The Gig Economy

Work and its role in society has become the subject of considerable public commentary and debate in recent years. Work, for many Americans, has changed significantly over the past 25 years. Some people believe that the world of work is changing so thoroughly and quickly that we should consider ourselves pioneers of a new historical era. Some say that the idea of a job has become antiquated.

This onslaught of capitalism directly revolutionized modern industrialism as well as the industrial city. Machines morphed the predominately agricultural nation to a herd of factory and corporate workers. Swarms of people, both native and immigrant, flocked to major cities. “The present century has been marked by a prodigious increase in wealth-producing power. The utilization of steam and electricity, the introduction of improved processes and labor saving machinery, the greater subdivision and grander scale of production, the wonderful facilitation of exchanges, have multiplied enormously the effectiveness of labor.”(George, p.20) The major problem with this newfound industrialism was the way in which the workforce was treated. Capitalism was supposed to provide a way out, a way ascend the financial and social staircase, if you worked hard enough. This however was not the case, if you were a loyal, hardworking employee you simply got to keep your job, and if you were in any way injured or incompetent you were fired.

After the global financial crisis in the 1970s, British labour market experienced a great shift in the organization and the new distribution of human resources (Hughes and Fergusson, 2004:95). It is undeniable that this economic recession had brought huge challenges to British economic development. The managers of organizations realized the significance of rising to the occasion in order to remain competitive power, which resulted in the emergence of flexible time work systems (ibid: 96). More specifically, zero-hour contracts have been applied. Pardey (2013:6) points out that zero-hour contracts are labour contracts between employers and employees which offer uncertain work and unfixed working hours. According to Tovey (2013), the study from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), nearly 3.1% of British labour force has

In the era when capitalism was booming workers faced very harsh working conditions and little job security. The workers were the very last ones to benefit from their own work, “the products of capitalism invariably benefit[ed] the ‘wealthy’ first”(DiLorenzo, pg.96). Workers worked long hours sometimes even a 24 hour shift and maybe got a day off every two weeks, with a typical work week of 50-54 hours, where today it is only 40 hours. Due to this era being big on industrialism that meant machines were constantly replacing workers, that is “new machine techniques replacing old human skills

“Workers of the world unite; you have nothing to lose but your chains” (Engels and Marx). Peter Georgescu, author and chairman of Young & Rubicam wrote the article “Capitalists, Arise”. Capitalism is a political system famously known for letting individuals own things such as businesses and property instead of the government. In his article, Georgescu tries to inform the readers about the widening wage gap. He also explores the idea that big businesses need to improve wages for workers so that the standard of living can improve for everyone in capitalist America. He does this through tone, diction, and rhetorical devices.

Issues like downsizing and overseas relocation had always seemed distant to me until my co-workers at one factory told me that the unit I was working in would be shut down within six months and moved to Mexico, where people would work for 60 cents an hour”, in this statement he gives the readers reasons for factory work being a hard way to live. Lastly, this statement he made, “The things that factory work has taught me how lucky I am to get an education, how to work hard, how easy it is to lose that work once you have it are by no means earth-shattering” the author is giving examples of the different lessons that leads to my main claim about his purposes for writing his article.

Every day millions of people wake up, get dressed and head out for a long day of work. Many of these people may work at a local McDonald’s, Wal-Mart, Dillard’s, or gas station. Some people choose to work at home on a computer blogging, selling items on the internet and even making entertaining videos. Present day society is quite different than society years ago, before and during the Industrial Revolution. Today the people of the world have more opportunities for advancements than before. The world has evolved significantly over time, and

The use of historic studies can help to identify the direction of the economy by examining inequality, insecurity and the health implications associated with these phenomena. For organizations to remain relevant in a post-industrial society, it is necessary to evaluate the efficiency of current organizational management methods. The globalization of work is one of the main contributing factors for change in the modern Canadian economy (Spilerman, 2009). Protection of the environment often comes at the expense of creating jobs, which merits a conversation on the implications of work and the environment. The impact of unions on the labour market are then examined. It is argued that future prospects for work

In A Shopkeeper’s Millennium, Johnson reveals that the emergence of industrial capitalism caused a numerous of effects. In an attempt to bring order, employees stopped living with their employers, ceased drinking during work hours and the social relation between employees and employers started to

This essay will argue that the concept of ‘worker’ defined under section 230 of the Employment Rights Act (“ERA”) 1996 is board; however, due to the undefined scope of section 230(3) of ERA 1996, employment tribunals and the courts have adapted a rigid approach in their interpretation; that there is a ‘high degree of legal uncertainty’ as established in this area of law; that the law does not adequately deal with non-standard forms of ‘workers’; present proposals for reform by the UK Parliament on the interpretation and application of law at common; and finally provide a conclusion for the arguments put forth.

The labor movement began during the industrial revolution and exists because of worker-employer relationships and working conditions, thus providing the landscape for labor power (Mahutga). Labor power can be broken down into associational power and structural bargaining power. Mahutga’s Lecture on Globalization and Labor builds on Beverly Sliver 's argument on the Forces of Labor and Tamara Kay 's argument on Labor Transnationalism and Global Governance about what Labor market power and Labor Transnationalism mean as regards labor on a global scale (Mahutga, Kay). Is it creating better standards for the working and living conditions of workers? Associational power results in collective workers ' ability to unionize and organize to present one opposing voice. Structural bargaining power results from the workers ' place in the economic system,

The Industrial Revolution hit Europe and along with it came a great deal of change. Not only did this industrial revolution affect standards of living in cities, it also affected greatly the nature and quality of labor. The Industrial Revolution had an impact of the greatest magnitude on Europe and has shaped the work style and nature of labor that Europeans know today. Although it may seem like a revolution of this sort would have great benefits for those who lived through it, evidence seems to show otherwise. For many it was difficult to adapt to this new world of industrial labor and for others it was a bit easier to adjust.

Actual express authority, this principle provides that the principle (Uber) enters an explicit agreement with the agent (drivers) to take part in a given action such as giving orders for them to transport people from one point to the other.

Nearly half of the sector’s workfore is part-time much higher that 28% across the economy as a whole – and are in pubd, bars and nightclubs 58% fewer are in travel services 23%.

This wave of protest led to the establishment of a new type of management, which was believed to help workers integrate into the capitalist system, known as Post-Fordism (Dicken, 2003). Beginning in the late 20th century, Post-Fordism is characterised by any different attributes, such as smaller batched production, specialized products and jobs, new-age technologies, the rise of service and feminization in the work force, and the emphasis on consumer niche markets, as opposed to simply considering social class (Allen, 1992). However, due to limited wording, three main characteristics of Post-Fordism will be exclusively discussed; consumer sovereignty, the fragmentation of careers, and globalization in terms of the interactivity and future opportunities it encompasses.