Alex Bierman / en Workers in the gig economy feel lonely and powerless, say experts from ÇŃ×ÓÖ±˛Ą and other universities /news/workers-gig-economy-feel-lonely-and-powerless-say-experts-u-t-and-other-universities <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Workers in the gig economy feel lonely and powerless, say experts from ÇŃ×ÓÖ±˛Ą and other universities</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/file-20191118-169352-weblead.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=vgxKs3v4 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/file-20191118-169352-weblead.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=hZdzzo2J 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/file-20191118-169352-weblead.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=24mly7vu 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/file-20191118-169352-weblead.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=vgxKs3v4" alt="Woman sits on floor of apartment and works on laptop"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>Christopher.Sorensen</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2019-11-21T10:29:46-05:00" title="Thursday, November 21, 2019 - 10:29" class="datetime">Thu, 11/21/2019 - 10:29</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item"><p>Are gig workers lonely and isolated? Or independent and liberated? New research suggests despite assumptions about freedom, gig workers report feeling lonely and powerless (photo via Unsplash)</p> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/alex-bierman" hreflang="en">Alex Bierman</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/paul-glavin" hreflang="en">Paul Glavin</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/scott-schieman" hreflang="en">Scott Schieman</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/our-community" hreflang="en">Our Community</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-arts-science" hreflang="en">Faculty of Arts &amp; Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/sociology" hreflang="en">Sociology</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/conversation" hreflang="en">The Conversation</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p class="legacy">The gig economy is quickly becoming a central part of Canadian life. The jobs aren’t just limited to Uber and Skip the Dishes. Grocery stores, laundries and more are banking on a new workforce that will accept jobs on a per-task basis.</p> <p>Even a hallmark of Canadian life – snow-shovelling – is being absorbed into the gig economy. A <a href="https://mowsnowpros.com">recent startup</a> in Calgary lets homeowners hire shovellers using their smartphones.</p> <p>As sociologists, we envision a decentralized workforce, bereft of regular human contact or <a href="https://www.vice.com/en_ca/article/597745/the-gig-economy-screws-over-everyone-but-the-bosses-across-canada">continuous employment</a>. Yet this outlook stands in stark contrast to optimistic portrayals of a flexible economy that empowers workers to <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2019/01/08/what-are-the-pros-and-cons-of-the-gig-economy/#308092541388">control their own fates</a>. Which narrative – decentralized and isolated or connected and empowered – best reflects the reality of Canada’s gig workers?</p> <p>It turns out that separating the hype from reality about the Canadian gig economy is no easy task, given the <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-federal-response-to-gig-economy-hindered-by-unreliable-data/">dearth of available data</a> on gig workers.</p> <h3>One in five workers in gig economy</h3> <p>We therefore set out to conduct surveys with a representative slice of the Canadian employed population – gig and non-gig workers – as part of the 2019 Canadian Quality of Work and Economic Life Study. Our preliminary findings, as yet unpublished, are the result of interviews with 2,524 working Canadians from this study.</p> <p>Our survey was conducted online, using a nationally representative panel maintained by the firm Angus Reid Global. We asked about paid activities on a per-fee basis –&nbsp;from food delivery and freelancing to ride-share driving and completing tasks online. If a respondent said they had performed any of these activities in the last month, they worked in the gig economy.</p> <p>Our results showed that participation in the gig economy is quite common, at almost one out of every five workers – a participation rate similar to <a href="http://www.bankofcanada.ca/2019/02/staff-analytical-note-2019-6">other </a><a href="https://www.bankofcanada.ca/2019/02/staff-analytical-note-2019-6">Canadian</a> <a href="http://www.bostonfed.org/publications/research-department-working-paper/2018/the-ups-and-downs-of-the-gig-economy-2015-2017.aspx">and </a><a href="https://www.bostonfed.org/publications/research-department-working-paper/2018/the-ups-and-downs-of-the-gig-economy-2015-2017.aspx">American</a> estimates.</p> <p>Gig economy workers appeared to be suffering compared to more conventional workers. For example, we asked our respondents three questions that are commonly used by social scientists to indicate loneliness.</p> <p>People could report if they lacked companionship, felt left out and felt isolated from other people. Gig workers were almost twice as likely to report frequently experiencing a sign of loneliness. Gig workers also scored higher on a mental health measure capturing experiences of anxiety and depression.