4 ms·

It can be a freedom for some people. People raising kids might love to work a couple days a week a couple months of the year (to match the school schedule). M

It can be a freedom for some people. People raising kids might love to work a couple days a week a couple months of the year (to match the school schedule). Many of them would never consider a 9-5 FTE job.

eterm 7y ago
Part time employment is very different from 'unpredictable hours with no certainty and poor workers' rights' which is what much of the gig economy actually is. Part time employment with flexible working hours is a good thing, but that's not a benefit that the gig economy delivers, in fact quite the opposite. An unregulated wage economy suppresses wages to the point that workers must work ever increasing hours to make a living wage. If that stops being the case, there will be someone willing to work a little longer for a little less. This feeds into a cycle where wages are suppressed right down to the point where to make a living wage you actually have to be working all the time. Far from gaining control to "set your own hours" you actually get pressured into more and more hours. Contrast to regulated industries where you are either salaried, or supply is restricted so that workers can genuinely earn and set their own schedules without feeling like they'll lose out by taking any breaks. Describing the gig economy as some kind of workers' nirvana is just deceptive and wrong.
- everdev 7y ago
  > workers must work ever increasing hours to make a living wage. That sounds like trying to use the gig economy to make a living. I'm sure some people could do it, but it's hard like you mention. The gig economy is designed for short, flexible gigs to supplement your income not replace it entirely. The people that are trying to make a full income entirely from piecing together tons of small gigs I'm sure are struggling because that's not what it's claiming to do. It's primary function is flexibility, not keeping up with the Joneses. FTE is for building wealth, the gig economy is for flexibility. The gig economy filled a much needed gap for people that only want to work a few hours a week or like variety in their work. It's not supposed to be the cure to fill time employment, just an alternative. It's like complaining that a "tiny house" isn't big enough. It's not what it was designed to do.
  - gshdg 7y ago
    But the fact is that a lot of people ARE trying to use the gig economy to make a living. In many cases because it's the only option open to them. When gigs represent an ever-increasing percentage of the employment available and steadier work is becoming harder to find, how are people expected to make a living?

eterm 7y ago

Part time employment is very different from 'unpredictable hours with no certainty and poor workers' rights' which is what much of the gig economy actually is. Part time employment with flexible working hours is a good thing, but that's not a benefit that the gig economy delivers, in fact quite the opposite. An unregulated wage economy suppresses wages to the point that workers must work ever increasing hours to make a living wage. If that stops being the case, there will be someone willing to work a little longer for a little less. This feeds into a cycle where wages are suppressed right down to the point where to make a living wage you actually have to be working all the time. Far from gaining control to "set your own hours" you actually get pressured into more and more hours. Contrast to regulated industries where you are either salaried, or supply is restricted so that workers can genuinely earn and set their own schedules without feeling like they'll lose out by taking any breaks. Describing the gig economy as some kind of workers' nirvana is just deceptive and wrong.

everdev 7y ago
> workers must work ever increasing hours to make a living wage. That sounds like trying to use the gig economy to make a living. I'm sure some people could do it, but it's hard like you mention. The gig economy is designed for short, flexible gigs to supplement your income not replace it entirely. The people that are trying to make a full income entirely from piecing together tons of small gigs I'm sure are struggling because that's not what it's claiming to do. It's primary function is flexibility, not keeping up with the Joneses. FTE is for building wealth, the gig economy is for flexibility. The gig economy filled a much needed gap for people that only want to work a few hours a week or like variety in their work. It's not supposed to be the cure to fill time employment, just an alternative. It's like complaining that a "tiny house" isn't big enough. It's not what it was designed to do.
- gshdg 7y ago
  But the fact is that a lot of people ARE trying to use the gig economy to make a living. In many cases because it's the only option open to them. When gigs represent an ever-increasing percentage of the employment available and steadier work is becoming harder to find, how are people expected to make a living?