The Live of Workers and the Changing Nature of Work: The Gig Economy  Executive summary: (200 words not included word count) Introduction: - (250 words) We are constantly reminded of the looming presence of the gig economy within today’s labour market. Although gig workers today make up a considerably small fraction those employed nationally, over the past decade this segment of the labour market has grown at an unprecedented rate. External forces of technological advancement, increased demand for non-standard work schedules, the desire to capitalise, lack of regulation and globalisation of the labour market have driven this rapid expansion. The concept of ‘gig work’ today is commonly associated with individuals carrying out tasks or offering services through online platforms created by for-profit organisations (Minter 2017). However, the gig economy also includes any freelancers, project based workers and independent contractors (Knox 2018). With the “sharing-economy” trend forecasted to expand even further and absorb a large portion of the labour market over the coming years, there is a growing need to address the challenges, risks and benefits it will bring. Much of the literature surrounding the current state of the gig economy and its future prospects within Australia addresses the growing need for legitimized representation of gig workers and proposes possible regulation methods (Knox 2018; Minter 2017; Sarina & Riley 2018; Stewart & Stanford 2017). This report will add to existing research firstly by analysing the attitudes and ideas held by young Australian’s towards gig work forms, then defining the probable future of gig work within Australia, and finally by suggesting ways to regulate this area of the labour market in order to protect its workers and the wellbeing of greater society.  Study Method: (300 words) Findings: (500 words) Among the five respondents, Austin, Benjamin and Yoe are studying bachelor’s degree. Aung and Jan have already received a master’s degree. All five interviewees have gig economy working experience. Aung and Jan are currently working full time, Benjamin and Yoe are currently working on gig jobs, and Austin is looking for gig jobs. In addition, both Yoe and Austin have experience working in convenience stores. Aung and Austin believe that gig jobs can get more money during their student years and improve their quality of life. Yoe and Jan believe that gig jobs can accumulate a lot of experience to help them get full time work. Benjamin is more concerned about his uni work, he does not want gig job to affect his studies. Compared to full time work, the flexibility of gig job is more concerned by respondents. Yoe, Aung and Austin both hate 9 to 5 jobs, they are eager for free time and want to manage their own time. The flexible working schedules and small stress of gig jobs are perfect for them. Benjamin also cherishes gig economy to provide jobs for workers. However, Jan and Benjamin are concerned th.

1. The Live of Workers and the Changing Nature of Work: The
Gig Economy
Executive summary: (200 words not included word count)
Introduction: - (250 words)
We are constantly reminded of the looming presence of the gig
economy within today’s labour market. Although gig workers
today make up a considerably small fraction those employed
nationally, over the past decade this segment of the labour
market has grown at an unprecedented rate. External forces of
technological advancement, increased demand for non-standard
work schedules, the desire to capitalise, lack of regulation and
globalisation of the labour market have driven this rapid
expansion. The concept of ‘gig work’ today is commonly
associated with individuals carrying out tasks or offering
services through online platforms created by for-profit
organisations (Minter 2017). However, the gig economy also
includes any freelancers, project based workers and independent
contractors (Knox 2018). With the “sharing-economy” trend
forecasted to expand even further and absorb a large portion of
the labour market over the coming years, there is a growing
need to address the challenges, risks and benefits it will bring.
Much of the literature surrounding the current state of the gig
economy and its future prospects within Australia addresses the
growing need for legitimized representation of gig workers and
proposes possible regulation methods (Knox 2018; Minter 2017;
Sarina & Riley 2018; Stewart & Stanford 2017). This report will
add to existing research firstly by analysing the attitudes and
ideas held by young Australian’s towards gig work forms, then
defining the probable future of gig work within Australia, and
finally by suggesting ways to regulate this area of the labour
market in order to protect its workers and the wellbeing of
greater society.

