International journal of

ADVANCED AND APPLIED SCIENCES

EISSN: 2313-3724, Print ISSN:2313-626X

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 Volume 5, Issue 7 (July 2018), Pages: 35-45

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 Original Research Paper

 Title: Airtasker and the Australian freelance workers: The reflections on the gig economy

 Author(s): Xiaojie Ma 1, Shaohua Yang 2, *

 Affiliation(s):

 1Faculty of Arts, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
 2School of Management, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia

 https://doi.org/10.21833/ijaas.2018.07.005

 Full Text - PDF          XML

 Abstract:

This study aimed at investigating the possibilities of gig economy and how mobile devices play a critical role in this. The ability of the Australian people to venture out in this idea and the way it takes shape through mobile devices have also been understood. Through a qualitative method of data collection, 5 Australian freelancers have been interviewed. The aspect taken into consideration is evaluation and examination of their use of Airtasker and similar apps that are accessible over mobiles. The studies also intended to understand the role played by the mobile devices in shaping the decision and action of Australian people venturing into the creative media section of gig economy. Through qualitative analysis, the findings of this study indicated that inclusion of the freelancing work with the freedom to travel and/or study makes it a better alternative than the full-time stable employment with limited leaves and time to work on one’s hobbies. Moreover, freelancers have the flexibility to adapt their own timings and rates based on the works that they are taking into consideration. The freelance job opportunities through the use of mobile apps allow the receiving as well as the delivering end with the opportunity to finalize the gigs based on different parameters inclusive of time availability and preferences. However, there are issues concerning the ability of the freelancer to have a steady flow of income. 

 © 2018 The Authors. Published by IASE.

 This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

 Keywords: Gig economy, Freelance work, Airtasker, Media communication, Social media

 Article History: Received 10 February 2018, Received in revised form 21 April 2018, Accepted 27 April 2018

 Digital Object Identifier: 

 https://doi.org/10.21833/ijaas.2018.07.005

 Citation:

 Ma X and, Yang S (2018). Airtasker and the Australian freelance workers: The reflections on the gig economy. International Journal of Advanced and Applied Sciences, 5(7): 35-45

 Permanent Link:

 http://www.science-gate.com/IJAAS/2018/V5I7/Ma.html

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