Well-being and Productivity of Gig-Economy Workers in the UK and South Korea

零工经济工作者是通过应用程序提供服务的独立承包商或“微型企业家”。零工经济的工作越来越普遍，预计在不久的将来会呈指数级增长。这在英国和韩国经济中也越来越普遍，两国有数百万人定期从事零工工作。尽管零工经济的相关性越来越大，但人们对零工经济工作者的福祉和生产力知之甚少。虽然零工似乎有积极的影响，比如增加了员工的灵活性，但它也有一系列负面影响，比如工作保障降低或收入降低。这笔资金将使来自英国和韩国的一个研究团队能够开展一系列关于两国零工经济工人的福祉和生产力的跨文化研究项目。首先，我们试图阐明英国和韩国的零工经济工作者如何将福祉概念化。我们还试图更好地了解哪些与工作相关的因素会推动或破坏零工经济工人的福祉。这些因素的相对重要性在韩国和英国之间可能有所不同。零工经济工作者的福祉可能对生产率产生重大影响。其次，我们试图了解零工经济工作者为应对与工作相关的挑战并改善他们的福祉而制定的策略。韩国和英国的零工工人不仅对幸福的概念不同，而且他们用来减轻与工作相关的挑战和保持个人生产力的策略也不同。第三，我们试图加深对可能影响零工经济工人福祉的国家层面因素（例如文化、劳动力市场法规和政府对COVID-19的反应）的理解。这些差异可能会导致两国在零工工人福利方面的不同反应。通过一系列与零工经济工作者的福祉和生产力相关的研究项目和活动，我们的目标是在英国和韩国的研究人员之间建立和发展长期关系。这个调查人员网络将在这两个国家主办和参加一系列具有战略意义的活动。通过访问韩国的大学和政府机构并开展合作活动，我们将提高英国学者和机构在韩国研究界的形象。在国际上，研究研讨会、研究研讨会和会议将促进国际领先学者、从业者和其他利益相关者之间的知识交流，使分享经验和追求共同目标成为可能，例如更好地了解零工经济工人的福祉。该网络还将为研究生和早期职业研究人员提供展示或讨论他们的研究并获得反馈的机会。我们不仅将丰富关于零工经济工作者的学术对话，还将开展两国学者和从业者之间关于零工经济工作的对话。与其他管理研究领域相比，零工经济领域的研究是最近才出现的。因此，该网络将提供在这一重要领域建立和巩固国家能力的重要手段。此外，我们的目标是制定可能对相关地方当局，政府，国际组织和其他利益相关者的政策影响。我们项目的影响将受益于其成员的互补性专业知识和联系，特别是通过政府政策研究所的参与，该研究所将积极向其国家政府和利益攸关方传播潜在影响，从而产生有意义的影响。我们的项目还可以根据从韩国零工经济背景中获得的知识、经验和建议，为英国制定零工经济政策提供支持。

Gig economy workers are independent contractors, or "micro entrepreneurs", who provide services via apps. Work in the gig economy is increasingly commonplace, and expected to grow exponentially in the near future. It is also more and more prevalent in both the British and Korean economy, with millions of people in both countries regularly performing gig work. Despite the growing relevance of the gig economy, little is known about the well-being and productivity of gig economy workers. While there seem to be positive implications of gig work, such as increased worker flexibility, it is also associated with a range of negative consequences, such as decreased job security or lower income. This grant will enable a team of researchers from Britain and South Korea to develop a series of cross-cultural research projects on well-being and productivity of gig economy workers in both countries. First, we seek to elucidate how gig economy workers in the UK and South Korea conceptualise well-being. We also seek to better understand what job-related factors drive or undermine the well-being of gig economy workers. The relative importance of these factors may differ between Korea and Britain. The well-being of gig economy workers may have a significant impact on productivity. Second, we seek to understand the strategies gig economy workers develop to cope with job-related challenges and improve their well-being. Gig workers from Korea and Britain may not only conceptualise wellbeing differently, but also differ with regard to the strategies they use to mitigate job-related challenges and maintain individual productivity. Third, we seek to develop our understanding of the country-level factors (e.g. culture, labour market regulations and government responses to COVID-19) which may impact the well-being of gig economy workers. These differences may lead to diverse responses in terms of gig worker wellbeing between both countries. Through a series of research projects and events relating to well-being and productivity of gig economy workers, we aim to establish and develop a long-term relationship between investigators in the UK and South Korea. This network of investigators will host and participate in a strategic set of events in both countries. By visiting universities and government institutes in South Korea and carrying out events collaboratively, we will raise the profile of UK scholars and institutions within the Korean research community. Internationally, research workshops, research seminars and conferences will enable knowledge exchange between leading international academics, practitioners and other stakeholders, enabling a sharing of experiences and pursuit of shared goals such as better understanding of well-being of gig economy workers. The network will also give opportunities to postgraduate research students and early career researchers to present or discuss their research and receive feedback.We will not only enrich academic conversations on gig economy workers, but also develop conversation between academics and practitioners on gig economy work in both countries. Research in the area of gig economy is more recent compared to other areas of management research. The network will thus provide a significant means to build and consolidate national capacity in this important area. Furthermore, we aim to develop policy implications which may be for relevant local authorities, governments, international organisations and other stakeholders. The impact of our projects will benefit from the complementary expertise and contacts of its members, especially through the involvement of a government policy institute, who will be active in disseminating potential implications to their national governments and stakeholders, leading to meaningful impact. Our projects may also provide support for developing UK policy for the gig economy based on knowledge, experiences and recommendations gained from the Korean gig economy context.