What is a gig economy?

Translator: Candela Millán López Reviewer: Silvia Miguélez

The year is 1194.

É o ano 1194.

Maurice De Bracy, enemy to the English crown,

Maurice De Bracy, inimigo da coroa inglesa

is locked in combat with a mysterious Black Knight.

está a loitar cun misterioso Cabaleiro Negro.

Suddenly, the Black Knight gains the upper hand.

De pronto, o Cabaleiro Negro obtén a vantaxe.

He whispers his true identity in De Bracy’s ear:

Susúrralle a De Bracy a súa verdadeira identidade:

King Richard the Lionheart of England.

Rei Ricardo Corazón de León de Inglaterra.

De Bracy yields.

De Bracy ríndese.

Later, De Bracy offers to let King Richard use his army of “Free Lances,”

Máis tarde, De Bracy ofrécelle ao rei o seu exército de “Lanceiros Libres”,

mercenary soldiers who were free to use their lances in service

mercenarios que estaban ao dispor do mellor postor.

of whoever paid the most.

That’s how it plays out in Sir Walter Scott’s 1819 novel, “Ivanhoe.”

Así sucede na novela de Sir Walter Scott do ano 1819, “Ivanhoe”.

Scott didn’t coin the term, but it was probably this use that stuck,

Scott non acuñou o termo, pero foi este uso o que quedou,

and evolved to describe someone who works independently of any single company.

e pasou a describir a alguén que traballa independentemente de calquera empresa.

That independence seems to make people happy.

Esta independencia parece facer feliz á xente.

A 2016 survey of freelancers in six countries

Unha enquisa de 2016 a freelancers de seis países

found that those who freelance by choice— 70% of respondents, by the way—

atopou que quenes o son por elección, o 70 % dos entrevistados,

were happier than people in traditional jobs,

eran máis felices que aqueles con traballos tradicionais,

specifically when it came to things like independence and flexibility

especialmente se falamos de independencia e flexibilidade

in terms of where and when they work.

en termos de onde e cando traballar.

In a survey conducted in the US,

Nunha enquisa feita nos Estados Unidos

half of freelancers said there was no amount of money

a metade dos autónomos dixo que ningunha cantidade de diñeiro

that would convince them to rejoin the traditional workforce.

os convencería de volver traballar dun xeito tradicional.

At some point in your life— maybe even now—

Nalgún punto da túa vida, quizais incluso agora,

you might wonder whether freelancing is right for you.

podes preguntarte se traballar por libre é o teu.

You'll need a few things to be successful.

Necesitarás algunhas cousas para que funcione.

First, you'll need a skill that's in demand.

Primeiro, necesitas unha habilidade moi demandada.

This can be as universal as driving a car to as specialized as neurosurgery,

Isto pode ser tan universal como conducir ou tan especializado como a neurocirurxía,

and it can be in pretty much any field.

e pode ser en case calquera campo.

The more people who want your skill, and the fewer people who have it,

Canta máis xente queira a túa habilidade, e menos xente a teña,

the more you can charge for your services.

máis poderás pedir polos teus servizos.

Next, you’ll need to transform yourself into an entrepreneur.

Despois terás que transformarte nun emprendedor.

Before freelancers can do any work, they have to find it.

Antes de poder traballar, necesitas atopar o emprego.

That takes marketing your services, negotiating contracts,

Isto significa promocionar os teus servizos, negociar contratos,

building a network of satisfied clients,

crear una rede de clientes satisfeitos,

and a whole set of administrative skills like project management,

e todo un conxunto de habilidades administrativas,

como a xestión de proxectos, xestión do tempo e contabilidade.

time management, and accounting.

And thirdly, if you can afford it,

E logo, se o podes pagar,

it's probably a good idea to budget for some benefits for yourself

poderías presupostar algúns beneficios para ti e quizais a túa familia.

and maybe your family.

Freelancers don’t automatically get perks that some salaried jobs offer,

Os autónomos non teñen as vantaxes dalgúns empregos asalariados,

like paid vacation or sick leave, life insurance,

como vacacións pagadas, baixas por enfermidade, seguro de vida,

college tuition, or retirement plans.

matrícula universitaria, ou plans de xubilación.

In countries like the US,

En países como os EE. UU.,

where the government doesn’t provide healthcare to most people,

onde non hai sanidade pública,

freelancers are responsible for that, too.

os autónomos encárganse tamén diso.

Freelancing has been around for a long time;

Os autónomos levan aquí bastante tempo,

but digital freelancing platforms like Uber, Lyft, and Fiverr are pretty new.

pero as plataformas de freelance dixital, como Uber, Lyft o Fiverr, son moi novas.

