Book Review: "Work in the Gig Economy: A Research Overview"

The 2008 global economic crisis transformed the nature of work and employment significantly. This drastic shift led to working arrangements becoming increasingly unstable and fragmented. In light of the surge in volatile working trends, the gig economy emerged. The main premise of the gig economy is based on a digital platform that connects freelance workers with customers to facilitate the provision of short-term services[1] or asset-sharing (Charlton, 2024). Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the adoption of digital technologies was accelerated, and gig work became increasingly popular. Although the gig economy is a growing segment that can bring about economic benefits, the rise of gig work increases the complexity of working arrangements and reshapes traditional norms and practices.

Gig work introduces a plethora of issues that need to be explored. Some of these issues accentuate the nature of risk faced by individuals involved in this type of unconventional work.  Arguably, the gig economy exposes workers to job insecurity, potential misclassification, and lack of health benefits. Due to the difficulty in documenting the experiences of an “invisible workforce,” this further emphasises the challenges in examining the gig work population. The book, “Work in the Gig Economy A Research Overview” critically assesses the literature on work in the gig economy in an attempt to provide readers with core themes and debates surrounding this research. The book concentrates primarily on scholarly publications done within the last decade that integrate insights from a variety of disciplinary viewpoints, including human resource management, psychology, sociology, industrial relations, and technology management. Additionally, the authors proposed avenues for future research and underscored the importance of grasping the nature of gig work. 
 

[1]Short-term services may include options such as delivery services, ride-sharing, or freelance labour. 

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