Flexibility 2.0 / Davos 2025

Summary

This panel discussion focused on the evolving landscape of gig work and flexible employment models in the global economy. Participants explored the benefits and challenges of the gig economy from various perspectives, including workers, employers, and governments.

The discussion highlighted how digital platforms have driven the growth of gig work, providing income opportunities for millions, especially in emerging economies. Panelists noted that gig work offers flexibility and autonomy, which many workers value. However, they also addressed concerns about worker protections, social security, and income stability in gig arrangements.

The conversation touched on how gig work is interacting with informal economies, particularly in African contexts, potentially offering a pathway towards formalization. Participants discussed the need for new regulatory frameworks to govern gig work, as traditional employment models may not be suitable.

Several panelists emphasized the importance of providing safety nets and benefits for gig workers. Examples were shared of platforms offering insurance, legal services, and upskilling opportunities to support workers. The discussion also explored how the gig economy is influencing traditional work models, with a trend towards greater flexibility across all forms of employment.

Challenges discussed included the stigma faced by some gig workers, the need for portable benefits, and concerns about long-term financial security for career gig workers. Panelists agreed that collaboration between platforms, governments, and workers is crucial to developing sustainable and fair practices in the evolving work landscape.

The discussion concluded by considering the future of work, with predictions that distinctions between different forms of employment will blur, and that new frameworks will be needed to support workers in this changing environment.

Keypoints

Major discussion points:

– The rapid growth of the gig economy and digital platforms, especially in food delivery

– Challenges and opportunities of flexible work models, particularly in developing economies

– The need for new regulatory frameworks and social protections for gig workers

– Changing employee expectations around work-life balance and flexibility

– The potential for gig work and digital platforms to empower and upskill workers

Overall purpose:

The goal of this discussion was to explore how employment and work models are evolving with the rise of the gig economy, examine the challenges facing gig workers, and consider strategies to ensure fair and sustainable practices in this new work landscape.

Tone:

The tone was generally optimistic and forward-looking, with panelists acknowledging both the benefits and challenges of the gig economy. There was a collaborative spirit as participants built on each other’s points. The tone became more solution-oriented towards the end as panelists discussed ways to address worker protections and create supportive ecosystems for gig work.

Speakers

– Kumiko Seto: Moderator from Forbes Japan

– Erika Kraemer Mbula: Professor of Economics at the University of Johannesburg, expert on innovation in Africa’s informal sector

– Hassan Elkhatib: Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade of Egypt

– Luana Marques Garcia Ozemela: Chief Sustainability Officer of iFood

– Sander van ‘t Noordende: CEO of Randstad, expert on employer markets

Additional speakers:

– Audience members: Asked questions during Q&A

The Future of Work: Navigating the Gig Economy and Flexible Employment Models

This panel discussion, moderated by Kumiko Seto of Forbes Japan, brought together experts from various sectors to explore the evolving landscape of gig work and flexible employment models in the global economy. The conversation delved into the benefits and challenges of the gig economy from the perspectives of workers, employers, and governments, highlighting the complex interplay between technological advancements, changing worker preferences, and regulatory frameworks.

Growth and Impact of the Gig Economy

The discussion began by acknowledging the rapid expansion of the gig economy, driven primarily by digital platforms. Luana Marques Garcia Ozemela, Chief Sustainability Officer of iFood, provided concrete data to illustrate this growth, noting that iFood alone represents 0.55% of Brazil’s GDP and generates about 1 million direct and indirect job opportunities. This set the tone for exploring the significant economic impact of gig platforms, particularly in emerging economies.

Erika Kraemer Mbula, Professor of Economics at the University of Johannesburg, offered valuable insights into how gig work interacts with existing informal economies, especially in the African context. She emphasised that the boundaries between informal work and gig work are not always clear, prompting a more nuanced analysis of the gig economy’s potential impacts on formalisation and economic development.

The panellists agreed that the gig economy provides income opportunities for marginalised groups and can potentially serve as a pathway to formalisation in certain contexts. However, they also recognised the challenges posed by this new work model, particularly in terms of worker protections and long-term financial security.

Challenges and Protections for Gig Workers

A significant portion of the discussion focused on the challenges faced by gig workers and the need for new forms of social protection. Hassan Elkhatib, Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade of Egypt, highlighted the lack of social protection as a key barrier for gig workers. This sentiment was echoed by other panellists, who emphasised the importance of providing safety nets and insurance for gig workers.

