What is a gig economy?

Prevoditelj: Lucija Begić Recezent: Petra Lauš

The year is 1194.

Godina je 1194.

Maurice De Bracy, enemy to the English crown,

Maurice De Bracy, neprijatelj engleske krune,

is locked in combat with a mysterious Black Knight.

u žestokoj je borbi s tajanstvenim Crnim vitezom.

Crni vitez odjednom preuzima vodstvo.

Suddenly, the Black Knight gains the upper hand.

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

Zatim šapne svoj pravi identitet De Bracyju.

King Richard the Lionheart of England.

Kralj Rikard I. Lavljeg Srca.

De Bracy yields.

De Bracy se preda.

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

De Bracy ponudi Rikardu svoju vojsku “Slobodna koplja” (“Free Lances”),

mercenary soldiers who were free to use their lances in service

plaćenike koji su mogli koristiti koplja u službi

of whoever paid the most.

onoga tko najviše plati.

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

Tako se to odigrava u romanu Ivanhoe Sira Waltera Scotta iz 1819.

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

Scott nije skovao taj izraz, ali vjerojatno se ta upotreba zadržala

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

i razvila u opis nekoga tko u radu ne ovisi ni o jednoj tvrtki.

That independence seems to make people happy.

Čini se da ta neovisnost usrećuje ljude.

A 2016 survey of freelancers in six countries

Anketa za freelancere provedena 2016. u 6 zemalja,

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

pokazala je da su oni koji su taj put izabrali, što je 70% ispitanika,

were happier than people in traditional jobs,

sretniji nego ljudi s tradicionalnim poslovima,

specifically when it came to things like independence and flexibility

posebno kada je riječ o neovisnosti i fleksibilnosti

in terms of where and when they work.

oko toga gdje i kada rade.

In a survey conducted in the US,

U anketi provedenoj u SAD-u,

half of freelancers said there was no amount of money

polovica freelancera rekla je da nema tog novca

that would convince them to rejoin the traditional workforce.

zbog kojeg bi se vratili u tradicionalni oblik rada.

At some point in your life— maybe even now—

U nekom trenutku svog života, a možda čak i sada,

you might wonder whether freelancing is right for you.

mogli biste se pitati je li freelancing za vas.

You'll need a few things to be successful.

Postoji nekoliko preduvjeta za uspjeh.

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

Prvo, potrebna vam je tražena vještina.

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

Može biti univerzalna kao vožnja auta ili specijalizirana kao neurokirurgija,

and it can be in pretty much any field.

i može biti u gotovo bilo kojem polju.

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

Što više ljudi treba tu vještinu i što je manje ljudi posjeduje,

the more you can charge for your services.

više ćete moći naplatiti usluge.

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

Nadalje, morat ćete postati poduzetnik.

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

Prije početka posla, freelanceri ga moraju pronaći.

That takes marketing your services, negotiating contracts,

Treba oglašavati svoje usluge, pregovarati o ugovorima,

building a network of satisfied clients,

graditi mrežu zadovoljnih klijenata

and a whole set of administrative skills like project management,

i raditi niz administrativnih vještina, npr. upravljati projektima,

time management, and accounting.

organizirati vrijeme i brinuti o računovodstvu.

And thirdly, if you can afford it,

I treće, ako si možete priuštiti,

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

dobro je predvidjeti troškove vlastitih doprinosa

and maybe your family.

i doprinosa za svoju obitelj.

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

Freelanceri nemaju zajamčene povlastice koje nude neki tradicionalni poslovi,

like paid vacation or sick leave, life insurance,

kao što su plaćeni odmor ili bolovanje, životno osiguranje,

college tuition, or retirement plans.

školarina ili mirovina.

In countries like the US,

U zemljama kao što je SAD,

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

gdje vlada ne osigurava zdravstvenu skrb za većinu populacije,

freelancers are responsible for that, too.

freelanceri preuzimaju i tu odgovornost.

Freelancing has been around for a long time;

Freelancing postoji već dugo;

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

ali digitalne freelancing platforme, kao Uber, Lyft i Fiverr, prilično su nove.

