TRENDS

The gig economy: what is it, why is it in the headlines and what does the future hold?

A global debate is raging about independent workers or the so-called gig economy. But what is it? And how important is what’s happening?

by Emma Charlton*

For millions of people, working nine-to-five for a single employer or being on the payroll is no longer a reality. Instead, they balance various income streams and work independently, job-by-job.

If you’ve ever used an app to call a freelance taxi driver, book a holiday rental, order food or buy a homemade craft then you’ve probably participated in this segment of the economy.

The “gig economy involves the exchange of labour for money between individuals or companies via digital platforms that actively facilitate matching between providers and customers, on a short-term and payment-by-task basis,” according to the UK government.

It’s in focus not just because it’s growing, bringing economic benefits in terms of productivity and employment, but also because it raises questions about levels of consumer and worker protection and labour-market policies.

While gig-economy workers often eschew the rights offered to employees on the payroll, in February in the UK a court found that drivers for a car ride-hailing app are entitled to benefits including paid holidays, a minimum wage and a pension.

Similar themes are found in other countries, with Spain set to approve a new law that categorizes gig-economy riders as wage labourers. In the US, a comment from the labour secretary suggesting that some workers should be classified as employees wiped billions of dollars off the value of some of America’s largest gig-economy companies, according to a report in the Financial Times.

The future of work beyond the COVID-19 pandemic will be the focus of the World Economic Forum’s Jobs Reset Summit on 1-2 June 2021, which will look at mobilizing a jobs recovery plan.

So far, gig-economy platforms’ share of total employment is modest – ranging between 1% and 3% of total employment, according to the OECD, which also says the share is growing fast.

Global gig-economy transactions are forecast to grow by 17% a year to around $455 billion by 2023, according to a report from Mastercard.

And as the market grows, and the companies at the top of the chain get larger, the challenge for policy-makers and officials is to balance the innovation that creates jobs against the need to ensure the companies are offering workers a fair deal. Gig-economy companies present complications for product-market regulation, competition policy, tax and labour-market policies.

Independence and flexibility were cited as the main aspect that people working in the gig economy were often satisfied with, according to a UK government survey. Respondents were less satisfied with work-related benefits and the level of income, with one in four saying they were very or fairly dissatisfied with those aspects of their work.

For students who want to earn an income while studying, or primary carers who want to fit work around school or daycare hours, these companies can offer flexible working patterns.

Flexible working

Generating additional income and having work flexibility are the most common motives to work for gig economy platforms, according to the OECD paper. “Overall, most gig workers are satisfied with their job and working for gig economy platforms appears to reflect mainly voluntary choices rather than the lack of other options,” that paper says. “However, a significant minority of platform workers – around 20% – uses platforms because they are not able to find work as dependent employees.”

A McKinsey study categorised independent workers into four segments. 1. Free agents, who choose independent work and derive their primary income from it. 2. Casual earners, who use independent work by choice for supplemental income. 3. Reluctants, who make their primary living from independent work but would prefer traditional jobs. 4. Financially strapped, who do supplemental independent work out of necessity. Public policy-makers face the task of keeping all four of these groups happy, which may require adapting policy settings so that they are ready for the digital age. Challenges exist but are not insurmountable, the McKinsey Global Institute report said.

“Issues such as benefits, income-security measures, and training and credentials offer room for policy-makers, as well as innovators and new intermediaries, to provide solutions”, the authors wrote. “Independent workers and traditional jobholders alike will have to become more proactive about managing their careers as digital technologies continue to reshape the world of work.”

*Emma Charlton

Senior Writer, Formative Content

Erie Kyrgia, Artistic Director - National Theatre of Greece

The National Theatre of Greece is ready! An example of how to navigate the stormy waters of Covid and Me Too

In 1880 with a gift of 10,000 pounds from Efstratios Rallis, King George I decides to build a National Theatre. And like a fairy-taly, its history began through the world of fantasy and impetus that indeed represents up until now. Then, it operated as the Royal Theatre from 1901 until 1908. Now, in the 21st century the elegant historic neoclassical building, hosted the National Theatre of Greece, becomes a member of the European Theatre Convention, joining theatres from 23 European countries.

by Alexandra Papaisidorou*

While it has a dynamic history battling several changes of names, lineages, war, and even a bankruptcy, it proudly stands today as one of the most famous theatres of the world. Visitors can attend its performances and enjoy a tour around the Theater premises.