2. Study Method: (300 words)
Findings: (500 words)
Among the five respondents, Austin, Benjamin and Yoe are
studying bachelor’s degree. Aung and Jan have already received
a master’s degree. All five interviewees have gig economy
working experience. Aung and Jan are currently working full
time, Benjamin and Yoe are currently working on gig jobs, and
Austin is looking for gig jobs. In addition, both Yoe and Austin
have experience working in convenience stores. Aung and
Austin believe that gig jobs can get more money during their
student years and improve their quality of life. Yoe and Jan
believe that gig jobs can accumulate a lot of experience to help
them get full time work. Benjamin is more concerned about his
uni work, he does not want gig job to affect his studies.
Compared to full time work, the flexibility of gig job is more
concerned by respondents. Yoe, Aung and Austin both hate 9 to
5 jobs, they are eager for free time and want to manage their
own time. The flexible working schedules and small stress of
gig jobs are perfect for them. Benjamin also cherishes gig
economy to provide jobs for workers. However, Jan and
Benjamin are concerned that gig jobs lack the benefits of full-
time jobs. For example, gig workers are at risk of vicarious
liabilities and insurance obligations, and Gig workers are
excluded from employment laws labor protections. Gig workers
are not eligible for employment benefits such as pensions and
medical benefits. And they have no job security and income
stability. In addition, their income also challenges the
government's tax revenue. Most respondents believe that
whether they are engaged in gig jobs or full-time jobs are the
freedoms people choose and deserve to be respected. Both
modes of work contribute to society. Especially, Benjamin
believes that although people who work full-time now have
higher stability and more income than gig workers, the future of
gig jobs is limitless. Yoe, Aung and Austin are satisfied with

3. their current work arrangements. However, Jan has too few job
opportunities and he is looking forward to getting more gig jobs
or a full-time job. In addition, although Benjamin currently has
a lot of job opportunities, he is worried about whether gig jobs
can maintain a balance between work and life after graduation.
All respondents were surprisingly consistent about their ideal
work arrangement. They all want to work more flexible the
better. Neither Jan nor Austin likes to work in the office. Aung,
Benjamin, Jan and Austin all want to work remotely outdoors
and at home. Four respondents wanted to strictly monitor the
gig economy, including benefits for making long-term contracts,
regulate the exploitation of gig workers, set a minimum wage,
and formulate insurance during gig worker's working period.
Finally, all respondents believe that the government should
adopt legislation to promote the more standardized growth of
gig economy.
Discussion: (1500 words and 10 peer reviewed references )In
order to define the future of gig work within Australia the
following will be discussed; the pros and cons of gig work,
probable future trends in gig work, demands for regulation and
proposed regulation recommendations.
Ideas for discussion parras:
- Appeal of gig work – external forces that cause it to
grow
- Negatives of gig work – current anxieties towards it
- Future of gig work – what will it look like in future
In the future, companies are increasingly disliked to hire
permanent employees. CEOs hope that their employees will
serve the company during the company's rapid development and
leave the company during the downturn. Moreover, large
companies are reluctant to work on occupational hazards and
are unwilling to bear too much of their insurance, medical
examinations and treatment costs. Therefore, a large number of
job opportunities exist only in the form of outsourcing, which

4. translates into more and more scattered jobs, and the future Gig
economy has developed rapidly.
Traditionally, Gig economy has focused on delivery and travel
services such as Uber and Deliveroo. In the future, new gig
workers will be active in all industries including B2B, retail and
education. At present, gig economy is dominated by low-income
jobs such as carpooling and delivery. The company has signed
contracts with gig workers to use low-skilled, low-cost workers
to execute non-core processes and achieve high efficiency. In
the future, gig economy will produce highly skilled, high-
paying jobs such as software development and design. As the
demand for talent continues to change, valuable gig workers are
increasingly seen as a source of scarce talent and expertise. The
labor sharing platform can provide companies with rare skilled
talents that are difficult to obtain in the traditional full-time
labor market. More and more multinational companies are
beginning to promote gig economy, for example, Samsung is
expanding its use of freelance platforms. Previously, small
businesses and start-ups hired gig workers using a freelance
platform. In the future, multinational giants are also interested
in hiring gig workers and are using online freelance platforms
to hire IT professionals, designers, marketers and other high-
paying jobs. Multinational companies hire gig workers because
gig workers are more cost effective than full-time employees.
And gig workers can only be hired flexibly when demand arises.
Moreover, the company is not obligated to provide gig workers
with employee benefits that are generally mandatory for full-
time employees, such as health care and pension benefits.
Companies will use the labor sharing platform to increase
company flexibility. These platforms can be a valuable tool
when companies are looking for scarce technology and talent to
respond to changing customer needs. Companies can leverage
existing human-sharing platforms and networks, as well as build
their own. Companies and gig workers are not just employment

