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外賣小哥的健康是件大事?

所屬教程:金融時(shí)報(bào)原文閱讀

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2020年03月04日

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外賣小哥的健康是件大事?

網(wǎng)絡(luò)平臺和Uber的興起讓零工經(jīng)濟(jì)的勞動(dòng)者成為關(guān)注的焦點(diǎn),工作與收入的不穩(wěn)定性也影響著他們的健康,在經(jīng)濟(jì)發(fā)展模式轉(zhuǎn)變的今天,他們的健康至關(guān)重要。

測試中可能遇到的詞匯和知識:

precarious危險(xiǎn)的;不確定的[pr?'ke?r??s]

contingent因情況而異的;不一定的[k?n't?nd?(?)nt]

fatigue疲勞,疲乏[f?'ti?g]

toil辛苦工作[t??l]

cardiovascular disease心血管疾?。还谛牟?/p>

Why ‘gig health’ matters(868 words)

By Anjana Ahuja

The closer one studies the gig economy, the less fun it sounds. Those who make their living this way, generally working for app-based platforms that match consumer needs with workers who can fulfil them, are regarded as being in precarious or contingent employment.

Bodies such as the International Labour Organisation characterise this kind of employment as mostly low paid and insecure, in which workers enjoy very few social, organisational and legal rights and protections.

Attention is turning to the health and wellbeing of this fast-growing workforce, which numbers about 1.3m in the UK. One academic is even calling for a “Gighall” study — akin to the landmark Whitehall studies into the health of civil servants.

Those studies, conducted over three decades by Sir Michael Marmot, demonstrated the link between socio-economic status and health, a correlation that became known as “status syndrome”. Senior civil servants enjoyed lower rates of death and heart disease than lowlier employees, a difference partly ascribed to autonomy at work.

The sense of powerlessness that afflicts many in the gig economy — according to one survey, only four out of 10 gig workers feel like they are their own boss — suggests that health problems may be brewing in this sizeable slice of the workforce.

One study on the Italian workforce, published last year in Social Science and Medicine, suggests that those on temporary contracts are more likely to use prescription medication for mental health conditions such as depression (although the reverse is also likely to be true, that pre-existing ill health leads to more irregular employment).

While not specifically about the gig economy, the authors, from the universities of Brunel and Milan, conclude that the drive to make labour markets more flexible might bode ill for the psychological wellbeing of workers.

Gig work is often conducted privately, in cars and homes, from bicycles and motorbikes, instead of from a shared workplace, so basic hazards, such as fatigue associated with long hours, can go unnoticed.

Gig workers, who tend to be classified as independent contractors, are also not generally eligible for sick pay or compensation for injury. This may change: a recent ruling in the UK courts has forced Uber to reclassify its drivers as employees, rather than self-employed contractors. (Uber will appeal the ruling in court this autumn.) Companies such as Deliveroo and Amazon have also come in for criticism.

In the meantime, Molly Tran, assistant professor of public health at the State University of New York, recently urged professional organisations, such as the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, to take notice of the potential dangers to workers' health associated with the gig economy.

“As occupational medicine specialists, we have a fundamental ethical responsibility to promote social justice,” she says in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

The gig economy is a “toxic combination” of low pay, low support and high demand, meaning that workers need to toil long hours to earn a basic income, wrote psychologist Joanna Wilde from the UK's Council on Work and Health in the magazine Health and Safety at Work.

Such precarious work, Ms Wilde says, is known to be hazardous to physical and mental health with an added “lack of access to occupational health support and the inability to afford any form of health insurance that could cover being unable to work”.

Gig workers, Ms Wilde points out, are left with little time to engage in positive activities, such as spending time with family, eating well and exercising. The result is a rise in stress, a factor that is implicated in cardiovascular disease and even cancer.

Chris Yuill, a lecturer in medical sociology at Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, has researched workplace health and believes there may be a pattern of “gig health”.

“It's an illusion that these people can work when they want,” he says.

“In Aberdeen I walk past a spot in the city where young men hang out, just waiting to get a call. There are the usual health and safety concerns, such as having to make a certain number of deliveries in a certain time, but what's the psycho-social effect of waiting for that message to come up, telling you you've got your next job?

“We need to understand the effects, because we associate being in control with good health,” he says. “And there are good indications that workers [in the gig economy] do not have high levels of control.”

Mr Yuill praises the Whitehall studies but points out that its subjects enjoyed steady jobs with clear career progression. “We need a ‘Gighall’ study. There's been a change in the way that work is organised in our economies. People are working quite long shifts to make a basic income. People are also spending their wages in order to work.” Delivery couriers and taxi drivers often supply and maintain their own vehicles.

“We need to ask: what is happening and, also, what is it good for? Does it produce a way of life that we think is acceptable in our society?” he asks. “British society has a long history of making sure work has meaning. How this happens in new forms of work is a debate we need to have.”

1.What is not one of the characteristics of gig employment?

A.Few legal rights

B.Low paid

C.Few health protections

D.high payment

答案(1)

2.What kind of subject did Sir Michael Marmot's studied?

A.CEOs

B.Gig economy employees

C.Civil servants

D.Journalists

答案(2)

3.What kind of diseases gig workers are more likely to get?

A.Diabete

B.Cardiovascular disease

C.Flu

D.Depression

答案(3)

4.What is needed for the future?

A. “Gighall” study

B.Standardized hiring regulations

C.Educational programs for gig workers

D.Free medications

答案(4)

(1)答案:D.high payment

解釋:“零工經(jīng)濟(jì)”的工作常常是薪資低廉,且雇員往往沒有正式員工所享有的法律、健康保障。

(2)答案:C.Civil servants

解釋:Michael Marmot解釋了年長的公務(wù)員中經(jīng)濟(jì)社會地位與他們的健康水平之間的關(guān)系。

(3)答案:B.Cardiovascular disease

解釋:研究表明,零工的勞動(dòng)者更容易患上心腦血管疾病甚至是癌癥。

(4)答案:A.“Gighall” study

解釋:學(xué)者認(rèn)為,對零工經(jīng)濟(jì)的專門性研究是非常重要的,這對研究經(jīng)濟(jì)中出現(xiàn)的變化發(fā)展有重要意義。

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