Uncertain future - the rise of the gig economy and how society needs to adapt

Results from the survey, commissioned by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH), highlight the challenges that people with irregular working patterns have when caring for dependants or taking holidays. They also reveal that two in five so-called platform workers say they have experienced stress caused or made worse by their work in the past year, with a third complaining of tiredness or exhaustion.

IOSH revealed the results as it published a new report which highlights the uncertain future facing many workers. The comprehensive study, entitled “Towards a safe and healthy future of work” and published jointly with consultancy Arup, explores how advances in technology, climate change and adaptations to ways of working potentially pose risks to workers’ health, safety and wellbeing.

With thousands dying from unsafe or unhealthy working conditions, the report poses a number of “what if” questions designed to highlight to governments, businesses and the health and safety profession how action is required to ensure people are protected in and out of work.

The rise of the gig economy, which includes platform-based work ranging from delivery jobs to freelance tasks on specific projects, is highlighted in the report, with a question posed on whether it could overtake secure employment as the most common source of primary income, leading to potentially fewer social protections for workers. It argues that existing, decades-old primary legislation based on traditional employment models fails to address many health and safety risks associated with gig work.

Of the 1,000 workers who responded to the survey, conducted by Opinium for the IOSH, 58 per cent said working for an online platform resulted in them having unpredictable income, making it difficult to pay bills, with the same number saying it causes difficulty caring for dependants including children and elderly relatives. Some 63 per cent said that it impacts their ability to take holidays and 54 per cent reported low levels of job security.

The report also questions whether advances in technology could create new health, safety and wellbeing risks, and asks if monitoring devices could alert bosses to a worker’s health condition before they know about it. Experts said there is a clear need for “strong, robust and modern” health and safety regulation which takes account of the changing world of work. But the research also asks whether the drive for deregulation in countries including the UK actually risks weakening health and safety standards.

Ruth Wilkinson, head of policy and public affairs at IOSH, said: “We face the future with a real sense of excitement and opportunity, but also with caution and uncertainty. What we know for certain is that the world of work will continue to change, but we don’t know for sure how this will play out and evolve. Our report highlights this, focusing on how new technologies and digitalisation are creating opportunities to improve how people are protected at work but also showing that this can create new hazards and risks to health and safety, all of which need to be managed.

“Among the changes that have already happened is a rise in gig work,” she added. “To explore these findings further, the results of our survey show people working in the gig economy are really struggling, which is of real concern and requires action. This action needs to be collective.

“We need to work together as a profession with governments, businesses and other professions to manage the changes to work carefully, to design, consult upon, risk assess, and implement new technologies sensibly and, crucially, to ensure that people can go home from work safe and well every day.”

The report makes a number of calls to action, including for governments to ratify the International Labour Organisation conventions relating to health and safety, and getting businesses to support sustainable development and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. It also calls for the health and safety profession to contribute and support the implementation of sustainable work practices, to argue for health and safety to be a central consideration in the development of new technologies, and to ensure they keep up to date with changes to be able to continue to advise businesses.

IOSH itself also pledges to work with other global bodies in the drive for social sustainability, to commission and share research on health and safety matters, and to support its profession in managing new and emerging risks.

James Pomeroy, global health and safety director at Arup, said: “This is a transformational point in time for our industry, filled with challenge and opportunity in equal measure. We know that we will experience climate change as a health and safety issue, with the stability of our environments subject to change. ‘Towards a safe and healthy future of work’ offers landmark guidance regarding how we can better navigate the landscape we operate in, prioritising risk mitigation by further integrating technologies. It has been a privilege to be part of such hugely important research that can serve to be fundamental in accelerating the use of digitalisation in the space.”

Platform work refers to when individuals offer services through digital platforms or apps as independent contractors. Such services could include delivering or transporting goods, completing tasks like cleaning or running general errands.

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