Institute for the Future Report Outlines a Worker-Centered Design for Gig Economy Platforms

Summary

It seems like every day there’s a new gig economy platform. As this new form of temporary work grows, so do the voices expressing criticism over how these platforms operate and who they prioritize. Over the past few years, we’ve seen ride-hailing companies like Uber face lawsuit after lawsuit for the mistreatment of its workers and Juno encounter backlash for backtracking from offering 50 percent equity to its drivers as it had initially promised. There’s increasing evidence between the rise of gig work and stagnant wages.

How can companies design platforms that actually take workers’ rights into consideration? Two researchers at the Institute for the Future, a nonprofit think tank based in Palo Alto, California, have come up with a guidebook of sorts.