The first major study of how the pandemic affected gig workers--a
sociological exploration that reads like a novel.
This is the story of what the most vulnerable wage earners--gig workers,
restaurant staff, early-career creatives, and minimum-wage laborers--do
when the economy suddenly collapses. In Side Hustle Safety Net,
Alexandrea J. Ravenelle builds on interviews with nearly two hundred
gig-based and precarious workers, conducted during the height of the
pandemic, to uncover the unique challenges they faced in unprecedented
times.
This book tells the stories of the "officially Unemployed" and the
"forgotten jobless"--a digital-era demographic that turned to side
hustles--and reveals how they fared. CARES Act assistance allowed some
to change careers, start businesses, and perhaps transform their lives.
However, gig workers and those involved in "polyemployment" found
themselves at the mercy of outdated unemployment systems, vulnerable to
scams, and attempting dubious survival strategies. Ultimately, Side
Hustle Safety Net argues that the rise of the gig economy, partnered
with underemployment and economic instability, has increased worker
precarity with disastrous consequences.
