One year ago today, Tesla Chief Executive and South African-born billionaire Elon Musk took over Twitter and kicked off what would be a chaotic time at the social media giant
A year ago, having just bought Twitter, Elon Musk walked into its HQ carrying a sink. "Let that sink in" he quipped - then fired a large swathe of staff.
For companies, the practice of outsourcing labor to third parties has become attractive: they get a pre-screened, flexible workforce and the ability to offload the responsibilities of legal employment to someone else. That compelling opportunity has spread far beyond tech to industries from healthcare and logistics. Unfortunately, this workforce model comes at a cost, to both workers and companies. There is a way for employers to contract out responsibility without exposing workers to harm and themselves to increased liability by adopting six pillars: 1) all workers should be paid family-sustaining wages and benefits, 2) equal pay for equal work, 3) provide workplace safety protocols and give the workers a voice, 4) demand equitable procurement, 5) offer pathways to fulltime employment, and 6) be transparent.