The 20th century framework for work is not the first such formulation and it will not be the last

Why is the peer economy causing such a stir? Critics ask whether micropreneurs get back enough economic security in exchange for their labor. These suppliers are hamsters in a wheel, they assert; if pay comes gig by gig, how can peer economy suppliers ever do more than just keep up?

Embedded in this concern are assumptions as to what constitutes a job: that it be full-time, offer benefits, and provide a livable income. These parameters make up a framework, one that is baked into our society. But this framework—which dominated 20th century work—has been on the decline since the late 1970s. IRS clarifications changed how companies approached benefits such as paid leave and retirement plans, transferring more risk to employees. And job losses have come in two forms: globalization that led to offshoring and technological displacement. Unemployment may have crested in 2008, but its roots are in the 1980s.

Though it may seem “timeless”, the 20th century framework for work is not the first such formulation and it will not be the last. There were other mainstream understandings before it—factory work, piece-meal work, craftsmanship and apprenticeship—and undergirding them were a mix of cultural and political factors. Regulations (or lack thereof) shaped industry structures, and existential quandaries about work played out in arts and media (think Charlie Chaplin’s Modern Times, where the Little Tramp grapples with the dehumanization of mass production technology). And as the normative gender throughout history, these mainstream understandings of what work was followed men’s lives and patterns.

Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor. Read the whole story at 

via The Peer Economy Will Transform Work (or at Least How We Think of It) – Denise Cheng – Harvard Business Review.