Why The Gig Economy Is A Scam | James Bloodworth | TEDxManchester 

Man I wish he would have mention the pay getting lower and lower for drivers buy they keep charging customers more and more.

"Come and get a JOB with US and be your OWN boss" = oxymoron. It's a scam alright.

I would NEVER EVER work for Amazon, Uber, Lyft, or any other BS corporation

Giving fancy names to Delivery workers like - Delivery Executive, Rapido Captains, Delivery Partners is an gimmick.

Doordash is a good gig job. I can decline orders all day and go home whenever I want

Greed is the problem, we are sold back our freedom, we were born free, only to be enslaved by society, I am sure tribes, life more freely than us in the modern world. Simply because we consume so much and need all this comfort. Why are we complicating life. Pls consume less, let's leave a small footprint on the planet.

It is modern day sharecropping.

Gig workers are paying companies to work. The world has officially changed.

What an eye opener! I used to sell on Amazon and knew that they don't care about their sellers. Now I realise that they don't even care about their own Associates either! I hope this video is shared or twitted as much as possible so that people understand the level of exploitations this giant selling machine imposes on our people.

gig works are blooming right under our noses... we failed to notice it.

All thru history, there're only 2 kinds of people, the exploiter and the exploited. Any fancy names are just new wine in old bottles!

Amazon is a labor camp

"One big happy family" -- oh, the kind with an abusive parent, that is?

Entering a fulfillment center is exactly like walking onto a plantation. Amazon flex is gig economy not the warehouse. If you need benefits freelancing is not for you

This is very interesting - thank you for the insider information! Just another reason to despise Amazon. I never realised the extent of the poor conditions for the gig economy workers! You've definitely sparked an interest and I will look into this further.

Most of what he talks about are not the gig economy. I don't believe he understands what a gig is.

Biggest level of exploitation - yes. Most worst are designer's competitions. You work mostly for free. You only get paid when you win the competition. Logo for 100 USD and less! - huge damage to graphic design industry. Professional work has not value anymore. It is hard to explain to customers that logo is more than nice picture.

The gig economy is the new unemployment benefits.

what a great video! Alot of these Ted talks tend to be a bunch of fluff, but i like this one

Gig work culture could be the result of how many people are feeling not right with most work environment. Why do we choose the gig work over some other jobs that gives you sick pay, union benefit and probably chance of getting connected to the other people? Being work horse all the time while you can barely save finances with no time for yourself... I wonder what choice sounds most legit.

I was self-employed all of my career. I did this because I had two young sons to raise and had health issues that prohibited me from working full time for a company outside of my home. What i found was that I carried most of the costs myself, without a continuous income, health insurance or a safety net of any kind. I used my vehicle, paid for my own gas, oil changes, maintenance and so on. After 20 plus years of doing this Gig economy I have come to the conclusion that it is for the benefit of the business owner....not the worker.

Ive had similar work conditions but never worked for amazon, what a world we have created. Greed and consumerism are rampantly breeding misantrophy.

No minimum wage , no sick pay but still some people in comments section are considering gig economy as great and flexible work environment.

mate he is correct. How is a life of volatile income, lower savings rate, no benefits better for someone who relies on gig economy jobs to raise a family?

I, personally, have quit buying from Amazon, and all companies who treat their workers poorly because I realized that I, myself, am a worker. However, I have a friend who absolutely must buy from Amazon because.... because...... because.

Gig economy sounds like sub-prime loan of 2020s. You can buy a house even with no money.

It’s ironic how they say you’re your own boss, but they can literally 🔥 you.

Covid and the current job market where people are sick of working for companies for crumbs and no benefits disagrees with this video. He didn't foresee a Global pandemic. I work in recruiting for all industries and I know it will never go back to what it was. Workers are also standing up to the Ubers of the world. Workers are standing up period.

“Oh gawd we’re just a platform connecting our driving partners with riders” “there’s a 911 button”. Talk about lack of responsibility. F the gig economy.

Gig economy is modern serfdom all over again

Enjoyed the talk - he's funny and insightful. But many Gig jobs are not meant to be full employment. It's meant to be flexible employment. And to make some quick money you couldn't get elsewhere.

The freelance market hit the wall with the advent of *Fiverr* & its kind. The global econ. has come to mean competing v. labor in developing countries. May the cheapest gig artist win.