The Theater doubling as a museum is home to an excellent collection of portraits, sculptures of renowned artists. It also has a costume collection, along with the bust monuments of different playwrights. The grand red carpet staircase has welcomed many best-known figures as it is a notewithstanding mix of culture, fun, history, and art.

EBR magazine was there to meet and discuss with the newly appointed Eri Kyrgia as the Artistic Director of the National Theater.

It’s worth mentioning the National Theatre’s creative response to the COVID-19 pandemic and how they continue to innovate on their engagement with their audience, bringing theatre and Greek artistic temparament closer to the people around the globe.

The National Theatre of Greece has played a leading role in the cultural life of the nation for 90 years. In its long history, it has never closed, not even under the most adverse conditions, with performances continuing during the Occupation and under the Regime of the Colonels.

This year, its mettle was tested yet again, now by a dual crisis. On the one hand, the live arts were hard hit by the pandemic, while on the other, revelations in the context of the Greek Me Too movement thrust the NTG into the eye of the storm.

From the first moment that Covid knocked at the door of the NTG, the organisation, its management, and all its employees showed exemplary adaptability, realising the historic magnitude of the situation. Thanks, perhaps, to our innate Greek obduracy, our long experience in finding creative solutions in the midst of chaos, and thanks also to the ingenuity that is part and parcel of our craft, the National Theatre of Greece was ready from the start of the pandemic with its digitised archive but also with brand new digital material. While under strict lockdown, we planned our next steps, so that we would be able to implement every possible scenario, from zero to “the sky’s the limit”, at a moment’s notice. So it was that the NTG was ready again, in the summer of 2020, to perform three touring productions at various archaeological sites as part of an initiative by the Ministry of Culture, and two productions of ancient drama at the Festival of Epidaurus and in the Greek regions. One performance, to great acclaim, was live-streamed to a global audience from the Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus. With this bold and innovative move, the NTG added an international dimension to its activities.

During the 2020/21 season, at a time when most of the world’s theatres remained closed, the NTG was ready once more, presenting a season of 13 productions without any compromise in terms of their production values, but adhering to all the measures that had been put in place to limit the spread of the coronavirus: distancing when on-stage, wearing face masks during rehearsals, disinfecting the theatre, costumes and props, carrying out weekly tests on all the actors and stage crew, and tracking cases of illness. A clearly defined protocol gave us the freedom to operate as usual – but with one notable absence, of course: our public.

With the exception of a few weeks in October, when we had the opportunity to open with reduced capacity and health rules in place in the foyers, our theatres remained closed for the whole winter. Yet we continued to present our productions online, live and direct from our stages, earning a heart-warming response from our remote audience.

All this showed the NTG to be possessed of unique reflexes, which confirm its position as the most trusted theatre in the country. With its historic vitality and vital human resources, the support and understanding of its supervisory body, and sound and realistic management, it succeeded, despite its perennially limited financial resources, in outdoing most of the world’s theatres in the pandemic year of 2020, retaining all its jobs, keeping the microeconomy around it going, providing work to hundreds of theatrical artists, and – most importantly – offering them a creative outlet and unstintingly giving meaning and substance to their dreams. Making this choice meant that life was able to stay as normal as possible for everyone at the NTG, and we refused to yield in the face of the real and existential problems that the pandemic presented for our art.

As if this crisis was not enough, the NTG was dealt another blow when its artistic director resigned after allegations were made against him in the wake of the Me Too movement. The NTG was shaken to its foundations. For weeks on end, it was at the centre of a polarised political – and party-political – controversy. Its employees were targeted, while students from its drama school also entered the debate, young people with frustrated dreams already despairing at the yearlong suspension of their live classes. The challenge for the NTG, both internally and externally, was how to manage our communications in a situation which, although not of our making as an organisation, we had to remedy.

It was immediately apparent that the long-standing problems brought to the surface by the Me Too movement and the manifold issues that it gave rise to (such as the treatment of women and minorities in the theatre, the establishment of codes of conduct, and political correctness in artistic discourse, to name but a few), would have to be reflected in the NTG’s policies in respect of its repertoire and its educational activities. We are all working day and night to this end, ensuring that the NTG will be ready, as ever, to face the future.

*Alexandra Papaisidorou

Editor-at-large/ PhD cand. University of Piraeus, Cultural Diplomacy & international Relations