But for others, the majority, it is simply the contemporary manifestation of the casualisation of work, with its associated low pay and insecurity. This is the new precariat, as Guy Standing calls it. They are often regarded as 'independent contractors' and required to take on the risks previously assumed by employers.
In rich countries, the gig economy is a significant part of the workforce, albeit a minority. In poor countries, where formal jobs, as understood in the global North, are often the minority of livelihoods, gig workers are simply one part of the informal economy.
Whether seen as empowerment or as exploitation, the gig economy has been facilitated by web-based technologies. The impoverishment of the many gig workers has been accompanied by the enrichment of the few, mainly technology companies. These companies - Uber and AirBnB are only two of the better known - have disrupted the sectors in which they operate. They are often popular with consumers too.
The COVID-19 crisis has revealed the difficulties states have in ensuring that aid packages reach those in the gig economy, and in irregular and a-typical employment. It has also shown there is greater scope than previously imagined, for a more flexible approach to work. Formal sector work doesn't need to be 9-to-5, and there are clearly more possibilities for remote working than were previously imagined.
What will be different after COVID? It is hard to see a simple reversion to the previous arrangement. But much will depend on the power of the companies and individuals who benefit from the status quo, and the determination of progressives to push for change. Progressives will have two possible strategies.
The first will be to fight to regulate the labour market to ensure that gig workers are treated as proper employees with appropriate rights, leave and other benefits guaranteed. This is the preferred option of many gig workers and many trade unions. Whether the business models of the Ubers of this world can survive such regulation is doubtful. The question then becomes whether we can return to the older model of formal, regulated work as usual. I suspect not. That bird has flown.
A second option is to push for something like a basic guaranteed minimum income, or universal basic income. If all adults are paid a basic, modest, income by the state, then people will not face the same pressures to take exploitative employment. They will be able to embrace flexibility without fear, work from home if they wish, work in the voluntary and community sector, study further, work for Uber, and so on.
