Hustle and Gig : Struggling and Surviving in the Sharing Economy

Choose your hours, choose your work, be your own boss, control your own income. Welcome to the sharing economy, a nebulous collection of online platforms and apps that promise to transcend capitalism. Supporters argue that the gig economy will reverse economic inequality, enhance worker rights, and bring entrepreneurship to the masses. But does it? In __Hustle and Gig__, Alexandrea J. Ravenelle shares the personal stories of nearly eighty predominantly millennial workers from Airbnb, Uber, TaskRabbit, and Kitchensurfing. Their stories underline the volatility of working in the gig economy: the autonomy these young workers expected has been usurped by the need to maintain algorithm-approved acceptance and response rates. The sharing economy upends generations of workplace protections such as worker safety; workplace protections around discrimination and sexual harassment; the right to unionize; and the right to redress for injuries. Discerning three types of gig economy workers—Success Stories, who have used the gig economy to create the life they want; Strugglers, who can’t make ends meet; and Strivers, who have stable jobs and use the sharing economy for extra cash—Ravenelle examines the costs, benefits, and societal impact of this new economic movement. Poignant and evocative, __Hustle and Gig__ exposes how the gig economy is the millennial’s version of minimum-wage precarious work. Choose your hours, choose your work, be your own boss, control your own income. Welcome to the sharing economy, a nebulous collection of online platforms and apps that promise to transcend capitalism. Supporters argue that the gig economy will reverse economic inequality, enhance worker rights, and bring entrepreneurship to the masses. But does it?
 
In Hustle and Gig, Alexandrea J. Ravenelle shares the personal stories of nearly eighty predominantly millennial workers from Airbnb, Uber, TaskRabbit, and Kitchensurfing. Their stories underline the volatility of working in the gig economy: the autonomy these young workers expected has been usurped by the need to maintain algorithm-approved acceptance and response rates. The sharing economy upends generations of workplace protections such as worker safety; workplace protections around discrimination and sexual harassment; the right to unionize; and the right to redress for injuries. Discerning three types of gig economy workers—Success Stories, who have used the gig economy to create the life they want; Strugglers, who can’t make ends meet; and Strivers, who have stable jobs and use the sharing economy for extra cash—Ravenelle examines the costs, benefits, and societal impact of this new economic movement. Poignant and evocative, Hustle and Gig exposes how the gig economy is the millennial’s version of minimum-wage precarious work. "The sharing economy claims to bring the romance of entrepreneurship to the masses. Through qualitative interviews with nearly eighty workers for Airbnb, Uber, TaskRabbit, and Kitchensurfing, 'Hustle and Gig' explores how the gig economy's classification of workers as "independent contractors" results in a shifting of risk and liability as part of a larger casualization of labor. Just like their colleagues in the 1800s and early 1900s, workers find themselves outside even the most basic workplace protections regarding discrimination and sexual harassment, the right to unionize, and redress for workplace injuries. The sharing economy is a movement forward to the past as it upends generations of workplace protections in the name of disruption"--Provided by publisher "The sharing economy claims to bring the romance of entrepreneurship to the masses. Through qualitative interviews with nearly eighty workers for Airbnb, Uber, TaskRabbit, and Kitchensurfing, [this book] explores how the gig economy's classification of workers as 'independent contractors' results in a shifting of risk and liability as part of a larger casualization of labor. Just like their colleagues in the 1800s and early 1900s, workers find themselves outside even the most basic workplace protections regarding discrimination and sexual harassment, the right to unionize, and redress for workplace injuries. The sharing economy is a movement forward to the past as it upends generations of workplace protections in the name of disruption"--Provided by the publisher Success stories, strugglers and strivers -- What is the sharing economy? -- Forward to the past and the early industrial age -- Workplace troubles -- Sharing is caring -- All in a day's (dirty) work -- Living the dream?