Description
Book SynopsisTrade Review"The book is at its best and most useful when detailing—often in workers own words—the litany of injustices, indignities, and unsafe conditions visited upon the people working for these services. Such issues are not surprising and speak directly to why the Labor Department’s directive is so problematic. Nevertheless, the sheer volume of workplace injuries, unreachable employers, legally tenuous situations like drug delivery and credit card scams, denied benefits, endemic sexual harassment, low wages, and constant stress about whether one will get hired enough on a day-to-day level is striking." * New Labor Forum *
"
Hustle and Gig is a timely and important addition to the nascent but rapidly expanding literature of this new economic movement. It vividly bring to life the realities that many gig workers face today as they move forward to the past. The reality that many face challenges not unlike their peers from over a century ago—piecemeal work, low wages, and lacking basic protections.
Hustle and Gig would be of particular interest to scholars studying non-standard work arrangements and employment relations, but also to scholars with a general interest in work and occupations or labor history." * Social Forces *
"Ravenelle’s account of the state of gig work in Hustle and Gig is a great starting point: both the breadth of sectors covered and the depth of the ethnographic material are fantastic and add important detail to the techlash movement that is so often empirically weak." * LSE Review of Books *
"
Hustle and Gig is a refreshing and important statement about the structural changes evident in contemporary capitalism. The book is written with style and verve, yet is accessible and even ideal for assignment in classes on work, organizations, and social inequality. It is perhaps the most thoughtful and provocative depiction of the structural changes impinging on work as the sharing economy gains force. It deserves a wide audience."
* Sociological Forum *
"Hustle and Gig is a timely contribution to conversations about the kinds of working conditions that we, as a society, are—and are not—building for the future. . . .[it] reminds readers that decent jobs are not something that exist a priori. They must be made."
* American Journal of Sociology *
Table of ContentsList of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
1. Strugglers, Strivers, and Success Stories
2. What Is the Sharing Economy?
3. Forward to the Past and the Early Industrial Age
4. Workplace Troubles
5. Sharing Is Caring
6. All in a Day’s (Dirty) Work
7. Living the Dream?
8. Conclusion
Appendix 1. Demographic Survey
Appendix 2. Interview Matrix
Notes
References
Index
