The year is 1194. Maurice De Bracy, enemy to the English crown, is locked in combat with a mysterious Black Knight. Suddenly, the Black Knight gains the upper hand. He whispers his true identity in De Bracy’s ear: King Richard the Lionheart of England. De Bracy yields. Later, De Bracy offers to let King Richard use his army of “Free Lances,” mercenary soldiers who were free to use their lances in service of whoever paid the most.
1194 年, 英格蘭國王的敵人狄布萊西 被神祕的黑騎士阻撓,陷入打鬥中。 突然,黑騎士占得上風。 他悄悄地告訴狄布萊西 他的真實身分: 英格蘭獅心王理查。 狄布萊西認輸。 隨後,狄布萊西提議讓理查國王 僱用他的軍隊「自由之矛」, 這是一支可以為任何人 持矛作戰的僱傭兵, 只要他開出最高的價碼。
That’s how it plays out in Sir Walter Scott’s 1819 novel, “Ivanhoe.” Scott didn’t coin the term, but it was probably this use that stuck, and evolved to describe someone who works independently of any single company.
這個劇情來自華特.司各特爵士 1819 年的小說《撒克遜英雄傳》。 司各特沒有首創這個詞, 但它應該是從那時流傳下來, 演變為形容人的工作 獨立於任何一家公司。
That independence seems to make people happy. A 2016 survey of freelancers in six countries found that those who freelance by choice— 70% of respondents, by the way— were happier than people in traditional jobs, specifically when it came to things like independence and flexibility in terms of where and when they work. In a survey conducted in the US, half of freelancers said there was no amount of money that would convince them to rejoin the traditional workforce.
這種獨立性看起來會讓人開心。 2016 年一項針對六個國家 自由工作者的調查, 發現自主選擇從事自由業的人 —— 70% 的答覆者—— 比傳統就業人士快樂, 尤其是關於工作地點 和時間的獨立性及彈性。 一項美國的調查顯示, 一半的自由工作者表示, 無論付他們多少薪水, 都不會讓他們想回到 傳統勞動力當中。
At some point in your life— maybe even now— you might wonder whether freelancing is right for you. You'll need a few things to be successful.
人生中的某時某刻,甚或就是現在, 你可能思考過自由業是否適合你。 你需要有一些特質才能成功。
First, you'll need a skill that's in demand. This can be as universal as driving a car to as specialized as neurosurgery, and it can be in pretty much any field.
第一,你要擁有一項有需求的技能。 這項技能可以跟駕駛汽車一樣普通, 也可以跟神經外科一樣專精, 而且幾乎可以是任何領域。
The more people who want your skill, and the fewer people who have it, the more you can charge for your services.
想要你的技能的人越多, 擁有的人越少, 你就能為你的服務開出越高的價碼。
Next, you’ll need to transform yourself into an entrepreneur. Before freelancers can do any work, they have to find it. That takes marketing your services, negotiating contracts, building a network of satisfied clients, and a whole set of administrative skills like project management, time management, and accounting.
其次,你必須把自己變成企業家。 自由工作者做任何事之前, 必須先找到那個工作。 這需要行銷你的服務,協商合約, 建立高滿意度客戶的網絡, 以及一系列行政技能, 例如專案管理、 時間管理、會計。
And thirdly, if you can afford it, it's probably a good idea to budget for some benefits for yourself and maybe your family. Freelancers don’t automatically get perks that some salaried jobs offer, like paid vacation or sick leave, life insurance, college tuition, or retirement plans. In countries like the US, where the government doesn’t provide healthcare to most people, freelancers are responsible for that, too.
第三,如果你負擔得起, 通常最好訂個預算, 給自己一些福利, 也許還有你的家人。 自由工作者不會自動得到 某些支薪工作提供的待遇, 例如有薪的特休或病假、壽險、 大學學費、退休計畫等。 有些國家,像是美國, 政府不會為多數民眾提供健康照護, 自由工作者也要為此事負責。
Freelancing has been around for a long time; but digital freelancing platforms like Uber, Lyft, and Fiverr are pretty new. They say they’ll connect you with clients and take care of some of the entrepreneurial and administrative stuff so you can focus on the work. But there are some hidden costs to consider.
