数字世界的生计：零工经济中的体面工作报告

A brief for good work in the gig economy Table of Contents ForewordCompanies in this reportIntroductionEmpowering gig workers:Strategies todayThe rising gig economy:Opportunities and ChallengesBusiness modelsGig economy: DemographicsFood deliveryPolicy and regulationEmerging best practice:Early learning and examplesDelivery HeroElasticRunGrabiFoodSwiggytakealot.comUrban CompanyValternativeWoltZomatoProsusUnlocking digitally enabled livelihoods:A frameworkfor collaborative actionTowards an industry charterAbbreviationsBibliographyAbout the authors23459101112131516171718192020212122222326272829 Foreword The gig economy – in all its diversity – is a powerful force for change.With global reach and innovative software-driven business models,this new global ecosystem is a force for economic growth and jobcreation. Income and opportunity are more distributed and democra-tised, globally and at scale, often in regions with big youth popula-tions and stubbornly high rates of joblessness. Good Work The World Economic Forum has published extensively on the futureof work, with particular emphasis on promoting fairness, equity, andsustainability. In response to serial global challenges, World Eco-nomic Forum’s Good Work Framework mapped a shared vision formulti-stakeholder collaboration to manage the impacts of advancingtechnology and evolving workers’ needs. It outlines key levers ofchange to build a more resilient, sustainable and inclusive future ofwork. Digital platforms have created a new form of work, founded on newbusiness models that have shown exponential promise – for consum-ers, and for gig workers. The Good Work Framework aspires to support business, workers andwider society in a context of growing recognition of companies’ socialand environmental responsibilities. Expressed in five pillars, many as-pects of World Economic Forum’s approach are relevant to the risinggig economy. The framework sets bold ambitions to improve workingconditions and tackle inequalities in the global labour market. Businesses, regulators and other participants in this new ecosystemshare a responsibility. Our task is to deliver simultaneously on the vi-tal prospects or growth, while contributing to the welfare and benefitsof all who depend on it – a challenge, but also a duty. That task is underway. This report adds another perspective, informed by the innovative bestpractices of leading digital platforms, to foster a more sustainableand inclusive gig economy. Daily wage labour has been a feature ofworking life for millennia, but learning from the old economy – at thisjuncture – is not enough to realise the promise of digital platforms. Online work has brought an epoch of opportunity, especially infast-growing emerging economies. Convenience and connectivityhave disrupted old-economy conventions. Work in the gig economy,often with low barriers to entry, represents a route into formalisedeconomic activity from the informal sector where needs are mostacute. The urgent imperative for this young global industry economy is to bal-ance the autonomy of gig workers with a commitment to their dignity,protection and stability. Evidence shows that delivery partners prizeflexibility too. This paper supports that vision with examples drawnfrom the Prosus family of companies. In 2024, almost three billion people worldwide ordered groceries ormeals from online food delivery services. The global food deliverymarket trebled in value since 2017, to more than USD 150 billion.Asia is the dominant market with about 1.84 billion users, far aheadof the closest runner-up, Europe, with 355 million. Forecasts point tocontinued, brisk expansion. At Prosus, we invest and support the best work of visionary entrepre-neurs. I share the confidence of our best entrepreneurs that careerprogression, education, skills development, and economic security arelegitimate expectations for the future of gig work. Our job is unlockingdigital futures. In India, the gig economy generates income for 1.5% of the work-force. The tally of gig workers is on track to reach 23.5 million withinthis decade, treble its 2021 level of 7.7 million. In South Africa, acountry with youth unemployment of more than 45% (ages 15–34),one percent of the workforce is engaged by digital platforms. In our new paradigm of self-contracted labour, the deeply humanimpulse to find purpose in work is undimmed. Next to the practical-ities of business development and appropriate regulation, the bestcompanies understand that work is a deeply human endeavour. In aworld of multi-apping, the loyalties – both ways – of digital platformsand gig workers is one index of what’s working well. When joblessness is stubbornly high, that kind of economic growthcannot come too soon. This report surveys a selection of best practices from companies com-mitted to enhancing these new digital livelihoods. The gig economyhas flourished because it brings flexibility – for consumers, but cru-cially also for the bu