Digital Work: New Opportunities or Lost Wages

Dunn, Michael

doi:10.5465/ambpp.2016.11689abstract

Cited by 15 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Freelance work is project-based: there is little commitment between employer and worker beyond the specifics of the project's contract (Wood et al, 2019). The online nature of their work makes them susceptible to greater competition by reducing barriers for other workers to enter and compete (Dunn, 2017). And, in countries like the U.S., online freelancers are independent contractors.…”

Section: When Motivation Becomes Desperation: Online Freelancing Durimentioning

confidence: 99%

When Motivation Becomes Desperation: Online Freelancing During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Dunn¹,

Stephany²,

Sawyer³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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This study combines market-level data about changes in jobs offered via online labor platforms and interviews with online freelance workers to highlight how freelancers are responding to the novel coronavirus’s presence. We pursue this work recognizing that as the scope and breadth of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to grow, the implications to workers and labor markets are profound. Our focus on online labor markets and workers reflects our enduring interest in knowledge work, with a particular attention to precarious work. Market data show the dramatic shifts in work availability (supply) and the changes in worker availability (demand) as the United States’ economy struggles with the initial burst of effects of a pandemic. Interview data reveal that freelance workers are aware of these shifts. These changes to already- precarious and market-driven work arrangements are magnified by the realities of balancing family members’ changes in job status, working around children who are home from school, and re-organizing work and lives to account for the rapid onset and confusion of stay-at-home requirements and the uncertainty that is the core of the pandemic. Findings suggest work flexibility, which seems central to freelancer’s motivation to pursue such work, is diminishing and instead freelancers are being driven by desperation rooted in the acknowledged precarity of their situation, magnified by the constellation of events reshaping their working arrangements. We further observe that these effects vary by occupation and are more keenly experienced by women freelancers, both of which warrant additional attention.

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Section: When Motivation Becomes Desperation: Online Freelancing Durimentioning

confidence: 99%

When Motivation Becomes Desperation: Online Freelancing During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Dunn¹,

Stephany²,

Sawyer³

et al. 2020

Preprint

Self Cite

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“…The author finds that “virtual” workers consistently earn less than workers in physical workplaces in comparable tasks and occupations. 12 12Dunn (2017). A New York Times report highlights the negative consequences of the ride-share services on wages and working conditions of taxi drivers, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/09/nyregion/uber-nyc-vote-drivers-ride-sharing.html This seems to go against the conclusion of Sundarajan (2017) that digital workers in the United States are better compensated than regular workers probably because the author relied on anecdotal evidence as a reviewer of his work has pointed out.…”

Section: Harnessing Modern Technology To Create New Employment Opportmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…12Dunn (2017). A New York Times report highlights the negative consequences of the ride-share services on wages and working conditions of taxi drivers, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/09/nyregion/uber-nyc-vote-drivers-ride-sharing.html…”

Section: Harnessing Modern Technology To Create New Employment Opportmentioning

confidence: 99%

Automation and the Future of Employment: Implications for India

Islam

2018

South Asian Journal of Human Resources Management

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This article reviews the international evidence on the impact of automation on employment and interprets the Indian experience in light of such evidence. It argues that the apocalyptic notion that one faces large-scale technological unemployment either in India or globally is exaggerated. On the other hand, the romantic notion that new technology-especially in the form of on-line workwill create a new era of prosperity in India driven by digitally-enabled microentrepreneurs is unlikely to materialize. This does not mean that new employment opportunities created by digital platforms should be shunned. They should be carefully nurtured by novel regulatory frameworks that seek to improve wages and working conditions for the growing community of online workers in India. This should be complemented by adequate investments in digital infrastructure.

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“…O trabalho por meio de plataformas digitais se intensificou sobremaneira. Ao mesmo tempo em que cria boas oportunidades de negócios e de novos modelos de trabalho digital, também favorece a precarização do trabalho existente e a criação de novos empregos precários (DUNN, 2017;SOUSA, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionunclassified