Humans As A Service

by Jeremias Prassl

The crowdsourcing of work - the "gig economy" - has been hailed as a "sharing" revolution, enabling "micro-entrepreneurs" to enjoy greater autonomy and flexibility in taking on "gigs", "rides", or "tasks", while customers benefit from the ease, convenience, and affordability of "work on demand". Is this the future of work? What are the benefits and challenges of crowdsourced work? Is the gig economy fundamentally different to existing models of work and should it be kept outside the scope of employment law, as many platforms claim? Humans as a Service offers an engaging and critical account of the gig economy. It charts the industry's dramatic growth, explores the diverse platforms that comprise it, and describes how they operate. In scrutinising the competing narratives about "gig" work, the book demonstrates the importance of how claims of "disruptive innovation" and "micro-entrepreneurship" often obscure the realities of highly precarious work and the strict algorithmic surveillance and control to which workers are subject. And yet, far from being radically new, the book shows that the gig economy is but the latest (and perhaps most extreme) example of labour market practices that have existed for centuries. Turning to how the law should respond to the on-demand economy, it argues that regulators can and must bring this work within the scope of employment law, adapting existing norms where necessary, in order to protect both customers and workers. Finally, it explores the wider implications of the gig economy for markets and consumers, assessing oppprtunities and challenges - if this is the future of work, how can it be made sustainable?

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics, Economics, Law, Business

224 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2019

Reviews

[Freddy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It did contain all information I was expecting, but it reads like a textbook, and I was zooming out quite a few times. Lots of legal excerpts, history and dry policy- would have loved more storytelling and a more diverse perspective in terms of geography. Most findings are only relevant for the US and UK.

[Daniel Lambauer · Rating 4 out of 5]

a good towel-over-your-head view at the gig economy from a legal point of view. prassl dismantles the argument that platform services need to be outside employment law and shows that they can still be innovative and even more beneficial for investors, workers and all of us if they are more regulated.

[Volbet · Rating 3 out of 5]

While this is probably the best book I've read on the gig economy, it's also a very flawed and shallow book. Something that is probably to be expected, as the book is only 140 pages long excluding notes and citations.

It's a shame that I didn't find Humans as a Service: The Promise and Perils of Work in the Gig Economy to be a more compelling read, as I found myself agreeing with most of Prassl's grievances with the gig economy. But Prassl's analysis just falls short and is honestly one the most milquetoast, liberal critiques of a systemic problem that I've read in a long time.
Now, taking a strong center position is not always a bad thing, but in this case it just opens up Prassl to some very sound points from both extremes of the same argument.
For example, a libertarian could very well argue that service providers don't need additional legislation, as that would dampen or stop their business growth, and it's only through a fertile playing field that these service are in a position to compete for contractors, offering the contractors benefits akin to those afforded to employees.

[Ietrio · Rating 1 out of 5]

Prassl is an adult with the mind of a 6 year old in the candy store. And Prassl, as so many other times in the candy store, wants to show mommy he is a generous and mature boy: everybody should get candy. Hence, it is unacceptable as some people are employed in the gig economy! There should be a right that all people would do nothing 8 hours a day at a desk, just like Prassl and governments would regularly and uniformly pay them a more than generous wage at the end of the month. There also have to be lots of Commissions for every human being and paid expenses and a generous pension when you reach a certain age, simply because you have reached that age, exactly like Prassl.

Now, don't mind that Prassl's mom was extracting blind obedience by feeding him sugar, that is the subject of a book Prassl will never find time to write.

[Jeffrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

More concerned with the legal side of the changing nature of work than I expected but makes a lot of great points about the seemingly radically novel nature of the gig economy isn't that different than what we have faced in the past as a way to organize work. Overall was well-written and fairly concise.