Research project Precarious and unsustainable? Which work environment risks are prevalent in employed gig work, and how can they be prevented?
Employed gig workers engage in a wide range of occupations, either full-time or part-time, often continuing beyond retirement age and frequently working for multiple clients. Although this form of work is expanding both in Sweden and internationally (e.g., in Norway and France), there is limited knowledge about how different groups of workers use this employment arrangement.
This lack of insight also applies to their working conditions and the potential links between employed gig work and individual health. Strengthening the evidence base in these areas is essential for identifying possible work environment risks inherent in employed gig work and for developing effective preventive measures. The aim of this project is therefore to investigate this emerging and underexplored form of employment, with a particular focus on psychosocial work environment risks, in order to formulate key recommendations for their prevention
The project is organized into three work packages.
In Work Package 1, we examine the prevalence and characteristics of employed gig work in Sweden, as well as its associations with individual factors, labor market participation, and objective health. This work package uses national register data, enabling us to map how many employed gig workers there are in Sweden each year, who they are, and how their health and labor market participation develop over time.
In Work Package 2, we compare employed gig work with traditional organizational employment and with self-employment in terms of psychosocial work environment risks and subjective health. Using self-reported survey data, this work package investigates whether the work environment experiences of employed gig workers are comparable to, better than, or worse than those of (similar) individuals in more established forms of employment. The analyses will also identify whether work attitudes and self-reported health and well-being differ between the groups.
Finally, Work Package 3 aims to understand how employed gig workers, umbrella companies, and unions can mitigate work environment risks, and how preventive efforts can be strengthened.
The results from the quantitative analyses in WP1 and WP2 will guide the selection of interview participants and the focus of the interview content related to work environment risks