More than a quarantine gig: Laboring in the digital market
IN music and theater circles, “gig” is a hip term that refers to a show or performance by a musician, a band, or an actor. Nowadays, however, show business no longer has a monopoly of “gig work,” which has evolved to perhaps less glamorous but increasingly popular services provided through online platforms. This global trend has given rise to a “gig economy” where workers provide services on-demand to clients via online platform apps. The most familiar are the drivers providing transportation services, food delivery, and courier services. Other emerging gig jobs include running errands, house cleaning, clerical work, etc. A gig worker gets a gig through the digital platform, which matches him/her to a customer but has no employment relationship with the platform or the customer.