New U of T Report Explores Workers’ Experience in the Global Gig Economy

A new report by GloMHI Members Dr. Uttam Bajwa and Dr. Denise Gastaldo along with Dr. Erica Di Ruggeiro explores the rapidly growing gig economy and reveals new insights on how online platform-mediated work has the potential to transform the future of work and health in Canada and internationally.

In the context of the rise of digital platform businesses, “gigs” are short-term, temporary contracts that are typically low paid and provide no training, health, or retirement benefits. More and more Canadians are participating in the gig economy, a trend with significant health implications, especially related to precarious work and income insecurity –major predictors of disease.

According to the report, Towards an Understanding of Workers in the Global Gig Economy, measuring the size of the gig economy is challenging because the work is largely invisible and not captured by existing labour market statistics and economic indicators.
 
The report provides frameworks for approaching gig worker vulnerabilities, underscores the importance of exploring the knowledge gaps, and the need for further research on the social, economic, and health implications of gig work.

READ REPORT HERE