Gig-Economy Workers Mostly Had A ‘Positive Experience’—There Are Concerns Over Physical And Health Safety And Questions About Fairness Of Pay And Benefits

There are estimates that over 55 million Americans work in the gig economy. This includes independent contractors, freelancers and various forms of temporary flexible jobs. About 16% of Americans have earned money through an online gig platform. These are the people who select your food at the grocery store via Instacart, drive you around in Uber and Lyft cars, deliver food through DoorDash and provide a wide array and growing number of conveniences—mostly accomplished through app-based tech platforms.

There are heated debates over this sector of the job market. For some, it’s a way to make a living—albeit, at a subsistence level. Others say that gig workers are exploited through legal loopholes and paid poorly, while the CEOs, top executives, venture capitalists, wealthy individuals and institutional investors profit handsomely.

In an effort to determine the enormity of the gig economy and its impact on those who work in the space, Pew Research conducted a study entitled the State of Gig Work in 2021. The survey of 10,348 U.S. adults were asked about six types of online, gig-platform work, including “driving for a ride-hailing app; shopping for or delivering groceries or household items; performing household tasks like cleaning someone’s home or assembling furniture, or running errands like picking up dry cleaning; making deliveries from a restaurant or store for a delivery app; using a personal vehicle to deliver packages to others via a mobile app or website, such as Amazon Flex, or doing something else along these lines.” 

The results reflect that “most gig platform workers say they have had a positive experience with these jobs.” Although, there are those who confront challenges, such as “being treated rudely or sexually harassed” and worried about Covid-19 health risks. 

There’s a trend with respect to racial and ethnic differences in the reporting of feeling unsafe or experiencing unwanted sexual advances on the job. Among gig workers who identify as Black, Asian, Hispanic, some other race or multiple races, 41% say they have at least sometimes felt unsafe while completing these jobs, compared with 28% of white gig workers. 

NBC News reported that crimes against gig workers have increased. About 15 gig economy workers shared their stories with NBC and said “they feared for their safety as violence against the industry has spiked during the coronavirus pandemic.” It was also reported, “Police in several major cities, including Minneapolis and Washington, D.C., say carjackings and car thefts, particularly against gig economy drivers, rose during the pandemic.”

In New York City, Francisco Villalva Vitinio, a DoorDash delivery worker, was killed after he refused to give up his e-bike to some thugs. Mohammad Anwar, an Uber Eats driver, was killed by two teenage girls who investigators said used a stun gun on him in Washington. Javier Ramos, an Uber driver in Chicago, was shot in the head and killed by a passenger. 

Around 24% of non-white gig platform workers say they have at least sometimes experienced unwanted sexual advances while doing these jobs, compared with 13% of their white counterparts. 

Non-white gig workers are also more likely to report being concerned about contracting Covid-19 while completing jobs over the past year. About 38% of current or recent white gig workers say they have been at least somewhat concerned in the past 12 months about getting Covid-19 while working these jobs, but that share rises to 59% among those who are non-white.  

Earning a living through app-based tech companies “varies by a number of factors—most notably by age, race and ethnicity and household income.” About half or more of the gig workers responded that they took these jobs to save up extra money and cover gaps or changes in their income. The ability to set their own hours and being in control of their own schedule and being their own boss ranks high in the reasons for accepting these roles. 

About two-thirds of current or recent gig-platform workers think companies that run these platforms are fair when it comes to their pay, but smaller shares say the same for benefits. By comparison, these workers are more critical of the way companies have handled their benefits. Nearly half of recent or current gig workers (46%) say companies have been unfair when it comes to their benefits.

