Dreaming of Being the Owner of ‘My Work’
“From today, I am the boss of my life!”
I left the company I had been with for 10 years in my mid-thirties. My life was filled with the hellish commute every morning, endless reports, and late-night work. All I had left were my boss’s nagging and the bittersweet fruit of ‘salary’. Then, I heard about the ‘platform economy’. The idea that I could work only when I wanted and earn more than my salary was enticing. Yes, this is it! Let’s do real ‘my work’ without anyone’s instructions, relying only on my abilities and efforts. Thus, I became a platform worker with lofty dreams.
Chapter 1: The Birth of a Free Spirit, the Digital Nomad
At first, it was fantastic. I registered my profile on a platform for translation and document work. I could leisurely wake up in the morning, sip a cup of coffee, and open my laptop to find various tasks waiting for me from around the world. I could work in a sunny café today and by the open beach tomorrow. The life of a ‘digital nomad’ had become a reality.
- Freedom of Time and Space: I broke free from the shackles of 9 to 6. There were times when I worked late at night, and I even enjoyed watching movies on a weekday afternoon.
- Rewards for Efforts: Completing a project overnight gave me an immediate sense of achievement that was incomparable to waiting for payday. Unlike in a company, my performance was not diminished by a colleague’s mistake or a boss’s incompetence.
Everything seemed perfect. I would boast to my friends, “I finally feel like I’m living my real life.”
Chapter 2: The Emergence of the Invisible Boss, the Algorithm
But the fantasy didn’t last long. It didn’t take long for me to realize that even in this world I believed to be free, there were invisible rules and a ‘boss’. This boss was named ‘Algorithm’.
One day, I noticed a significant decrease in the tasks coming my way. I didn’t know why. If my customer rating dropped even slightly or if I responded to a message a few minutes late, the platform would mysteriously exclude me from ‘good jobs’.
- The Shackles of Ratings and Reviews: I had to be anxious about even minor complaints from customers. The difference between a 4.9 and a 5.0 rating was more significant than I thought, and sometimes I had to repeatedly say ‘I’m sorry’ for unfair evaluations.
- Real-Time Surveillance: My login times, work speed, and message response rates all became data that shackled me in evaluation. Even stepping away for a moment to take a break made me anxious.
- Controlled Autonomy: Eventually, I found myself setting alarms to match the platform’s ‘recommended’ times and trying to secure jobs even by lowering my rates. It felt like I was working on an invisible factory conveyor belt, with no commute but still under control.
I thought I was a free boss, but was I just a part managed by data?
Chapter 3: Worker or Self-Employed?
The biggest shock came when I fell ill. When I was bedridden with the flu for a few days, my income was ‘0’. I could only dream of paid leave or sick leave, which I had taken for granted while working at a company. There was no severance pay or social insurance.
Suddenly, I thought:
‘Am I really a worker or self-employed?’
The platform referred to me as an ‘independent contractor’ or ‘partner’. However, I had almost no decision-making power over job distribution and pricing. I was essentially working under the platform’s directives, but legally, I was a ghost with no protection. That was my current situation.
- The Vanished Safety Net: Without the benefits of industrial accident insurance or employment insurance, all risks were solely my responsibility.
- Lack of Bargaining Power: Even if commissions were unilaterally raised or I was treated unfairly, I was alone. Organizations like ‘labor unions’ felt like a distant story.
This was what the book referred to as ‘reality shock’. Behind the utopian future promised by technological advancement lay the confusion of a labor definition that was also being shaken.
What Should We Prepare For?
I am still working on the platform. However, I no longer harbor vague fantasies. AI and the platform economy are an unstoppable massive trend, and I am fiercely contemplating how to protect my rights and maintain a dignified life within it.
My story is likely not just an individual experience. Even at this moment, countless people are sweating in the shadows hidden behind the glamorous platforms. As the belief that technological advancement will make us freer confronts the shock of reality, we must ask ourselves:
What does ‘work’ mean in this new era, and how should we uphold the value of ‘labor’? The journey to find answers to this question has just begun.