The challenge with gig economy
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Last Updated: Aug 04, 2021, 12:14 PM IST
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Synopsis
The main issue with gig economy is the employment relationship. Most of the time, it is the ambiguity around the rights of workers and the responsibilities of platforms that allows businesses to treat workers as employees in terms of the control, but without the cost of hiring. As a result of this arrangement, the workers get the short end of the stick.
In the interplay of demand and supply mechanisms, the gig workers always lose out.
The gig economy has been a driving force in shaping the future of work. Its characteristic of unique employment relationship upends the traditional ways of working in many ways; since there is no employer-employee relationship, the gig workers are not beholden to any particular employer and therefore have greater flexibility in terms of the work they can choose and the hours they dedicate. Businesses enjoy similar flexibility when they are not dependen