Gig economy: freedom or exploitation?

The flexibility is real, but the dominant model shifts business risk onto workers while denying stable pay, benefits, and security.

Misclassifying workers as contractors offloads the costs of benefits, insurance, and income security onto individuals while platforms capture the upside and unilaterally control pay and algorithms.

The systemic transfer of risk and denial of safety nets to workers generates significant net disutility, outweighing the marginal utility of consumer convenience and scheduling flexibility.