自由業已經存在很長一段時間了, 但優步、來福車、Fiverr 等 數位自由工作平臺還非常新穎。 他們聲稱可以替你與客戶建立連線, 處理一些企業經營與行政相關事項, 所以你可以專注於工作。 但你必須考量某些隱含的成本。
First, your life may not be as flexible as you think. For example, if you're a rideshare driver, you get to choose when to work, but not how: the app recommends what route to take, enforces how you act with the threat of low customer ratings, and sets your rate. Those rates may be so low that you end up working more than if you had a salaried full-time job.
第一,你的生活可能 沒有想像中那麼彈性。 舉例來說,如果你是共乘駕駛, 你有權選擇何時工作, 但不能選方式: 應用程式建議行駛路徑, 逼迫你面對低客戶評價的威脅, 決定你的費率。 這些費率可能低得讓你的工作量 比一份有薪的全職工作還沉重。
Speaking of rates, it can be hard to figure out exactly how much money you’ll make. Earnings vary based on location; platforms might advertise hourly rates that don’t factor in expenses, and large scale data on actual earnings is sparse. One of the largest data sets we have is from Uber. It contains 740 million trips by 1.8 million drivers between 2015 and 2017. Researchers analyzed these figures in a 2018 paper and found that once you deduct Uber's cut and the cost of business expenses, drivers’ average earnings dropped from about $22 an hour to about $12 an hour. And buying benefits would reduce that number even more.
談到費率, 要了解你實際上會掙得多少錢 可能並非易事。 收入因地點而有所不同, 平臺宣揚的每小時費率 可能並未考慮開銷, 很少有大規模的實質收入資料。 我們擁有的最大的數據集 其中一個來自優步, 其包含 1800 萬位駕駛 在 2015 年至 2017 年間 執行過的 7.4 億趟行程。 在一篇 2018 年的論文中, 研究者分析這些數據, 發現一旦扣除優步的抽成 和營運成本的開銷, 駕駛的每小時平均收入 從新台幣 660 元掉到 360 元, 而購買優惠則會 進一步降低這個數值。
And there is a lot of variability in working conditions across different gig platforms. For example, the company 99 in Brazil operates a rideshare platform that many people use to deliver packages. Drivers are matched with shippers, and 99 takes a cut. The company’s terms and conditions hold both the shipper and the driver liable for anything that could go wrong— including things like if a package gets stolen.
各個零工平臺的工作條件 有很多不同之處。 例如巴西的 99 公司 運營一個共乘平臺, 很多人藉此運送包裹。 99 幫駕駛和託運人媒合, 並收取抽成。 這家公司的條款與條件 讓託運人和駕駛自行負責 任何可能出錯的事情, 包括像是包裹被偷走。
If you’re considering joining the app economy and don’t want to read all the fine print, there’s a network of researchers who publish ratings of platforms based on five categories of fair employment.
如果你在考慮投入應用程式經濟, 但不想讀完繁瑣的細節, 那麼有一個研究者網絡 發表各平臺的評級, 把公平就業劃分為五個層級。
Digital gig platforms come with drawbacks and may not provide a reliable living wage. But for many around the world who don’t have the luxury of choice and need to make money as soon as possible, like, say, if you just lost your job, the gig economy is the easiest and fastest place to get hired. For this reason, some have called it an “alternative safety net.”
數位零工評臺有其缺點, 而且可能不會提供可靠的生活工資。 但對於世界上許多沒有選擇、 而且需要儘快賺到錢的人來說, 像是剛失業的人, 零工經濟就是獲得僱用 最簡單快速的地方。 因為這個緣故,有些人說它 是一個「另類安全網」。
So, considering all these factors and many others, should you dip your toes into the gig economy? Or dive in? Ask yourself: how much do you value flexibility or autonomy? Do you prefer to work within an established structure, or to make your own? Are you willing to network to find new clients? Are you organized and self-directed? And perhaps most importantly, how much do you value knowing exactly what you'll earn from week to week?
那麼,考慮上述及其他種種因素後, 你該不該試著初探零工經濟, 或是深入其中呢? 問問你自己:彈性或自主權 對你而言有多少價值? 你喜歡在既定的結構中工作, 還是創造自己的? 你願意為了開發新客戶 而建立人脈網絡嗎? 你喜歡被安排好還是自己決定? 還有,也許最重要的是, 對你而言,每週擁有可預期的收入 是多有價值的一件事?