Here are some of the highlights of the survey:

• Hispanic adults stand out for participating in the gig labor force: 30% have ever earned money in this way, compared with 20% of Black adults, 19% of Asian adults and 12% of White adults. And Americans with lower incomes are more likely than those with middle or upper incomes to have ever earned money through these kinds of sites or apps. 
• In total, 9% of U.S. adults reported that they are current or recent gig workers, meaning they have earned money through an online gig platform in the past 12 months. Beyond the makeup of this workforce, the survey also highlights a variety of ways that different people rely on online gig jobs and integrate them into their lives.
• Around thirty percent of 18-to-29-year-olds have ever earned money through an online gig platform, but that share drops to 18% among those ages 30 to 49 and is even smaller for those ages 50 and older.
• Among current or recent gig workers, more say the work is something they do on the side rather than their primary way of earning a living. And relatively few people who have taken on this work over the past year (8%) report putting in more than 30 hours during a typical week. 
• Still, there is a notable segment who have more fully incorporated these jobs into their work lives: 31% of current or recent gig workers—representing 3% of all U.S. adults—say this has been their main job over the past 12 months. 
• At the same time, some gig workers are more financially dependent on this income than others. Among current or recent gig workers, roughly 60% say the money they earned through these platforms over the past 12 months has been essential (23%) or important (35%) for meeting their basic needs, while 39% say the income has been nice to have, but not needed. 
• A majority of Americans say ride-hailing drivers are most appropriately described as independent contractors, not employees. Fully 62% of all U.S. adults say the most appropriate way to describe ride-hailing drivers is as independent contractors providing a service on behalf of the apps or websites. Smaller shares (35%) say these drivers are best described as employees who work directly for these platforms. Gig platform workers’ self-perceptions follow a similar pattern— 65% see themselves as independent contractors, while 28% view themselves as employees. 
• Some 57% of Americans say drivers for ride-hailing apps should have more legal protections from being mistreated by their companies while 38% say these drivers have enough legal protections to ensure these companies treat them fairly. At the same time, half of U.S. adults(53%) do not support changes in government regulation. They say the government should regulate companies that offer ride-hailing apps, such as Uber or Lyft, the same as they are now. Some 28% favor more regulation, while 15% say they should be regulated less than they are currently. These are among the findings from the new report, which is based on a survey of 10,348 U.S. adults conducted online from August 23 to August 29, 2021. The margin of error for the full sample is plus or minus 1.6 percentage points.

Proponents of the gig-economy—particularly the people who benefit from this feudalistic-type system—praise the gig economy for its flexibility and fueling a sense of entrepreneurship. Critics cite the lack of benefits and job security associated with these jobs. This struggle has played out across the country with advocates, lawmakers and gig companies debating the fairness and legal status of gig workers.

While heralded as offering freedom to choose where, when and what to work on, it is far from the utopia that’s being reported. The majority of people in the gig economy are working second or third jobs to make ends meet, can’t seem to find a suitable position or have lost their job and have nowhere else to turn.

This could either be a side hustle to bolster what they’re earning through their primary job or serve as the sole source of income. Many people have been pushed into this space due to the lack of alternatives. They’d rather hold full-time, permanent jobs with benefits, but were unable to procure appropriate opportunities.

There have been legal challenges to the way the system works for gig workers. For many of them, the work seems to be similar to the jobs that permanent employees at companies hold. The big difference is that the full-time employees receive steady paychecks, benefits, paid days off and vacation time. The large majority of gig-economy workers lack these benefits. 

The classification of employee versus contractor is monumental. There is a test to determine if a person should be classified as a contractor or employee. This “ABC” test says that for a worker to be a contractor rather than an employee, they must meet three conditions: A) they must be “free from the control and direction of the hiring entity” in their work; B) must perform work outside the “usual course of the hiring entity’s business” and C) must usually be engaged in an independent job or business of the same nature as the work they do for the hiring entity.

Reclassifying contractors as employees would give those workers all of the protections of traditional employment, which under U.S. labor law are not afforded to contractors: social security, unemployment insurance, health benefits, a minimum wage and the right to form a union. It could be hugely expensive to companies, which would have to cover payroll taxes and workers compensation insurance.  

The question of whether an individual worker should be classified as an employee or independent contractor has considerable significance for workers, businesses and the public generally. If a worker is classified as an employee, the employer bears the responsibility of paying Social Security and payroll taxes, unemployment insurance taxes and state employment taxes, providing workers’ compensation insurance and, of course, complying with the endless labyrinth of state and federal statutes governing the wages, hours and working conditions of employees.

 The longer a person remains in a gig or servant-class role, it becomes harder—and almost impossible—to break free and obtain a well-paying corporate position with a future. When companies hire, they look for people with experience and are not interested in training someone from scratch.