Research on Impact of the Platform Economy on the Employment Relationship

Abstract

The need to understand the uprising digital economy and its social-economic effects is has been on the rise in recent years. The positive effects of the digital economy are significant, but the negative effects do not go unnoticed. Businesses are adopting digital platforms made of complex ecosystems that allow the interaction of different stakeholders. Through analysis of previous literature, this analyses how the digital economy emerged, the features of the digital economy and how it has been capitalised for profit maximisation, thus affecting employment relationships. Qualitative research methods are used for data collection from articles on the topic, media content reviews and case studies. The research findings indicate that employers’ exploitation of the digital platform creates a negative employment relationship through comprehensive textual analysis. Employment laws and do not bind employers to employees in the digital platform. The surveillance of employees in the digital platform indicates lower productivity, and incidences of privacy breaches arise. Incomes from the digital platforms are wrongly concealed, leading to trust issues as workers are underpaid and others earn even below the minimum wage. Research findings also indicate that gender issues underlie the digital economy, with working hours and the job nature being favourable to certain genders. Ultimately, the digital economy needs to be regulated for a positive employment relationship to be established between employees and employers.

Keywords: Digital economy, Gig economy, Capitalism, Uber, Employment relationship, platform,

Introduction

The platform economy, otherwise defined as the gig economy, refers to infrastructures that utilise online tools to design products, services, and interactive marketplaces for social-economic activities. The digital concept of this platform means that work can be performed anywhere anytime, thus more flexible, temporary, and freelance, unlike formal employment. Uberization involves the provision of goods and services on demand over a platform. The platform economy has imposed power struggles between capital and labour, resting in a vicious cycle where employers chase money at the expense of employees’ wages and working conditions. This research aims to evaluate how the platform economy has influenced uberisation and its impact on the employment relationship. Several negative outcomes have arisen in the gig economy as the workers operate in a highly unregulated market. To understand this, we first examine the features of the platform economy and how its overall operations are undertaken. The research then looks at how employment relationships have been negatively affected by the gig economy, taking a specific focus on Uber. The employment relationship is affected by employee exploitation, gender discrimination, driver surveillance, and devaluation of the economy by the platform.

Thesis Problem

Whilst the immediate effects of the gig economy has been analysed and documented, the impact of the gig economy on employment relationship is poorly understood. The study aims to identify the exploitative nature of the gig economy and its effect on the employment relationship. The study scope is limited to drawing analysis from secondary data sources and rigorously analysing the data collected. The study scope indicates a limitation to the quantitative analysis of any research. Empirical data analysis will not be analysed, limiting the inferences drawn only to quantitative data. Uber is among the successful gig economy business. However, the company has been under much scrutiny for the constrained relationship between it and its employees. The black is related to its issues on shortchanging drivers,

Research questions

1. How has worker exploitation in the platform economy affected employment relationship?
2. How monitoring of drivers affected their employment relationships?
3. How has the platform economy devalued the local economy of taxi drivers?
4. Do gender issues arise in the platform economy?

Literature review

Background and Characteristics of Formation of Digital Platforms

This study section develops insights on related literature and past studies on the background and perceived establishment of digital platforms and their roles in network promotion. The digital economic capitalism concepts are also well elaborated throughout the entire section. Digital platforms have significant impacts on how communication is enhanced within various settings. The adoption of these modernised platforms may appear disruptive at first but proves to be useful in yielding the perceived expected benefits.