Gig work, which is often conducted on platforms such as Uber, TaskRabbit, Instacart, Care.com, and Rover, is the epitome of precarious work: the work is so temporary that a 'gig' may last only a few minutes, and workers -- who are usually classified as independent contractors -- are entirely outside the social safety net of workers’ compensation, social security contributions, paid leave, or health insurance. Traditionally, low-income workers have fared worse physically, psychologically, and economically in U.S. natural disasters. Also, while white collar and professional workers conduct their work remotely via Zoom, working from the relative safety of their home offices, gig and temporary workers are increasingly being called on to ensure ready access to food, medicine, and toilet paper for their middle and upper middle class work-from-home peers. And the ranks of precarious workers on the frontlines of the pandemic are only expected to grow. This project will examine the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on exacerbating the existing vulnerability of precarious and gig workers. This project will additionally examine how precarious workers in essential jobs are weighing, and addressing, the health risks of working versus the economic repercussions of unemployment, and how the pandemic, and resulting recession, may affect worker views of the desirability of freelance or gig-based work. Findings from the project will help to inform governmental policies at several levels affecting gig workers, as well as labor force participants who may be considering adoption or rejection of gig work in the 21st century.
The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged the working conditions of gig workers who, by definition, cannot practice social distancing when completing their tasks. This project, a mixed-methods panel study, will utilize in-depth interviews and surveys with 200 precarious and gig workers in New York City (NYC), the early epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak. Participants will include gig workers who find work via online platforms, freelance workers in creative fields, and fast food and retail workers. The first phase will be conducted between April and June 2020, a period that coincides with the expected peak of the outbreak in NYC, and will examine how workers are coping with these risks, and how the pandemic is shaping their lives and understandings of their work. Follow-up interviews and surveys will be conducted during Fall 2020, concurrent with the expected second outbreak, and will provide an opportunity to study the impact of the Pandemic Unemployment Act and economic stimulus checks on gig workers. Findings from the project will inform sociological theories regarding precarious work, job satisfaction, and job mobility. Findings will also inform theories regarding differential access to the U.S. employment social safety net that appear among gig workers, as well as between them and workers in more conventional jobs.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
