Research On Labor Process And Control Mechanism Of Gig Economy

The rapid development and widespread application of digital technology has given birth to Internet platform companies,as well as the gig economy,a new form of employment.The gig economy has attracted the participation of many workers with its "flexibility" and "autonomy",and the scale and influence of its practitioners have increased day by day.However,instead of truly achieving the "freedom" and "flexibility" claimed by the gig economy,gig workers are increasingly trapped in job and income instability.It is of great significance to carry out the research on the labor process of gig economy to continue the concern of Marxism to the working class and promote the standardized development of gig economy.In view of the current academic divergence in the definition of gig economy,this article first defines the concept and scope of gig economy,and focuses on the background,development scale,main types of the rise of the gig economy in Western capitalist countries and my country,as well as my country’s gig economy.The composition of practitioners presents a unique development path for my country’s gig economy.Then it discusses in detail the control mechanism of the Internet platform in the gig labor process.The study found that the platform achieves control of the labor process in three ways:The first is to use monopoly advantages to use market access rights and data monopoly to strengthen labor’s dependence on the platform;the second is to use advanced algorithm technology to achieve "beyond the visual distance management" of labor from the three dimensions of time,space and emotion;The third is to strengthen the self-exploitation of workers through nested remuneration and incentive mechanisms and part of the transfer of supervision power to consumers.Therefore,the labor process of gig economy shows different characteristics from traditional wage labor: first,the low threshold of the entry/exit mechanism gives gig workers a certain degree of freedom;second,there is a “weak contract between the platform and the workers ”.——The relationship of strong control;third,laborers’ dependence on capital has shifted from "material dependence" to "data dependence";and finally from "form subordination" to "actual subordination".Due to inhumane management,when facing the strict control of the platform,gig workers usually adopt the construction of social network,use the contradiction between the platform and consumers to strive for autonomy,"vote with their feet" to leave the gig industry,and use Public opinion forces platforms to respond and take legal measures to defend their rights.These response strategies are not directed at the balance of labor-management relations but contradictory self-digestion.The class-oriented use of technology enables capital to dissolve the struggle of laborers through the barrier mechanism,differentiation mechanism,and dependency mechanism,and finally presents a situation dominated by "individual compromise".Based on the above analysis,this article believes that it is necessary to break the "flexibility" and "autonomy" halo of the gig economy,and rationally guide and regulate the gig economy.Propose measures to improve relevant laws and regulations,innovate labor relations identification standards,improve social security mechanisms,promote the establishment of enterprise trade unions and industry trade unions,strengthen the main responsibility of platform enterprises,establish a reverse supervision mechanism,improve the skill level of workers,and strengthen legal awareness and other measures to ensure The rights and interests of gig workers and promote the healthy development of gig economy.