What is a gig economy?

翻译人员: Fred Tsang 校对人员: Yuwei Wu

The year is 1194.

1194年

Maurice De Bracy, enemy to the English crown,

英国王室的敌人 Maurice De Bracy

is locked in combat with a mysterious Black Knight.

与一个神秘的黑骑士陷入了战斗。

Suddenly, the Black Knight gains the upper hand.

突然间，黑骑士占了上风。

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

他在 De Bracy 的耳边 轻声说了他的真实身份——

King Richard the Lionheart of England.

英格兰的狮心国王理查德。

De Bracy yields.

De Bracy 屈服了。

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

后来，De Bracy 提出让理查德国王 使用他的 “自由长矛”（Free Lances）军队，

mercenary soldiers who were free to use their lances in service

这些雇佣兵可以 自由地使用他们的长矛

of whoever paid the most.

为付钱最多的人服务。

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

这就是沃尔特·司各特爵士 1819 年的小说《艾凡赫》中的情节。

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

司各特没有创造这个词， 但可能是这个用法保留了下来，

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

并演变为描述独立于 任何单一公司工作的人。

That independence seems to make people happy.

这种独立性似乎使人们感到高兴。

A 2016 survey of freelancers in six countries

2016 年对六个国家的 自由职业者的调查发现，

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

那些选择自由职业的人—— 顺便说一下，70% 的受访者——

were happier than people in traditional jobs,

比从事传统工作的人更快乐，

specifically when it came to things like independence and flexibility

特别是当涉及到诸如独立性以及

in terms of where and when they work.

工作时间和工作位置 的灵活性的时候。

In a survey conducted in the US,

在美国进行的一项调查中，

half of freelancers said there was no amount of money

一半的自由职业者说，

多少钱都无法说服他们 重新加入传统的工作。

that would convince them to rejoin the traditional workforce.

At some point in your life— maybe even now—

在你生命中的某个时刻—— 或许是现在——

you might wonder whether freelancing is right for you.

你可能会怀疑自由职业是否适合你。

You'll need a few things to be successful.

你需要一些东西才能成功。

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

首先，你需要一个有需求的技能。

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

它可以像驾驶汽车一样普遍， 也可以像神经外科一样专业，

and it can be in pretty much any field.

而且可以在几乎任何领域。

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

想要你的技能的人越多， 而拥有这种技能的人越少，

the more you can charge for your services.

你的就可以收取更高的费用。

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

接下来，你需要把自己 变成一个企业家。

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

在自由职业者能够做任何工作之前， 他们必须能到工作。

That takes marketing your services, negotiating contracts,

这需要营销你的服务， 合同谈判，

building a network of satisfied clients,

建立一个满意客户网络，

and a whole set of administrative skills like project management,

以及一整套的行政技能， 如项目管理，

time management, and accounting.

时间管理和会计。

And thirdly, if you can afford it,

第三，如果你负担得起，

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

为你自己以及你的家人预算一些福利

and maybe your family.

可能是个好主意。

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

自由职业者不会自动获得一些 受薪工作提供的福利，

like paid vacation or sick leave, life insurance,

如带薪休假或病假、人寿保险、

college tuition, or retirement plans.

大学学费或退休计划。

In countries like the US,

在美国这样的国家，

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

政府不为大多数人提供医疗服务，

freelancers are responsible for that, too.

自由职业者也要为 自己的医疗费用负责。

Freelancing has been around for a long time;

自由职业已经存在了很长时间；

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

但像 Uber、Lyft 和 Fiverr 这样的数字自由职业平台却相当新。

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

他们说他们会给你联系客户，

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

并处理一些创业和行政方面的事情， 这样你就可以专注于工作。

But there are some hidden costs to consider.

但也有一些隐性成本需要考虑。

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

首先，你的生活可能 并不像你想象的那样灵活。

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

例如，如果你是一名共享汽车司机， 你可以选择何时工作，

but not how:

但不能选择如何工作：

the app recommends what route to take,

应用程序推荐走什么路线，

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

用客户低评级的威胁 强制你如何行事，

and sets your rate.

并设定你的报酬。

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

这些报酬可能很低，

以至于你最终 你比在一份全职工作中工作还久。

than if you had a salaried full-time job.

Speaking of rates,

说道报酬，

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

其实很难知道你到底能赚多少钱。

Earnings vary based on location;

收入因地点而异；

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

平台可能宣传的小时费率 没有把费用算进去，

and large scale data on actual earnings is sparse.

而关于实际收入的 大规模数据也很稀少。

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

我们拥有的最大 数据集之一来自 Uber。

It contains 740 million trips by 1.8 million drivers

它包含了 2015 年至 2017 年间

between 2015 and 2017.

180 万名司机的 7.4 亿次出行。

Researchers analyzed these figures in a 2018 paper

研究人员在 2018 年的 一篇论文中分析了这些数字，

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

发现一旦扣除 Uber 的分成 和商业开支的成本，

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

司机的平均收入从每小时 22 美元左右 下降到每小时 12 美元左右。

And buying benefits would reduce that number even more.

而购买道具 会使这个数字进一步减少。

And there is a lot of variability in working conditions

而且在不同的自由职业平台上，

across different gig platforms.

工作条件有着很大的差异。

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

例如，巴西的 99 公司 经营着一个顺风车共享平台，

that many people use to deliver packages.

许多人用它来运送包裹。

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

司机与托运人相匹配， 而 99 公司从中抽取佣金。

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

公司的条款和制度 要求托运人和司机

liable for anything that could go wrong—

对任何可能出现的问题负责，

including things like if a package gets stolen.

包括包裹被盗等情况。

If you’re considering joining the app economy

如果你正在考虑加入 这样的应用经济，

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

又不想阅读所有的用户条款，

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

现在有一个研究人员发布的平台，

based on five categories of fair employment.

它根据公平就业的五个类别 对自由职业平台进行评级。

Digital gig platforms come with drawbacks

数字自由职业平台也有缺点，

and may not provide a reliable living wage.

它可能无法提供可靠的生活收入。

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

但是， 对于世界上许多没有选择余地、

and need to make money as soon as possible,

需要尽快赚钱的人来说，

like, say, if you just lost your job,

比如说，如果你刚刚丢了工作，

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

自由职业平台 是最简单、最快速的受雇场所。

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

处于这个原因， 有些人称其为“备用安全网”。

So, considering all these factors and many others,

因此，考虑到所有这些因素 和其他许多因素，

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

你是否应该涉足自由职业经济？ 或者投入其中？

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

问问自己：你在多大程度上 重视灵活性或自主性？

Do you prefer to work within an established structure,

你是喜欢在一个既定的结构中工作，

or to make your own?

还是喜欢自己动手？

Are you willing to network to find new clients?

你是否愿意通过网络来寻找新客户？

Are you organized and self-directed?

你是否有组织性和自我管理能力？

And perhaps most importantly,

也许最重要的是，

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

你有多看重 清楚地知道每星期会赚多少钱？