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

Obećavaju povezivanje s klijentima i brigu za određene

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

poduzetničke i administrativne stvari, kako biste se vi koncentrirali na posao.

But there are some hidden costs to consider.

Ali postoje skriveni troškovi o kojima treba razmisliti.

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

Prvo, život vam možda neće biti fleksibilan koliko mislite.

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

Ako ste, primjerice, vozač, birate kada ćete raditi,

but not how:

ali ne i kako.

the app recommends what route to take,

Aplikacija predlaže kojim putem ići,

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

uvjetuje vaše ponašanje uz prijetnju loših ocjena korisnika

and sets your rate.

i određuje vašu cijenu.

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

Cijena može biti toliko niska da ćete na kraju raditi više

than if you had a salaried full-time job.

nego da imate stalno zaposlenje.

Speaking of rates,

Kada smo kod cijena,

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

može biti teško procijeniti koliko ćete točno zarađivati.

Earnings vary based on location;

Zarada ovisi o lokaciji;

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

platforme mogu oglašavati satnice u koje nisu uključeni troškovi,

and large scale data on actual earnings is sparse.

a opsežni podaci o zaradi su rijetki.

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

Jedan od najvećih dostupnih skupova podataka je Uberov.

It contains 740 million trips by 1.8 million drivers

Sadrži podatke o 740 milijuna vožnji od 1,8 milijuna vozača

between 2015 and 2017.

između 2015. i 2017.

Researchers analyzed these figures in a 2018 paper

U članku iz 2018., istraživači su analizirali te brojke

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

i zaključili da, kad oduzmemo Uberov dio i troškove poslovanja,

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

prosječna zarada vozača pada sa 22 na otprilike 12 dolara po satu.

And buying benefits would reduce that number even more.

Uplaćivanje doprinosa dodatno smanjuje taj iznos.

And there is a lot of variability in working conditions

Uvjeti rada jako se razlikuju

across different gig platforms.

među različitim platformama.

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

Na primjer, brazilska tvrtka 99 vodi platformu za vozače,

that many people use to deliver packages.

a mnogi je koriste za dostavu paketa.

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

99 spaja vozače s pošiljateljima i uzima dio zarade.

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

Uvjeti poslovanja tvrtke smatraju i pošiljatelja i vozača odgovornima

liable for anything that could go wrong—

u slučaju da nešto pođe po krivu,

including things like if a package gets stolen.

uključujući i u slučaju krađe.

If you’re considering joining the app economy

Ako razmišljate o izlazu na tržište aplikacija,

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

a ne želite čitati sitna slova,

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

postoji mreža istraživača koji objavljuju ocjene platformi

based on five categories of fair employment.

na osnovi pet kategorija pravednog zapošljavanja.

Digital gig platforms come with drawbacks

Digitalne platforme imaju nedostatke

and may not provide a reliable living wage.

i ne osiguravaju uvijek plaću dostatnu za život.

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

Ali za mnoge ljude koji nemaju luksuz izbora

and need to make money as soon as possible,

i moraju zaraditi što je prije moguće,

like, say, if you just lost your job,

recimo za one koji su izgubili posao,

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

honorarni su poslovi najlakši i najbrži put zaposlenju.

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

Zbog toga ih neki zovu “alternativnim sigurnosnim mrežama”.

So, considering all these factors and many others,

Kada se svi ovi, i mnogi drugi faktori uzmu u obzir,

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

biste li trebali probati freelancing? Ili mu se predati?

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

Zapitajte se: koliko su vam važni fleksibilnost i autonomija?

Do you prefer to work within an established structure,

Volite li više raditi u već postojećoj strukturi,

or to make your own?

ili želite stvoriti svoju?

Are you willing to network to find new clients?

Jeste li spremni klijente tražiti umrežavanjem?

Are you organized and self-directed?

Jeste li organizirani i samostalni?

And perhaps most importantly,

I možda najvažnije,

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

koliko cijenite fiksnu i redovitu plaću?