ABSTRACT

The SARS-COV-2 virus has changed all spheres of life as we know it. This article considers the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the gig economy sector, in particular on the work of bicycle couriers in Poland. The main research question is whether in this case the impact is positive (it is a ‘good’ occupation during the pandemic) or negative (gig economy has suffered the consequences of the lockdown just like all other sectors). In order to answer this question, I conducted 20 semi-structured online interviews with Glovo couriers in March and April 2020 and analysed 1300 posts on their internet forum. The analysis of the research material makes it possible to conclude that in the period of the pandemic and the lockdown of the Polish economy, working as a courier was at least a partial ‘remedy’ for the problems on the labour market. The couriers themselves generally did not feel the negative impact of the coronavirus on their occupational situation.

抽象的

据我们所知，SARS-COV-2病毒已经改变了生活的方方面面。本文考虑了COVID-19大流行对零工经济部门的影响，尤其是对波兰自行车快递公司的影响。主要的研究问题是，在这种情况下，影响是正面的（在大流行期间是“好”职业）还是负面的（即零工经济像其他所有部门一样遭受了封锁的后果）。为了回答这个问题，我于2020年3月和2020年4月对Glovo快递员进行了20次半结构化在线采访，并分析了他们在互联网论坛上的1300条帖子。通过对研究材料的分析，可以得出结论，在大流行和波兰经济停滞的时期，以快递员的身份至少是对劳动力市场问题的部分“补救”。