Ozemela shared that iFood has taken proactive steps to address this issue by providing free insurance coverage for all active workers on their platform. Additionally, iFood offers free access to justice services, legal services, and support for mental health. The company also uses AI to identify fraud and improve efficiency in providing insurance for gig workers. These initiatives sparked a conversation about the role of platforms in ensuring worker welfare and the potential for innovative solutions to emerge from within the gig economy itself.

Kraemer Mbula suggested exploring how platforms can offer portable social protection schemes, micro-contributions to pension plans, and support with upskilling to improve job mobility for gig workers. She emphasised the importance of using digital platforms to empower flexible work and create portable benefits systems.

The discussion also touched on the stigma faced by gig workers in some contexts, with Ozemela and Elkhatib noting challenges in Brazil and Egypt respectively.

Changing Nature of Work and Worker Preferences

Sander van ‘t Noordende, CEO of Randstad, brought attention to shifting worker priorities, citing research showing that work-life balance now scores higher than compensation for the first time in decades. This insight resonated with other panellists, who noted a growing emphasis on flexibility and work-life balance, particularly among younger workers.

The discussion highlighted how these changing preferences are influencing both traditional employment models and the gig economy. Van ‘t Noordende observed that employees are increasingly seeking flexibility and a sense of community at work, while Ozemela noted that research shows flexibility increases worker happiness and productivity. Van ‘t Noordende also provided an example of how this trend is affecting traditional industries, citing flexible shifts for factory workers in the United States.

Elkhatib added that younger workers in Egypt are particularly valuing remote work options and work-life balance, indicating that this trend extends across different cultural contexts. He also highlighted the potential for countries to attract remote workers by creating ecosystems for talented tech professionals.

Regulatory Challenges and Future Outlook

The panellists agreed on the need for new regulatory frameworks to govern the gig economy, as traditional employment models may not be suitable. However, there were some differences in approach. While van ‘t Noordende advocated for equal social security and payment across all forms of work, Elkhatib suggested a more hands-off approach to regulation for startups and gig economy businesses.

Elkhatib emphasised the need for both technological and legal infrastructure to support the growth of the gig economy. He highlighted the importance of providing connectivity and developing appropriate legal frameworks to address the unique challenges posed by gig work.

The discussion also touched on the potential impact of AI on gig jobs. Van ‘t Noordende noted that certain gig jobs, particularly in admin, design, and marketing, may be at risk from AI advancements. However, he also pointed out that entrepreneurial opportunities remain, especially for tech-savvy workers.

Looking to the future, van ‘t Noordende predicted a blurring of lines between different types of work (gig, freelance, temp, permanent), suggesting that new frameworks will be needed to support workers in this changing environment.

Unresolved Issues and Future Research

The discussion highlighted several unresolved issues that require further attention:

1. Ensuring long-term financial security for career gig workers

2. Balancing the flexibility of gig work with adequate worker protections

3. Addressing discrimination and stigma faced by gig workers in some contexts

4. Mitigating potential job losses in certain gig sectors due to AI advancements

5. Understanding the influence of gig work on formal employment

These issues point to the need for continued research and policy development in areas such as portable benefits systems, strategies to improve the social perception of gig workers, and the evolving relationship between AI and gig work.

In response to an audience question about long-term financial security for career gig workers, Ozemela emphasised the importance of upskilling and engaging with governments on social security issues.

Conclusion

The panel discussion provided a comprehensive exploration of the gig economy’s impact on the future of work. While acknowledging the challenges, the overall tone was optimistic and forward-looking. The panellists emphasised the need for collaboration between platforms, governments, and workers to develop sustainable and fair practices in the evolving work landscape.

As the distinction between different forms of employment continues to blur, it is clear that new frameworks and innovative solutions will be crucial in shaping a future of work that balances flexibility, opportunity, and worker protection.

