direct employment relationships, an increase in more precarious employment, and a weakening labor’s bargain for improving working conditions (Lewchuk, 2017). The rise of the economy has both positive and negative implications for the individuals involved, particularly the millennials generation. The millennials generation, referring to those born between 1981 to 1996 (Pew Research Center, 2019), are considered as the over-represented group involved in the gig economy. The millennial generation is more in favor of self-employment, a study reported that self-employment is likely to triple to 2 million workers by 2020, mostly occupied with this age group, according to a report by Delloitte (2019).

Given the precarious nature of work in the gig-economy, it is important to discuss its mechanisms and consequences, for instance on income, work condition, and overall satisfaction. With regard to income, Delloite (2019) reported an increase in household income earned through the alternative workforce, although still less compared to the ones participating in full-time employment. In their study, Storey and Strange (1992); MacDonald & Giazitzoglu (2018) argued the rising of self-employment began in the 1990’s as a result of limited alternatives for those excluded from the standard workforce. Moreover, according to Shildrick et al. (2012), young adults as part of the working class are typified by poverty and insecurity, thus enduring to search for jobs in the heavily de-industrialized labor market, including those categorized in the “low-pay, no-pay” cycle, referring to jobs which are categorized as casualized ‘poor work, with poor quality training courses, low paid, and low skilled (Bryne, 1999; MacDonald & Giazitzoglu, 2018). These two modes of work are interconnected, given millennials' involvement in the low-pay work motivated by having prior experience to entering self-employment, particularly among those below 25 years of age (MacDonald & Giazitzoglu, 2018). Thus, many possessing a university degree are involved in low paid work. These findings showed how millennials involved in gig-economy is not being favored in the ecosystem, compared to their counterparts involved in the standard workforce. While at the same time, gig-economy is also resulting from the decreasing degree of security embedded in permanent jobs, as new forms of employment keep emerging.

One of the main purposes of work is to achieve well-being in the form of a sense of fulfillment and life-satisfaction. Along with several other factors, these two aspects are intertwined with one’s income, employment, and working conditions (Berger, et. al, 2018), While in the context of gig-economy the average amount of income earned is lower, on the other hand, an option of full-autonomy and flexibility of work is more open. With autonomy, workers are able to adjust their work-life balance, as well as to fit additional opportunities or earning income when needed. For example, based on the study on Uber drivers in the UK, Berger et. al (2018) discovered that in some cases, driving Uber is the main source of work, while holding on to another job (s) or owning a business. Furthermore, Lewchuck (2017) attempted a study to compare the well-being of individuals involved in precarious and secure employment, which results indicate that the former is not doing better than the latter in terms of general and mental health. Thus, there are also implications on the social life, where forming relationships and having children are more likely to be delayed (Lewchuck, 2017).

The future of work?

Though the involvement is still small in terms of numbers, there are concerns among the public and policymakers in high-income countries, given how gig-economy might significantly impact the future of work (Wood et.al., 2019). In some countries, the gig-economy is already contributing to the economy, where companies are earning a large share of profits and ability to expand their businesses. Given these expansions, opportunities for gig work are becoming more available, for any workers located in any location across the globe. Also, still related to its accessibility, the gig-economy also provides more economic activities for small entrepreneurs through the opportunity to sell and market products to a wider (online) market. Collective gig-work will help to improve the local economy, especially in areas or circumstances where standard work is limited and highly competitive. In the future, the millennial generation is projected to still dominate within this sector. On the macro level, the gig-economy is also a potential source for economic growth. While accommodating the new form of employment, governments could gain from tax administrations. Therefore, more clear regulations are required to support both economic growth and the thriving of individuals participating in the gig-economy.

References

Berger, Thor. Et.al. 2018. Uber Happy? Work and Well-being in the “Gig-Economy”. Working Paper for the 68th Panel Meeting of Economic Policy in October 2018
Dimock, Michael. 2019. Defining Generations : Where Millennials end and Generation Z begins. Online article by Pew Research Center. URL link : https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/01/17/where-millennials-end-and-generation-z-begins/
Huws, Ursula, et.al. 2016. Work in the European Gig Economy : Research Result from the UK, Sweden, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Italy. Joint publication by European Progressive Studies, Uni Europa, and Hertfordshire Business School — University of Hertfordshire
Jolley, David. 2018. Myths of the Gig Economy, Corrected. Online article by Harvard Business Review.URL link : https://hbr.org/2018/10/myths-of-the-gig-economy-corrected
MacDonald, Robert & Andreas Giazitzoglu. 2019. Youth, Enterprise and Precarity: What is Wrong with, the ‘Gig Economy’?. Journal of Sociology Vol. 55(4) : 724–740
Monahan, Kelly, et.al. 2018. Decoding Millennials in the Gig Economy : Six Trends to Watch in Alternative Work. Online article by Delloitte. URL link: https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/focus/technology-and-the-future-of-work/millennials-in-the-gig-economy.html
Standing, Guy. 2011. The Precariat — the New Dangerous Class. Bloomsbury Academic, United Kingdom
ter Weel, Bas. 2018. The Rise of Temporary Work in Europe. De Economist 166 : 397–401
Wood, Alex J, et. al. 2019. Good Gig, Bad Gig : Autonomy and Algorithmic Control in the Global Gig Economy. Work, Employment, and Society, Vol. 33 (1) 56–75