Hustle and Gig: Struggling and Surviving in the Sharing Economy

We know that contemporary workers face changes in the workplace driven by rapid increased in technical efficiencies (Gomes 2019), decreased expectations of loyalty between workers and employers (Sweet and Meiksins 2015), and weakened policies and rules governing the workplace and worker rights (Kalleberg 2015). Together, these forces are re-shaping the ways in which people are pursuing work; altering the ways they think about employment and charting a path of greater precarity. Against this backdrop, the rapid evolution of information and communication technologies (ICTs) are playing central roles. For example, advancements in connectivity (e.g., internet infrastructure and access), software (e.g., platforms like Upwork, Fiverr, and others), and devices (e.g., smartphones and tablets) has yielded a new work ecosystem that is increasingly technologically-reliant (e.g., Sawyer, Crowston, and Wigand 2014). Supporters argue that this new economic movement, alternatively described as the on-demand, platform or gig economy, will build community, reverse economic inequality, stop ecological destruction, enhance worker rights, empower the poor, and bring entrepreneurship to the masses (Mathew 2014; Botsman and Rogers 2010). Enter Alexandria Ravenelle’s book, which explores the contradiction between the lofty promises of the gig economy and the lived experiences of workers. Ravenelle takes a critical perspective that exams the costs and benefits of this new movement. Throughout the book, Ravenelle makes the case that this new economic movement is recreating the same labor issues first seen in the 1800s and early 1900s—unsafe working conditions; lack of workplace protections around discrimination and sexual harassment; and strong barriers to unionization.