The Gig Economy and Structural Vulnerability: Implications for Social Security Reform and Welfare Sustainability in Indonesia
Keywords:
gig economy capabilities structural vulnerability social security digital economyAbstract
The gig economy in Indonesia has transformed the structure of work, offering flexibility but also creating structural vulnerability for workers. This article analyses this phenomenon through the lens of capabilities, habitus, social capital, and network society approaches. It finds that the flexibility of the gig economy is often illusory, shifts economic, social, and psychological risks to individuals, with many workers facing low wages and minimal social security. Nevertheless, workers develop adaptive strategies based on informal community solidarity. This study recommends adaptive reforms to the social security system, collaboration between the government, platforms, and worker communities, integration of formal and informal social protection, improved digital and social literacy, and an inclusive policy architecture grounded in social data. Overall, the gig economy calls for or necessitates a reconceptualization of justice and welfare, ensuring that digital innovation expands human capabilities rather than limiting them.
References
Anwar, M. A., & Graham, M. (2021). Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Freedom, Flexibility, Precarity, and Vulnerability in the Gig Economy in Global South. Competition & Change, 25(2), 237–258. https://doi.org/10.1177/1024529420914473
Beck, U. (2000). The Brave New World of Work. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Bourdieu, P. (1986). The Forms of Capital. In J. Richardson (Ed.), Handbook of Theory and Research for the Sociology of Education (pp. 241–258). New York: Greenwood Press.
Bourdieu, P. (1990). The Logic of Practice. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
Bowen, G. A. (2009). Document Analysis as a Qualitative Research Method. Qualitative Research Journal, 9(2), 27–40. https://doi.org/10.3316/QRJ0902027
Castells, M. (2000). The Rise of the Network Society. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.
Fraser, N. (2010). Scales of Justice: Reimagining Political Space in a Globalizing World. New York: Columbia University Press.
Fuchs, C. (2020). Communication and Capitalism: A Critical Theory. London: University of Westminster Press. https://doi.org/10.16997/book45
International Labour Organization (ILO). (2021). World Employment and Social Outlook: The Role of Digital Labour Platforms in Transforming the World of Work. Geneva: ILO.
International Labour Organization (ILO). (2022). Digital Labour Platforms and the Future of Work: Policy Briefs on Decent Work in the Digital Economy. Geneva: ILO.
Izza, S. R., Saharani, K. D., Ardiani, D., & Franssisca, M. L. (2024). Studi Literatur: Analisis Pengaruh Ragam Karakteristik Pekerja Ekonomi Gig terhadap Perekonomian Nasional. Journal of Regional Economics and Development, 1(3), 1-20. https://doi.org/10.47134/jred.v1i3.337
Kässi, O., & Lehdonvirta, V. (2018). Online Labour Index: Measuring the Online Gig Economy for Policy and Research. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 137, 241–248. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2017.11.006
Krippendorff, K. (2018). Content Analysis: An Introduction to Its Methodology (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Lamers, W., Blok, V., & Omta, O. (2022). A Capability Approach to Worker Dignity underAlgorithmic Management. Journal of Business Ethics, 178(1), 45–61. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-021-04948-z
Ngadi, D., Asiati, D., Aini, Y. N., Purba, Y. A., & Rajagukguk, Z. (2025). Increasing Labor Social Security Membership for Informal Workers in Indonesia. Cogent Social Sciences, 11(1), 2534139. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2022.2534139
Nussbaum, M. C. (2011). Creating Capabilities: The Human Development Approach. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Permana, M. Y., & Izzati, N. R. (2023). Measuring the gig economy in Indonesia: typology, characteristics, and distribution. Media Wahyudi, Measuring the Gig Economy in Indonesia: Typology, Characteristics, and Distribution (February 6, 2023). http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4349942
Policy Brief: Efek Samping Formalisasi Pekerja Gig di Indonesia. (2022). Jakarta: Badan Riset dan Inovasi Nasional (BRIN).
Prasetyoputra, P. (2023). Informal Economy and Social Protection in Indonesia. Social Policy & Society, 22(3), 415–430. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1474746422000424
Pratomo, D. S., Saputra, P. M. A., Asrofi, D. A. N., Natalia, C., & Zenritami, S. L. (2024). Gig Workers in the Digital Era in Indonesia: Development, Vulnerability and Welfare. Malang: Brawijaya University. https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6463-525-6_6
Putnam, R. (2000). Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Putri, A., Darmawan, A., & Heeks, R. (2023). What is Fair? The Experience of Indonesian Gig Workers. Journal of Fairwork Indonesia, 1(1), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.diggeo.2023.100072
Scholz, T. (2017). Uberworked and Underpaid: How Workers Are Disrupting the Digital Economy. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Sen, A. (1999). Development as Freedom. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Sen, A. (2005). Human Rights and Capabilities. Journal of Human Development, 6(2), 151–166. https://doi.org/10.1080/14649880500120491
Snyder, H. (2019). Literature Review as a Research Methodology: An Overview and Guidelines. Journal of Business Research, 104, 333–339. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.07.039
Standing, G. (2011). The Precariat: The New Dangerous Class. London: Bloomsbury Academic. https://doi.org/10.5040/9781849664554
Surtiari, G. A. K., Wannewitz, M., Prasetyoputra, P., Siagian, T. H., & Garschagen, M. (2024). Indonesia’s Social Protection System: The Relevance of Informal Social Protection to Strengthen Adaptation to Climate Change. Journal of Integrative Environmental Sciences, 21(1), 2375995. https://doi.org/10.1080/1943815X.2024.2375995
Tassinari, A., & Maccarrone, V. (2020). Riders on the Storm: Workplace Solidarity among Gig Economy Couriers in Italy and the UK. Work, Employment and Society, 34(1), 35–54. https://doi.org/10.1177/0950017019862954
The Gig Economy Dilemma: Exploring Alternatives to Create Decent Work for Online Motorcycle Taxi Drivers in Indonesia. (2022). Bandung: Universitas Telkom.
Transformative Dynamics of the Gig Economy: Technological Impacts, Worker Well-being and Global Research Trends. (2023). Journal of Technology in Society, 71, 102154. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2022.102154
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). (2022). Digital Labour and the Future of Work in Southeast Asia. Bangkok: UNDP Regional Office.
Woodcock, J., & Graham, M. (2020). The Gig Economy: A Critical Introduction. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Zed, M. (2018). Metode Penelitian Kepustakaan. Jakarta: Yayasan Obor Indonesia.
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Indonesia Forum on Labour and Productivity
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.