Only a "scam" if you don't know how to use the tools given to you. Much like credit cards but on a bigger scale. I make $6,000+ a month doing multiple gig economy apps such as Uber Eats full-time. I'm then able to write off nearly 50% of that income on my taxes and due to doing most of the work on my car by myself I end up making slightly more than a W-2 equivalent earning $6,000 pre-tax per month.

I am a sole practitioner patent attorney in my own gig economy. I can take vacation and sick days whenever I want, but for no pay. I do not have to worry about demerit points tho, or being fired. I have read very bad things about Amazon & Uber. One thought I have is that people would get paid more if fewer people needed to do those unpleasant jobs. In some fields, the company worries about retainment, not typranny. I think competition is the answer.

The difference is that a freelance journalist owns their skills and packages them for a client. They are considered more valuable and therefore more worth the money. A college graduate driving for Uber has essentially said “I have no value, so I am going to do this job that has no benefit for me, but maybe I will make a few dollars.” The freelance journalist or writer will make more money from each job, will be more likely to pay rent because the few jobs they do will bring in higher dividends. The fact that they don’t have a representative, such as a supervisor, won’t matter because they can ask for letters of recommendation from previous clients. The analogy is dangerous, is what I am saying. A consultant uses their degree and skills every day, on the job, a gig worker doesn’t.

thats bs you can decline orders on uber, Grubhub and door dash all day if you wanted

Not exclusively representative of gig work. Starbucks calls the employees, partners.

He is talking about Amazon terminology and doctrines and not anything specific to Gig Economy... This is widely understood to be Amazon Ethos. Don't shop at Amazon if you value ethical employment and want to support local businesses.

Probably he is full time employee or he's owner of company if everyone leaves to gig economy he have to raise cost salary and so. I think that's why he's bashing asbout gig economy. Rich wealthy only care about themself being rich while slaving others.

Hello there! I bring some constructive criticism here. I think there are critical details and economic insight that gets missed out here. First of all, I see no relation between amazon and the Gig Economy. They may call their employees or themselves whatever they want, it is their behaviour that makes them what they are. And their behavior shows that they are a company driven by social engineers trying to manipulate their employees into being unrealistically productive at the rate they are paid, and them to be happy about it on top of that (what a joke). Nothing about this speaks "Gig Economy" except the fact that you can tell them to stuff it at any point, which you can do with any job. Importantly, companies like Uber (the first of its kind) didn't start off like this. Since they were unregulated, and therefore, not really taxed as heavily or interfered with, prices could be lowered while keeping drivers at a good wage rate. It is only when ultra-regulated sore taxi drivers started to complain and demand regulation (instead of their own de-regulation) that these companies had to find ways to make money. This also killed most competition as only established businesses, like Bolt, Uber and Cabify (in Europe) could stay in businesses. Competition would've likely fixed most of the problems you describe having as an Uber driver, like it has happened in Europe to a limited extent with the appearence of some competition mentioned earlier. This is because these companies need an AWFUL amount of drivers to provide a decent service, and when competition arises companies are forced to improve their conditions to attract enough workers. This also applies to delivery drivers and the like, it's a hard job and if you want to keep workers you need to satisfy them. No company beneficts from treating its employees like slaves if there's competition to snatch those workers at the first chance. Moreover, there is absolutely no mention on how small the "Gig Economy" market is in comparison wih the overall market. Due to its name it sounds like it's a huge phenomenon being applied to everything in life, but it's completely unrealistic to think that the market is overall moving in that direction for the simple reason that it's not profitable. Uber has not reported a SINGLE quarter of profits for a while now. Part of it is the massive marketing expense, admittedly. But in general it is more profitable for more companies to find good workers, train them and keep them relatively happy while being productive. Finding and training personnel is often risky, expensive and time consuming. Only very specific markets that require few or no qualifications can really make this work. And think about the implications of that. Put yourself in the position of a normal European Citizen. An unspecialized and low paying job is not attractive for the average educated European, and usually they have better options. Now put yourself in the shoes of a poor man, with barely any money, having to search the rubbish for clothes, food and simple appliances. Now, a company like Glovo (in Spain) tells you that if you buy their bag for 50 bucks you can start cashing in immediately. You also need some kind of vehicle, like a bicycle, but it's relatively easy to find one for cheap. A poor man willing to make an effort, and more importantly, ABLE to make an effort, only needs to save about 100 bucks (yes, bikes can go for 50€ if they're old) to start working at a job in which you can make UP TO a net of 3000€ per month if you work hard enough (I've gotten this from the workers themselves, I'm not making it up). By regulating and massively taxing these activities you are making it too risky and expensive to hire people in the market, and therefore wages go down, less people are employed and the standard for hiring goes up. Now onto the topic of vacation, sick pay etc. This is stated with the assumption that these things fall from the sky, apparently. While I don't dispute that it is nice that companies offer these beneficts, they're nothing but a mandated mechanism for governments to create the illusion that they're absolutely essencial to "protect the worker". In reality, every single thing the government gives you comes from taxpayer money (after the government deducts a good chunk for their salaries and corrupt practices, of course). Is it not obvious that a lot of businesses would profit from having these beneficts anyway because they would attract a great number of highly skilled and professional workers? By making it a mandate, small companies that would find it too expensive to implement all of these things at once are forced to raise their prices, loosing the competitive advantage they have over big corporations. They will still need to offer something to keep their workforce, but it wouldn't have to be every single benefict. This is evidently shown by the costs vs the salary of a worker. In Spain, where taxes are very high and Social Security very exppensive and innefficient, a minimum wake worker (1000€ per month) costs a staggering 2000€ per month to the company. That's a 100% rate!! How is a small business supposed to survive in these conditions? By either not hiring anyone and working twice as hard, or hiring people and loosing competitiveness against people like, let's say, Amazon. If you made it this far, whether you agree or not, thank you for reading!! I dream of a freer world where there's work and livelyhood for anyone that seeks them.

