WORKS AND DIGNITY AT WORK

TASK:

1. In groups of no more than 5 students, decide on a clearly focused project that investigates worker experiences and their relationship to dignity at work. You may choose to center your project around one of the themes we cover in this course (e.g. the ‘gig’ economy, outsourcing, pyramid subcontracting, deindustrialization/industrialization, ‘flexibility’, skills, migrant labor, technological change, skills development, and training, etc.) and how it is impacting on worker experiences of decent and meaningful work.

2. Each group will develop an interview schedule related to their chosen topic/question

3. Each group member will interview one friend or family member based upon the interview questions.

4. The group will produce a research report that includes a complete reference list and interview schedule.

Analyze the interview data and discuss the findings in relation to appropriate academic literature and academic debates.  It is expected that groups will draw upon the three required readings for topic 5 (Lucas, 2017; Sayer, 2007; Spicer and Fleming, 2016) in addition to additional scholarly resources.  Reports must include a complete reference list and interview schedule. The report should be no more than 2000 words long, excluding references.

THEME: The ‘Gig’ Economy

(Be sure to read through lecture 5 on dignity at work, dignified and undignified work, forms of worker resistance)

In the past ten years, the “gig economy” has become an increasingly important segment of the labor market. Under-30s are more likely to engage in freelance, contracted, or zero-hour work arrangements instead of traditional full-time jobs. Research on the reasons for and consequences of this shift has focused on objective measures of income, working hours, and employment conditions, but there has been little work exploring young people’s subjective experiences of the gig economy.

Interview Questions from Sample 1:

(They interviewed ppl who are gig workers, ppl who hire gig workers, have experience working w gig workers before)

Q1. Can you share with us your age, educational background, and employment history?

Q2. Are you engaged in more than one gig role at any point in time?

Q3. What made you decide to take on gig role(s) as opposed to a full-time role?

Q4. In the event that there is no COVID-19, would you still take on a gig role as compared to a full-time role?

Q5. Do you think that you are fairly commensurated in your role and why?

Q6. Is the company’s work schedule flexible or do they have predetermined hours?

Q7. Has your working hours or working arrangements been impacted by COVID-19, and in what ways? Please give examples.

Q8. Are you entitled to any benefits in your current role? If you are not, what would you hope to receive?

Q9. What skills have you learned in your gig role(s) and do you think it will be useful in your career moving forward?

Q10. Do you believe that gig economy workers are at a greater risk of job insecurity as a result of COVID-19 and why?

Q11: As the “gig economy” becomes the new normal, how do you stay relevant and effective in the future?