5. relationships, they will be integrated. Companies must clearly
articulate the role of gig workers in order to gain broad internal
support and collaboration from other employees.
- Need for regulation
- Possible regulation methods etc
With the external forces of technology and globalisation
continuing to revolutionise the ways we carry out work and a
strong desire for increased flexibility within society, many
anticipate that the gig economy will account for a large sector
of the labour market in the near future (Minter 2017). Currently
the majority of gig work within Australia takes the form of
platform based business models which offer services such as
food delivery and transportation (Sarina & Riley 2018). It is
expected that the general practice of gig work will revolutionize
the services sector, with work becoming available in areas like
legal aid, finance and education (Minter 2017). Although these
trends are expected to prevail, Australia has made little efforts
to evolve with them compared to other countries such as the UK
and Germany (REFFFF still to addd).
Current statutes and regulations that could protect the rights of
gig workers are uncertain, outdated and vague (Stewart &
Stanford 2017). Regulations that determine minimum wages,
maximum working hours, entitlements, protections and rights to
collective bargaining only cover ‘employees’ (Stewart &
Stanford 2017). As gig workers are most commonly classified as
‘independent contractors’ or ‘self employed’ by the business
models that they work for, their rights are undermined and
uncertain (Sarina & Riley 2018). Companies avoid liability and
the responsibility to pay entitlements, workers compensation
and superannuation by what many are referring to as ‘sham
contracting’ (Sarina & Riley 2018; Stewart & Stanford 2017). In
many instances, gig workers are being subject to offering up
their own assets and security only to work with minimal
autonomy or control over their working conditions, a situation

6. that is distant from that of a legitimate independent contractor
(Stewart & Stanford 2017). With the vulnerabilities placed upon
workers within the gig economies already prevalent, there will
need to be changes implemented by the Australian government
to protect workers and the wellbeing of the Australian labour
force in the face of the gig economy (Minter 2017).
Recommendations are being made as to the necessary changes to
support new work forms and allow workers to thrive. Policy
makers should consider expanding upon the current definition of
employment. If work organised and facilitated by a digital
intermediary was recognised as employment, this would enable
gig workers to enforce their rights and stand up to unfair
treatment (Stewart & Stanford 2017). There could also be strict
regulation imposed upon companies to prohibit artificial
categorisation of workers as independent contractors in order to
tackle sham contracting (Knox 2018; Minter 2017). An
alternative solution is creating a new category of worker known
as ‘the independent worker’. As this new work form is so
distant from what we know, a new classification of worker may
be warranted (Minter 2018). Platform and gig workers would be
legitimized and provided with avenues to maintain justice and
attain fair treatment in their work. Contractual agreements
would be controlled to avoid the exploitation that many
companies currently engage in (Stewart & Stanford 2017).
The research obtained through interviews in this report suggests
that despite the challenges and insecurities presented by the gig
economy, young Australian’s maintain an ambitious and
optimistic outlook towards the opportunity it presents. With
value placed upon flexibility, freedom and convenience, it
seems that working arrangements created by the gig economy
are in keeping with the wants and needs of future generations.
Policymakers and governments should recognise the relevance
and prominence of the gig economy and implement policy to
support it (Minter 2018). Changes in the way we recognise these

7. forms of work could be the fine tuning necessary to allow
platform workers and their providers to thrive.
Conclusion: (200 words)
References:
Knox, A 2018, ‘Regulatory avoidance in the temporary work
agency industry: evidence from australia’, The Economic
Labour Relations Review, vol. 29, no. 2, pp. 190-206, viewed
25 September 2019, SAGE Journals database.
Minter, K 2017, ‘Negotiating labour standards in the gig
economy: airtasker and unions new south whales’, The
Economic and Labour Relations Review, vol. 28, no. 3, pp. 438-
454, viewed 25 September 2019, SAGE database.
Sarina, T & Riley, J 2018, ‘Re-crafting the enterprise for the
gig-economy’, New Zealand Journal of Employment Relations,
vol. 43, no. 2, pp. 27-35, viewed 25 September 2019, ProQuest
database.
Stewart, A & Stanford, J 2017, ‘Regulating work in the gig
economy: what are the options’, The Economic and Labour
Relations Review, vol. 28, no. 3, pp. 420-437, viewed 25
September 2019, SAGE Journals database.
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