I can say one serious thing about Uber from a customer perspective.. Ive been followed home by Uber drivers, I've been harassed and even had to record in some cases because the driver wouldn't let me out of the Uber etc. a driver even once just stayed parked out the front of my apartment, even when I gave an non exact address, he just waited and watched me. Being 19,20,21 through all this I felt so scared to report them because unlike a taxi, they had alllll my details, my address, a photo of me, my full name, my phone number I was terrified so I always gave 5 stars because of this. Now I'm older and I'd report them no matter what but maybe that why they target teens etc

No it is not in all cases. A small biz gets more tax breaks. As an employee I lost tax breaks in 2022-2023. Cannot deduct donations to nonprofits any more and cannot deduct milage to work any more.

I've WASTED valuable time in the gig economy. Uber drivers get a fraction of what the customer pays. Drivers/delivery SURVIVE thanks to the generosity of customers when they tip. "GiG" economy is a SCAM. Hence the nickname "side HUSTLE".

Ironic that the English were so capitalistic and imperialistic, before and even now, and yet this system the English created came to bite them back.

Spoken like a true economic illiterate. Having opinions about the economy and not understanding economy at all is very common which is very weird to me, because no one here has opinions about general relativity and also not understanding general relativity which would be the correct stance to take.

Don't volunteer to do a job if you think you're being mistreated. They're not forcing you into slavery. You chose ir.

United we stand, divided we fall. So true. Looks like big business is hard at work on division.

Watching this after I just made 5 bills driving uber today, don't listen to this guy. Get out there and hustle.

His hate for Amazon did not prevent this guy to sell his book in Amazon 😂, all those awful labor conditions are also in part because there is a part of the labour force that abuses , and because of these abusers , the rest has to suffer the consequences.

Then, if you want work independently, use no platform, do It by yourself

As an engineer working on a "platform" service, I can confirm that tech has removed security from all jobs and it's a downward spiral you cannot stop through policy or regulation. Given that I understand the true potential of internet, let me tell you that the internet should have never been built. Things will only get worse now.

Gig = money for company - least they can pay workers + shift stress to workers also.

You don't get to make your own schedule as a freelancer, your clientele makes your schedule.

We have the world's best gig economy platform

there is a huge difference between the real gig economy where you provide your services and talents and companies that market their jobs as "Gigs" to sound more appealing.

Is there an alternative to Amazon? I really don't like how staff are treated in this company.

Modern slavery.

I've deleted all gig apps, until they can respect there employees

does this mean that the corporate economy cares more? haha...no

i was shure amazon shares gona drop here it comes :] thanks ;D

100%, just like the whole capitalism.

