Gig Work and the Discourse of Autonomy: Fictitious Freedom in Japan’s Digital Economy

Abstract

The introduction of 'gig work' has been accompanied by an official discourse which highlights the benefits for 'gig workers', especially as arises from the more autonomous nature of this particular type of employment. In contrast, this paper draws upon the cultural political economy approach to argue that the move towards gig work is more accurately conceptualised as an attempt to legitimate the further flexibilisation of labour markets within advanced industrial democracies, seeking to construct economic imaginaries that are best described as a form of 'fictitious freedom'. In drawing on the cultural political economy approach, the paper explores the interaction between the structural, discursive and technological selectivities which have generated these outcomes. This is done through a discussion of the case of Japan, which is selected as a key case that highlights the tensions and pressures leading to the introduction of gig work in this way across the advanced industrial democracies. The article shows how gig work sees new digital technologies used in an attempt to increase productivity and thereby further growth, locking gig workers into low-skilled and low-paid superfragmented tasks, whilst at the same time heralding the benefits that gig work can provide for a range of contemporary problems.

Illusory freedom of physical platform workers: Insights from Uber Eats in Japan

“…The Japanese labour market holds a unique position in the global labour market because of its unique employment structure. Unlike most of the developed economies driven by the dominant forces of capitalism, lifelong employment, benefits linked to employment tenure and frequent bonuses generally dependent on the profitability 1 of firms have traditionally governed the Japanese labour market (Kato, 2016;Shibata, 2016Shibata, , 2020. However, the stable employment system in Japan has faced sustainability problems because of rising domestic and global economic challenges as well as low fertility rate combined with non-liberal migration policies, leading to a shortage of labour 2 , forcing many firms to offer flexible employment contracts in order to cut down costs and attract women and elderly people who are seen as interested in only non-regular work (Japan Institute for Labor Policy and Training, 2016;Shibata, 2017Shibata, , 2020.…”

“…As a consequence, the Japanese economy is going through a transformation leading to heightened economic liberalism. An important component of this economic transformation like other developed economies is an increasing role of non-regular workforces engaged in platform or gig work (Shibata, 2017(Shibata, , 2020Yun, 2016).…”

“…However, the amount of research surrounding equally pressing physical platform work is relatively scarce specifically in the Japanese context. The dynamics of physical platform work in Japan, particularly related to the food delivery business, are interesting to examine because on the one hand, Japan (like other developed economies) possesses relevant prerequisites necessary for the successful functioning of a platform economy; on the other hand, insufficient benefits offered to physical platform workers have resulted in unionised bargaining for better working conditions (Japan Today, 2020;Matsui, 2019;Murata, 2020;Shibata, 2020). Even though existing literature exploring online platform work in Japan is extensive (e.g.…”

“…Even though existing literature exploring online platform work in Japan is extensive (e.g. Méndez, 2020;Rosenbluth and Thies, 2010;Shibata, 2016Shibata, , 2017Shibata, , 2019Shibata, , 2020Steinberg, 2019), relative to other advanced nations, there is not enough literature on physical gig work, specifically related to food delivery work in Japan. Also, numerous studies focusing on the developed economies have already examined the efforts of platform workers against the increasing control of platform companies (e.g.…”

Internal Branding in the Gig and Sharing Economy: Enhancing Service Providers’ Engagement to Achieve Higher Customer Satisfaction

“…Although the concept of employee engagement has been well-studied in the context of traditional employment arrangements, little concern has been drawn to the concept in the context of PBLM [10]. As and disengagement the future of work appears to lean towards gig work and the supply of goods will involve more sharing than owning assets [11], it is crucial for firms operating in these market arrangements to understand the motives driving service providers and what factors trigger their engagement.…”