gig work

Work is changing rapidly and this is challenging traditional notions of time and space for work, as well as whether an activity is considered work .  

Is gig work reliable work?

This study uses a push/pull framework to determine the viability of substituting traditional jobs for people who rent their assets and offer services. We use an ordered probit to analyze the data and we have concluded that people participate in this activity primarily due to a push factor; namely, the need to complement their incomes. This is because more than 70% of those sharing their assets do not expect to obtain more than 10% of their income from this activity over five years. Thus, we conclude that the access economy, under current conditions, is generally not a viable substitute for traditional employment, in part due to lack of benefits. We also find that the access economy provides location flexibility and the ability to take care of family. From a theoretical perspective a push/pull framework needs to also consider a hybrid where people may be both pushed to the access economy and yet enjoy it.

Future work on this project will entail analyzing specific types of gig work to begin to classify the benefits, opportunities and drawbacks of this type of non-traditional work arrangement.

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