They say they’ll connect you with clients and take care of some

Din que te conectarán cos clientes

e coidarán dos asuntos administrativo e empresarial,

of the entrepreneurial and administrative stuff so you can focus on the work.

para que poidas centrarte no traballo.

But there are some hidden costs to consider.

Pero hai algúns custos ocultos a considerar.

First, your life may not be as flexible as you think.

Primeiro: a túa vida pode non ser tan flexible como pensas.

For example, if you're a rideshare driver, you get to choose when to work,

Por exemplo, se es conductor de viaxes compartidas

podes escoller cando traballar,

but not how:

pero non como:

the app recommends what route to take,

a aplicación recomenda a ruta,

enforces how you act with the threat of low customer ratings,

impón como actuar ante o risco dunha mala reseña,

and sets your rate.

e elixe a túa tarifa.

Those rates may be so low that you end up working more

Pode ser tan baixa que acabas traballando máis

than if you had a salaried full-time job.

que se tiveses un traballo asalariado a tempo completo.

Speaking of rates,

Falando de tarifas:

it can be hard to figure out exactly how much money you’ll make.

pode ser difícil saber canto diñeiro gañarás.

Earnings vary based on location;

Os ingresos varían segundo a localización,

platforms might advertise hourly rates that don’t factor in expenses,

as plataformas poden anunciar tarifas por hora

que non teñan en conta os gastos,

and large scale data on actual earnings is sparse.

e os datos a gran escala sobre ingresos reais son escasos.

One of the largest data sets we have is from Uber.

Unha das maiores bases de datos que temos é Uber.

It contains 740 million trips by 1.8 million drivers

Contén 740 millóns de viaxes de 1,8 millóns de condutores

between 2015 and 2017.

entre 2015 e 2017.

Researchers analyzed these figures in a 2018 paper

Os investigadores analizaron estas cifras nun artigo de 2018

and found that once you deduct Uber's cut and the cost of business expenses,

e descubriron que se quitas a parte de Uber e os gastos comerciais,

drivers’ average earnings dropped from about $22 an hour to about $12 an hour.

os ingresos medios baixaban de 22 a uns 12 dólares por hora.

And buying benefits would reduce that number even more.

E os beneficios podían reducir aínda máis esa cifra.

And there is a lot of variability in working conditions

Hai moita variabilidade nas condicións de traballo

across different gig platforms.

dependendo da plataforma.

For example, the company 99 in Brazil operates a rideshare platform

Por exemplo, a empresa 99 en Brasil opera unha plataforma de transporte compartido

that many people use to deliver packages.

que moita xente emprega para entregar paquetes.

Drivers are matched with shippers, and 99 takes a cut.

Os condutores son emparellados cos remitentes, e 99 leva unha parte.

The company’s terms and conditions hold both the shipper and the driver

Os termos e condicións da empresa fan responsables ao condutor e ao remitente

liable for anything that could go wrong—

do que poida saír mal,

including things like if a package gets stolen.

incluíndo se alguén rouba o paquete.

If you’re considering joining the app economy

Se estás pensando en unirte a esta economía

and don’t want to read all the fine print,

e non queres ler toda a letra pequena,

there’s a network of researchers who publish ratings of platforms

hai unha rede de investigadores que publican valoracións de plataformas

based on five categories of fair employment.

baseándose en cinco categorías de emprego xusto.

Digital gig platforms come with drawbacks

As plataformas dixitais teñen inconvenientes

and may not provide a reliable living wage.

e poden non ser unha fonte fiable de ingresos.

But for many around the world who don’t have the luxury of choice

Pero para moitos en todo o mundo que non teñen o luxo de escoller

and need to make money as soon as possible,

e necesitan gañar diñeiro canto antes,

like, say, if you just lost your job,

como, digamos, se perdeches o teu traballo,

the gig economy is the easiest and fastest place to get hired.

estas plataformas son o xeito máis fácil e rápido de ser contratado.

For this reason, some have called it an “alternative safety net.”

Por iso, dise que son “unha rede de seguridade alternativa”.

So, considering all these factors and many others,

Se tes todo isto en conta, e moitas outras cousas,

should you dip your toes into the gig economy? Or dive in?

deberías probar a mollar os pés nesta economía? Ou mergullarte nela?

Ask yourself: how much do you value flexibility or autonomy?

Pregúntate: canto valoras a flexibilidade ou a autonomía?

Do you prefer to work within an established structure,

Prefires traballar dentro dunha estrutura establecida,

or to make your own?

ou facela ti mesmo?

Are you willing to network to find new clients?

Estás disposto a crear redes para atopar novos clientes?

Are you organized and self-directed?

Es organizado e autodirixido?

And perhaps most importantly,

E quizais o máis importante:

how much do you value knowing exactly what you'll earn from week to week?

canto valoras saber exactamente o que gañarás cada semana?