What is a gig economy?

譯者: 至磊Zi Le 黃Ng 審譯者: Helen Chang

The year is 1194.

1194 年，

Maurice De Bracy, enemy to the English crown,

英格蘭國王的敵人狄布萊西

is locked in combat with a mysterious Black Knight.

被神祕的黑騎士阻撓，陷入打鬥中。

Suddenly, the Black Knight gains the upper hand.

突然，黑騎士占得上風。

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

他悄悄地告訴狄布萊西 他的真實身分：

King Richard the Lionheart of England.

英格蘭獅心王理查。

De Bracy yields.

狄布萊西認輸。

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

隨後，狄布萊西提議讓理查國王 僱用他的軍隊「自由之矛」，

mercenary soldiers who were free to use their lances in service

這是一支可以為任何人 持矛作戰的僱傭兵，

of whoever paid the most.

只要他開出最高的價碼。

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

這個劇情來自華特．司各特爵士 1819 年的小說《撒克遜英雄傳》。

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

司各特沒有首創這個詞， 但它應該是從那時流傳下來，

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

演變為形容人的工作 獨立於任何一家公司。

That independence seems to make people happy.

這種獨立性看起來會讓人開心。

A 2016 survey of freelancers in six countries

2016 年一項針對六個國家 自由工作者的調查，

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

發現自主選擇從事自由業的人 —— 70% 的答覆者——

were happier than people in traditional jobs,

比傳統就業人士快樂，

specifically when it came to things like independence and flexibility

尤其是關於工作地點 和時間的獨立性及彈性。

in terms of where and when they work.

In a survey conducted in the US,

一項美國的調查顯示，

half of freelancers said there was no amount of money

一半的自由工作者表示， 無論付他們多少薪水，

that would convince them to rejoin the traditional workforce.

都不會讓他們想回到 傳統勞動力當中。

At some point in your life— maybe even now—

人生中的某時某刻，甚或就是現在，

you might wonder whether freelancing is right for you.

你可能思考過自由業是否適合你。

You'll need a few things to be successful.

你需要有一些特質才能成功。

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

第一，你要擁有一項有需求的技能。

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

這項技能可以跟駕駛汽車一樣普通， 也可以跟神經外科一樣專精，

and it can be in pretty much any field.

而且幾乎可以是任何領域。

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

想要你的技能的人越多， 擁有的人越少，

the more you can charge for your services.

你就能為你的服務開出越高的價碼。

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

其次，你必須把自己變成企業家。

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

自由工作者做任何事之前， 必須先找到那個工作。

That takes marketing your services, negotiating contracts,

這需要行銷你的服務，協商合約，

building a network of satisfied clients,

建立高滿意度客戶的網絡，

and a whole set of administrative skills like project management,

以及一系列行政技能， 例如專案管理、

time management, and accounting.

時間管理、會計。

And thirdly, if you can afford it,

第三，如果你負擔得起，

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

通常最好訂個預算， 給自己一些福利，

and maybe your family.

也許還有你的家人。

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

自由工作者不會自動得到 某些支薪工作提供的待遇，

like paid vacation or sick leave, life insurance,

例如有薪的特休或病假、壽險、

college tuition, or retirement plans.

大學學費、退休計畫等。

In countries like the US,

有些國家，像是美國，

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

政府不會為多數民眾提供健康照護，

freelancers are responsible for that, too.

自由工作者也要為此事負責。

Freelancing has been around for a long time;

自由業已經存在很長一段時間了，

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

但優步、來福車、Fiverr 等 數位自由工作平臺還非常新穎。

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

他們聲稱可以替你與客戶建立連線， 處理一些企業經營與行政相關事項，

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

所以你可以專注於工作。

But there are some hidden costs to consider.

但你必須考量某些隱含的成本。

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

第一，你的生活可能 沒有想像中那麼彈性。

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

舉例來說，如果你是共乘駕駛， 你有權選擇何時工作，

but not how:

但不能選方式：

the app recommends what route to take,

應用程式建議行駛路徑，

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

逼迫你面對低客戶評價的威脅，

and sets your rate.

決定你的費率。

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

這些費率可能低得讓你的工作量 比一份有薪的全職工作還沉重。

than if you had a salaried full-time job.

Speaking of rates,

談到費率，

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

要了解你實際上會掙得多少錢 可能並非易事。

Earnings vary based on location;

收入因地點而有所不同，

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

平臺宣揚的每小時費率 可能並未考慮開銷，

and large scale data on actual earnings is sparse.

很少有大規模的實質收入資料。

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

我們擁有的最大的數據集 其中一個來自優步，

It contains 740 million trips by 1.8 million drivers

其包含 1800 萬位駕駛 在 2015 年至 2017 年間

between 2015 and 2017.

執行過的 7.4 億趟行程。

Researchers analyzed these figures in a 2018 paper

在一篇 2018 年的論文中， 研究者分析這些數據，

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

發現一旦扣除優步的抽成 和營運成本的開銷，

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

駕駛的每小時平均收入 從新台幣 660 元掉到 360 元，

And buying benefits would reduce that number even more.

而購買優惠則會 進一步降低這個數值。

And there is a lot of variability in working conditions

各個零工平臺的工作條件 有很多不同之處。

across different gig platforms.

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

例如巴西的 99 公司 運營一個共乘平臺，

that many people use to deliver packages.

很多人藉此運送包裹。

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

99 幫駕駛和託運人媒合， 並收取抽成。

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

這家公司的條款與條件

讓託運人和駕駛自行負責 任何可能出錯的事情，

liable for anything that could go wrong—

including things like if a package gets stolen.

包括像是包裹被偷走。

If you’re considering joining the app economy

如果你在考慮投入應用程式經濟，

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

但不想讀完繁瑣的細節，

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

那麼有一個研究者網絡 發表各平臺的評級，

based on five categories of fair employment.

把公平就業劃分為五個層級。

Digital gig platforms come with drawbacks

數位零工評臺有其缺點，

and may not provide a reliable living wage.

而且可能不會提供可靠的生活工資。

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

但對於世界上許多沒有選擇、 而且需要儘快賺到錢的人來說，

and need to make money as soon as possible,

like, say, if you just lost your job,

像是剛失業的人，

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

零工經濟就是獲得僱用 最簡單快速的地方。

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

因為這個緣故，有些人說它 是一個「另類安全網」。

So, considering all these factors and many others,

那麼，考慮上述及其他種種因素後，

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

你該不該試著初探零工經濟， 或是深入其中呢？

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

問問你自己：彈性或自主權 對你而言有多少價值？

Do you prefer to work within an established structure,

你喜歡在既定的結構中工作，

or to make your own?

還是創造自己的？

Are you willing to network to find new clients?

你願意為了開發新客戶 而建立人脈網絡嗎？

Are you organized and self-directed?

你喜歡被安排好還是自己決定？

And perhaps most importantly,

還有，也許最重要的是，

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

對你而言，每週擁有可預期的收入 是多有價值的一件事？