Kumiko Seto: I’m Kumisato from Forbes Japan, and I’m honored to be your moderator. So now let me introduce our distinguished panelists. So to my left is Mr. Sander Van’t Nodende, he’s coming soon. And next to him is Ms. Lorna Marques Garcia-Ozamala, and she is the Chief Sustainability Officer of iFOOD, welcome. And then we have Mr. Hassan Elkattab, he’s the Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade of Egypt. And last but not least is Dr. Elika Khlomoglu. She’s a professor of economics at the University of Johannesburg, and she has done pioneering work on innovation on Africa’s informal sector. So welcome. Before we dive in, let me give you a little background on this session. So in recent years, remote work and project-based employment contracts have increased rapidly. And according to the World Bank’s report, online gig work is expanding, accounting for up to 12% of the global labor force. The report also pointed out that online gig work can support inclusion by providing work opportunities for youth, women, and low-skilled workers. As the gig economy expands, the labor market is shifting towards greater flexibility. However, it is not all good news. The expansion of the gig economy raises questions about workers’ rights and social security. Jobs are not always available, and incomes tend to be lower. be insecure. It has also been pointed out that some of the jobs given to gig workers are low paid which may be a factor in widening the income gap among workers. So in this session we are going to be asking how are employment and work models evolving and what are the challenges facing gig workers and what strategies are needed to ensure fair and sustainable practices in this new work landscape. So this session will consist of approximately 30 minutes of discussion followed by a Q&A session from the audience. So now I’d like to start by asking Ms. Osmola. So based on your experience what do you think is the driving force behind the success of the gig economy? Thank you. Good afternoon everyone. So the digital platforms are a phenomenon. They have been around just maybe over 15-20 years but we can see that this has been an irreversible trend.

Luana Marques Garcia Ozemela: Today there are more than 3 billion customers that order online. And this is going to continue like a growing pattern. And when we look at particularly at food delivery there is a report that just came out recently from Prosus about digital livelihoods that shows that food delivery alone generates about a hundred and fifty billion dollars in annual revenues. And obviously with growing demands from customers comes growing demand for workers. in that economy. And today, when we look at Brazil, where iFood is based, iFood is a Brazilian company. It’s a young company. We are an adolescence. We have been around for 13 years only. But we have rapidly occupied a very important place in the Brazilian economy. Today, iFood represents 0.55% of Brazil’s GDP in terms of annual contributions. We generate about 1 million direct and indirect job opportunities. We have over 400,000 merchants selling on the platform. And this is a huge income, actually, for the vast majority who are microentrepreneurs. It’s their lifeline. Platforms are their means of survival as a business. Because we redirect a huge number of customers through traffic to their restaurants. So, the success factors are, I can name a few from the side of merchants, it’s essentially them being able to deal with the seasonality of e-commerce, of the food sector. They’ve been able to also reduce their fixed costs. And particularly for small businesses, they are able to adjust accordingly to customer demands. So, for workers, at the same time, there are many factors that we can say creates that growing demand. First of all, this is a market that has very low barriers to entrance. You don’t need to look for a job, you can just wake up, install the app on your telephone and start making money the next day. So for many marginalized groups and excluded groups in the society, this is the only hope for income. So and obviously workers want more and more flexibility, autonomy, and at the end of the day, increasing their net income. Because when we compare, particularly let’s take the case of women, where they need that flexibility in order to, within the same day, the 124 hours a day, that there is all this intermittency of work that if you were on a formal employment, it will be very unlikely that you would be able to earn as much as when you keep those intermittent slots very productive on the platform. So what we see, it’s a growing trend where there are benefits for both small businesses and workers, and for customers, obviously, because of the agility, the convenience that the model brings. Thank you. Now I’d like to ask you, Professor, so the gig economy is expanding on the

Kumiko Seto: African continent as well, and from a worker’s perspective, what do you see as the main challenges of the flexible labor model?

Erika Kraemer Mbula: Great, so thanks so much. It’s a pleasure to be in this panel and bring some experiences from our research and also from the African context. In terms of the flexible work models, I think it’s important to think about modalities that fit the realities of the geography, of the territory in which they are implemented. And just to provide some known figures… that more than 80% of all employment in the African context is informal. So flexible work is starting to, gig work is starting to become more prevalent in sort of more tech-savvy, the tech-savvy youth in urban context that are starting to sort of bring up, become more involved with gig work. But it’s taking place in a context of informalization of work. So in my view, what is important is to understand how are these two interrelating? And it’s not the boundaries between them two, informal work and gig work, they’re not completely clear. So you can see, for instance, in transport services, you can see very blurry boundaries between the formal aspects of the gig work that you get from working on a digital platform, like getting regular payments and international standards and having to have a license to operate your vehicle and things like that. There’s some formal elements to that activity, but sometimes it’s combined with some informal practices of informal work. And I think it’s important to consider that, the context, because then in that sense, gig work may provide this hybrid pathway towards formalization. And it sort of allows to insert elements of formal processes into what otherwise would be informal work. So yes, I think context matters, and the African context, gig work, could be seen as a bridge or a pathway towards formalization that I think would be very useful.

