Gig Workers are vulnerable during an outbreak | Marketplace

Marketplace interviews William Dow on the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on gig workers.

“With fears of COVID-19 spreading across the U.S., many are bracing for the impact of a large-scale outbreak, stocking up on food and cleaning items and preparing to hunker down inside their homes and avoid public spaces. But not everyone has the freedom to do so, like the army of gig workers we’ve increasingly come to rely on.

These days we think nothing of getting into a stranger’s car or hiring someone to pick up a chicken at the grocery store. The gig economy has become enmeshed in our daily lives, said NYU business professor Arun Sundararajan.

‘Something that people are realizing as they consider the prospect of a more widespread outbreak is the extent to which they rely on immediacy today,’ he said. ‘If you don’t have something, you press a button.'”

Source: Gig workers are vulnerable in an outbreak – Marketplace