</p> <figure class="align-center "><img alt sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/302330/original/file-20191119-169386-1xdtl9x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/302330/original/file-20191119-169386-1xdtl9x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/302330/original/file-20191119-169386-1xdtl9x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/302330/original/file-20191119-169386-1xdtl9x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/302330/original/file-20191119-169386-1xdtl9x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/302330/original/file-20191119-169386-1xdtl9x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/302330/original/file-20191119-169386-1xdtl9x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w"> <figcaption><span class="caption">Workers in the gig economy are lonely (photo via Shutterstock)</span></figcaption> </figure> <p>Even if gig economy workers are more lonely and distressed, are they at least more empowered?</p> <p>This doesn’t appear to be the case, either. We presented our respondents with a set of questions social scientists often use to measure powerlessness. These are questions about whether people feel helpless in dealing with their problems, or have little control over their lives.</p> <p>Gig economy workers were 50 per cent more likely to report feelings of helplessness, and almost 40 per cent more likely to report feelings of little control. If anything, then, gig economy workers were more likely to report powerlessness than other working respondents.</p> <h3>Lonelier and less happy</h3> <p>Gig economy workers were therefore lonelier, less happy and felt less in control of their lives than other workers.</p> <p>But gig economy workers are also demographically very different than more conventional workers. Our results showed that gig economy workers are younger and less likely to be married. Gig economy workers also tend to work longer hours and are less likely to have higher education.</p> <p>So could we be seeing these results because the gig economy pulls from a different population base than the more conventional work force? No. In fact, none of these factors ruled out the differences we observed.</p> <p>It is not difficult to see these patterns reflected in the everyday stories and experiences of current participants in the gig economy. Uber passengers can now select a “<a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/international-business/article-uber-offers-riders-more-legroom-less-chatting-at-a-price/">quiet preferred</a>” option, effectively turning drivers into silent chauffeurs. In-store shoppers wander the aisles of grocery stores <a href="https://www.grocerydive.com/news/does-the-gig-economy-have-a-future-in-grocery-stores/566797/">filling orders for delivery</a>, surrounded by, but often invisible to, the actual employees of the store.</p> <p>In the gig economy, your boss may be an algorithm, and you are subject to the whims of fluctuating demand and a star system that rates every interaction. The result is a precarious workforce that is often isolated and powerless.</p> <h3>A grim future of work</h3> <p>If this is the future of work, it may be a lonely and uncertain future for many workers. But the future of the gig economy is itself uncertain.</p> <p>A new <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/california-bill-gig-economy-1.5279623">California law</a> that will force many employers in the Golden State to reclassify “app-based” contract workers as employees may stunt the growth of the gig work model, or radically restructure it. It goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2020.</p> <p>At the same time, Uber – a pioneer of the on-demand labour model – seems intent on extending its role as an intermediary for gig labour via a new shift-work finder app, <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2018/10/18/17995398/uber-works-staffing-business-test-trial">Uber Works</a>, that matches workers to services beyond the ride-sharing industry.</p> <p>Our survey shows how the gig economy is already a central part of many working Canadians’ lives. It is also an increasingly important way for many consumers to obtain goods and services.</p> <p>But there’s a considerable psychological cost for workers in this new economy. Canadians will soon need to grapple with the question of whether the ease and flexibility provided by the gig economy is worth these costs.<br> <!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: http://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><em><span><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/scott-schieman-411810">Scott Schieman</a>&nbsp;is the chair of the department of sociology at the&nbsp;<a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-toronto-1281">University of Toronto</a>.&nbsp;<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/paul-glavin-887207">Paul Glavin</a>&nbsp;is an associate professor of sociology at&nbsp;<a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/mcmaster-university-930">McMaster University</a>.&nbsp;<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/alex-bierman-891165">Alex Bierman</a>&nbsp;is an associate professor&nbsp;of sociology at the&nbsp;<a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-calgary-1318">University of Calgary</a>.</span></em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/workers-in-the-gig-economy-feel-lonely-and-powerless-127188">original article</a>.</em></p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Thu, 21 Nov 2019 15:29:46 +0000 Christopher.Sorensen 160839 at