Towards a Fairer Gig Economy


Book Description




The Gig Economy


Book Description

All of a sudden, everybody’s talking about the gig economy. From taxi drivers to pizza deliverers to the unemployed, we are all aware of the huge changes that it is driving in our lives as workers, consumers and citizens. This is the first comprehensive overview of this highly topical subject. Drawing upon years of research, stories from gig workers, and a review of the key trends and debates, Jamie Woodcock and Mark Graham shed light on how the gig economy came to be, how it works and what it’s like to work in it. They show that, although it has facilitated innovative new services and created jobs for millions, it is not without cost. It allows businesses and governments to generate value while passing significant risk and responsibility onto the workers that make it possible. This is not, however, an argument for turning back the clock. Instead, the authors outline four strategies that can produce a fairer platform economy that works for everyone. Woodcock and Graham’s critical introduction will be essential reading for students, scholars and general readers interested in the massive shifts that characterize our modern digital economy.




Humanistic Management in the Gig Economy


Book Description

Zusammenfassung: Gig-workers are often not regarded as employees by the platforms they work with. Yet they do not always have all the freedoms enjoyed by independent contractors. The world of work is changing, and this is one area in which the new realities need to be better understood in order to promote human dignity, protect the vulnerable and foster flourishing. To achieve this, justice and fairness need to be researched and innovatively translated into new forms of work in diverse ways and in various cultures. This edited collection explores and examines ways in which the humanistic management and fairness considerations help to humanise the way gig-workers are treated, with particular attention paid to economies in the global south. Countries represented in the case study section are Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Kenya, Nigeria, South Korea, and Uganda, and both traditional and innovative lenses of fairness and ethics are applied to these new forms of work. The book will be of great interest to scholars and students of work and employment, digital business, human resource management and business ethics. Kemi Ogunyemi is Professor of Business Ethics at Lagos Business School, Pan-Atlantic University, Nigeria, where she also teaches managerial anthropology, self-leadership and sustainability management. She was for many years the director of the Christopher Kolade Centre for Research in Leadership and Ethics as well as the academic director for the School's Senior Management Programme. Her consulting and research interests include personal ethos, work-life ethic, social responsibility, sustainability, governance and anti-corruption risk assessment




Data Justice and COVID-19


Book Description

COVID-19 has reshaped how social, economic, and political power is created and exerted through technology.Through international case studies, this book analyses how technologies of monitoring infections, information, and behaviour have been applied and justified during the emergency, what their side-effects have been, and what kinds of resistance they have met.




Sustainability in the Gig Economy


Book Description

This book provides a comprehensive and contemporary source of reference for the gig economy for sustainable businesses with a focus on Industry 4.0. It covers the theoretical and practical implications of the rise of an alternative system in the era of technology-driven business entities; and explains the emergence of the gig economy as a crucial factor in devising approaches that will help in ensuring better decision making. As the COVID-19 pandemic rages on, investors and corporations are attempting to overcome the turbulence in financial markets over the past few months. Governments and economists are scrambling to mitigate the impacts of lockdowns. Many businesses have transferred to a remote working system, and the critical challenge remains to make this form of work and business productive, efficient, and sustainable. Against this backdrop, the book provides an overview of the gig economy from varied perspective such as general business and economics; ethics, governance, and legal issues; diffusion of IT in the workplace; sustainability; future of workforce and workplaces during and post-pandemic scenarios. This edited volume also highlights several challenges and opportunities for managing the diverse workforce in the prevailing situation which has no precedence. With its discussions on the impact of the gig economy on the business world, the book carries appeal for scholars in the business, human resource professionals, industry practitioners, corporates, and policy advocates interested in learning about evolution, automation, marketing, and sustainability in the gig economy.




Social Dialogue in the Gig Economy


Book Description

As our digital economy continues to expand, gig work becomes increasingly significant. This incisive book investigates the ways in which social dialogue can reinforce decent working practices and create inclusive workplaces in the growing gig economy, putting forward a framework for structured dialogue and collective bargaining among social partners, platforms, and workers.




Reshaping the Future


Book Description

The labour economy is being transformed by technology, as employers embrace new practices that utilise flexible work contracts and a whole new generation of tech-savvy employees. Leaders and decision-makers, managers and aspiring professionals, and a generation soon joining the workforce, will find Reshaping the Future invaluable.




Work and Alienation in the Platform Economy


Book Description

Drawing on interviews with Amazon workers and original empirical data, this book explores how different working conditions estrange and alienate workers, and how, despite these, workers find ways to organize and express their agency. This is an important analysis of work on the digital shop floor for the scholars of platform economy.




Social Transformation in Bangladesh


Book Description

Social Transformation in Bangladesh explores the social, political, and cultural implications of the unprecedented economic development that has occurred in Bangladesh since its independence in 1971. In the 1970s, Bangladesh was labelled an international basket case because of food insecurity and low levels of per capita income with high population growth and various social problems. Defying overwhelming odds, however, a societal transformation is underway in Bangladesh with diverse opportunities and challenges. This edited book analyses issues of inclusivity, extractivism, sustainability and equitability as it takes a look at the interconnected metamorphosis of the economy, society, culture, and the environment of Bangladesh. Discussing topics from the products of post-industrial society, such as YouTube sensations and digital labour platforms, to groups that have suffered marginalisation for decades, such as the urban poor, and Indigenous peoples, a wide array of scholarship and case studies are used to analyse the challenges and opportunities offered by the process of societal transformation. With insights from multidisciplinary scholars, this collection will be of great interest to those specialising in the fields of sociology, political science, anthropology, development, refugee and migrant studies, media studies, labour studies, health, and indigeneity.




Platform Economy Puzzles


Book Description

Searching for paid tasks via digital labour platforms, such as Uber, Deliveroo and Fiverr, has become a global phenomenon and the regular source of income for millions of people. In the advent of digital labour platforms, this insightful book sheds new light on familiar questions about tensions between competition and cooperation, short-term gains and long-term success, and private benefits and public costs. Drawing on a wealth of knowledge from a range of disciplines, including law, management, psychology, economics, sociology and geography, it pieces together a nuanced picture of the societal challenges posed by the platform economy.