Isolation and Inequality Beyond the Regulation of Labour

Running Head: Sociology
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Communications - Digital Culture
3/24/2020

Sociology
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Essay: Which narrative — decentralized and isolated or connected and empowered — best
reflects the reality of Canada’s gig workers?
The reality of Canada’s gig workers reflects that they are less happy and lonely so they are
isolated and decentralized from the other people. The life of Canada workers has become the gig
economy which is largely based on the exploitation of the workers. In the gig economy, the jobs
of the Canada workers are not fixed as it is the free market system where they have a temporary
position (Schwellnus, et al., 2019). The organization of Canada engages in short term plans
mostly so they contract the independent workers whose job is for the specified period.
The major jobs in Canada are based on per task basis where jobs are not just limited to the Skip
the Dishes and Uber but also in the laundries, grocery stores and in the banking too. The new
workforce is hired for a specific period in Canada as per the task basis and the new employees
and the workers just accept that job (Donovan, et al., 2016). The economy of Canada is flexible
in contrast to the optimistic portrayals where the workers are empowered to control their fates.
The workers in the gig economy of Canada feels like that they are powerless and feel lonely.
As a sociologist, the workforce of Canada is also decentralized as the employees over there are
collaborating in the functional area. The workforce over Canada doesn’t work together in the
same office as they worked in the denaturalized structure (Jabagi, et al., 2019). Canada is an
advanced technology country that has the evolution of mobile technology and the internet. The
people in Canada are the denaturalized workers as they communicate through the internet
technology and do their work in the home through the internet and contribute through the
decentralized workforce.
The survey was conducted in 2019 by the Canada Quality of Work and Economic Life Study and
it was evaluated that the workers of Canada are gig and non-gig workers. This survey was
conducted online which was done by the firm Angus Reid Global. The people are worked in the
gig economy if they have performed the activities like freelancing to rideshare driving, food
delivery and doing the online task (Stevens and Shearmur, 2020).
As per Canada and the American estimates it was evaluated that one out of every five workers is
participating in the gig economy. The workers who work in the gig economy are not
conventional but they are the one who is suffering. It was found by the researchers that people

Sociology
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over there are lonely and they work in the isolation. The people over there felt isolated as they
have no one to talk to and unable to relate to the other people as they are mostly working from
the home. They work with their laptops so it causes illness if people work alone for a longer
period (Mas and Pallais, 2017). The workers feel depressed, lonely and shortened their life span
of working in the decentralized work structure.
The sign of loneliness was experienced by the gig workers which was creating mental health.
Workers in Canada are isolated so it was measured that they experience more depression and
anxiety. Gig workers have several negative impacts on the economy of Canada as in major cases
of gig jobs, the benefits of retirement and health do not get. But there is some gig job which is
for the long-term period but their packages were limited so workers in Canada do not feel
secured (Sukdeo, 2018).
In the gig economy, the insecurities and the vulnerability arise in the workers which disrupt the
deal of work. It has become the trend in the gig economy that employees are more flexible in
working as half time employees rather than full-time employment. The gig economy has enabled
the workers of Canada to do the work from the home and can choose the jobs as per their choices
which are relatable to higher wages (Cherry and Aloisi, 2018). The labour market regulations
have been loosed through the gig economy. The working conditions have become worse in the
gig economy for the labour market and their pay scale is also getting affected by reclassifying the
jobs to the self-employed.
In gig economy the people work from the home so it also exploits the Canada economy by hiring
a handyman for some individual task, the schedule was chosen which is fit for people and there
is no schedule fix so it creates the man lazy and creates the anxiety (Prassl, 2018). The gig
economy has the variety of the job in Canada and also provides flexibility but at the same time, it
is creating the isolation, lack of cultural solidarity and increases loneliness among the people.
The workers of the gig economy feel helpless which was evaluated in the research done by the
author. The workers of the gig economy do not have any control over them. They just work
when they feel good and there is no fixed routine for them which make them less happy (Bajwa,
et al., 2018). It was also seen through the statistical report that majorly workers in the gig
economy are the youngers who are of less age and likely to be married. The people over there are