I’m not sure if I can agree, Amazon warehouses are known not to treat the people well. I don’t think that was a good representation of gig work, don’t get me wrong it’s not perfect or 100% stable but it’s not that bad I like it

TLDR: gig economy exploits it's workers by offloading everything into the worker

Bloodworth uses a limited range of anecdotes to present a narrow perspective of the gig economy. While many public organizations can and should be more employee-focused, the gig economy on a whole offers significant opportunities for the growth of local and regional businesses while empowering individuals with ways to earn when traditional work is not possible.

ANY "independent contractor" who has a "client" will have to abide by guidelines by the client. There is a misunderstanding to conflate flexibility with not having a boss.

People think they know but they don't know.

gig economy is illegal in california.

Of all places, english society is accepting this, that is dangerous.

Excellent speech! Thank you for sharing all that experience with the audience!

I'm a gig worker. I'm an independent contractor with a couple food delivery companies. The work is there because the demand for it is extremely high especially in world we live in these days

WE ARE SLOWLY GOING NORTH KOREAN STYLE, PLEASE WATCH THIS AND LEARN ITS FRIGHTENING

can someone please tell the name of the book this guy wrote over the issue ...or link of some article or something like that

real gentelman

Should we consider unionization as the solution to these problems in the gig economy?

Ted Talks have gone way down hill. People need to find the gig that is correct for them.

Most of the people in the gig economy are part of it because there is no other choice of employment. Especially in poor countries such as Brazil uber drivers and people from similar "gig services" are working there not because they want flexibility or want to be their own bosses. It annoys me the focus of this talk blaming the gig economy instead of exploring the real problem. It was superficial and simple.

Amazon is not the gig economy. Doesn't the subject at all.

This guy is spewing BS. I don't believe he understands what a gig really is. Sick time, and "calling out" are for jobs, not gigs. Gigs are jobs you can choose to work whenever you so choose and for how long, and they are extremely flexible. They also give people the ability to work for themselves. IDK how he made it to a ted talk, but this was a waste of 15 minutes.

I have to strongly disagree with what he is saying.

Gig economy is not that bad ultimately it’s up to you to decide what kind of conditions you can work in. I personally do a few gigs including Amazon flex and it works for me because it’s very flexible. Not everyone works gigs as their main source of income for most people it’s just a way to pick up extra money on the side. If you want a job with benefits work a 9-5 with benefits. No one is entitled to get paid when not actively working.

So how to help them? Also with ir35, contractors have no employment benefits but pay full employment taxes.

It really works out. You just got a broke mindset.

Dude had me crying almost.

I cam barely get to 1000 usd per month doing freelancing. Some months are rough

Freedom!

Whatever. I made $407 in 7 hours just delivering food...then $236 in 3 hours. How is that a scam?

I'll turn fifty eight in six days. I've been self-employed since I was twenty two. The very risks that Bloodworth believes is unacceptable, I take as quite normal.

Better work in gig economy in Malaysia.

Bloodworth has got to be the absolute coolest last name I've ever ever heard in my life.

The only job which is left is to influence people period.

I also think that people aren't as materialistic as we once were. The world had changed forever

Great video. But don't confuse sharing economy or collaborative consumption with business models such as Uber and amazon. They are not models in sharing economy, they are smart apps to real time cater the demand by supply. Models in real sharing economy will never be in favour of forming large corporates, instead, SE breaks large corporate models down to small nodes, this is called C2C. The whole SE is based on P2P, and there is no chance the moderator (the smart app in between) to be a billion dollar fast growing company.

It works for me, but not everyone saves money like I do. The gig economy isn't the problem. Professional consumerism is the problem.

also. amazon is not the gig economy

Deep

This guy is the scam. He is not about protecting gig workers. He wants rid rid of us. We have three gig workers in my family (Uber, Door Dash, Insta Cart...) We like what we are doing, and we are proud of it. We DO NOT want to become employees. My son in-law quit his full-time job as forklift driver and is now a happy Insta Cart shopper with a higher income. You folks need to be listening to the voice of the workers, not the union bullies. We love our independence, and we want to keep it. We see the problem with Amazon. It is a BIG problem. However, please understand: the solution is not found in taking away our independence.

I am an online ESL teacher and because of that have always strongly defended the gig economy, but what these other companies are doing is awful. I don’t blame California for it’s decision anymore to ban independent contractors.

it is a sin that this video has so few views...

Great vid 👍🏻

@Friendlyjordies you should do a piece about this here in Australia