Kumiko Seto: Now, I’d like to ask you, Minister. Sorry. Welcome, welcome. Apologies. So gig workers have become an integral part of the digital economy. On the other hand, a lack of social protection has been identified as one of the main barriers in gig work. So how do you see the current situation and challenges surrounding gig workers? Thank you. It’s a real pleasure to be here.

Hassan Elkhatib: First of all, we’re still learning. This is something that is evolving. And I think the whole remote working started with COVID and we were struggling at the beginning and we discovered it for some time, how efficient it is and how actually hybrid is something that is actually very productive. And it addresses a lot of the points that address societal and communities and inclusion that are very important. Just to put some remarks, because I put my hat as I come from a private sector all my life, I’ve been in my job as a minister only for six months. But even in my private career in the last two, three years, even in London, I’ve seen big corporates are going back in the remote working practices as well. So banks in London, for example, started to ask them to be twice a week, three days a week. And now we’re back to four days a week. But anyway, we need to figure out because this is an evolving as a set trend. As we heard, the gig economy or the remote working hinges on the digital economy. And from, again, a government perspective today, as we’ve heard the potential and the opportunities that this type of work creates in vital economies and even emerging economies more than even in developed economies because of the fact that you can actually lift people very quickly and utilize the unutilized potential of many of the individuals in the society. But from a state point of view, the questions are still are being addressed. How can we deal with this? One, we need the infrastructure. You need several infrastructures. So one is the tech infrastructure. You need to provide not only the depth that you would find in your Wi-Fi, the connectivity, but lots of the connectivity across the system. But you also need a legal infrastructure to address these points. We’re talking about virtual companies. We’re talking about virtual establishments. How can we deal with these organizations? How can you deal with the start-up scene with your rigid, very old establishment that has been put 30, 40 years ago? I mean, in my head today, if you need to set up a company, you need to have a physical premise. Do we need this? Of course not. You need to have a pay box for it or something. And why do you need it even? Again, the third, what’s the social impact? You mentioned something about pay, about security, about fair pay. Who can judge all of this? How can you address the tax point of view? So all of these topics are still, in my view, are under discussion. It’s not something that is ready. And I actually, we discuss with many other countries, it’s not something that is, we have a manual to address this. But I take it, let’s take this into more on the entrepreneurship in general. And the same topic applies. How do you deal with entrepreneurship, start-up companies? How do you, in my view, my view is that we need to make sure that the government is away from them at least for three, four, five years, up until they are profitable. Because if you start doing the supervision with your very old systems of supervision, and again, trying to look what they are doing, and you look at their financials or whatever, you will kill them. So imagine now, these are discussions that we’re having. How can we have a provision where, okay, you’re off the hook, we’re not going to touch you up until you are in the green? These are some of the ideas that we’re trying to contemplate into this. But it’s all about, the problem is, governments is all about regulation. And we’re talking about the formula. But again, we’re talking about the informalization of these sectors that are very important to bring, because in my view, and I fully agree, they add to your GDP, they add a lot to your diverse economies. And let me give you the final point on this. The potential is huge. The potential is huge. is you actually export services globally. And I would want to see my country attracting, putting regions where you can actually host the gig economy to work for any company in the world, but they are exporting a service. And let’s put a framework. And again, regulation is a bad word, but let’s put something that would govern this to give them the autonomy and makes an attraction for people to come and rent apartments, have an ecosystem that is friendly, and actually give a boost to the economy. So this is, again, in my view, these are some of the ideas that, from a government perspective, we need to think differently. We need to have out-of-the-box ideas to deal with a really very, very new topic. Again, we have not even bundled artificial intelligence and other topics that would complicate matters for the complication that you put into the gig economy as well.

Kumiko Seto: Now, Mr. Nodente, you’re the CEO of Ronstadt, and you’re the expert of the employer markets. So how are traditional work models evolving in today’s labor markets to adapt to current trends, economic conditions, and changing employee expectations?

Sander van ’t Noordende: First of all, apologies for being late. I was watching the address by the new president of the United States, which was, I must say, an interesting experience. And I guess I’ll leave it with that, because if you get me going on that, then we’re totally going to derail the discussion here. No, so we have looked, and as we have done over the last decades, and it’s a piece of research that’s called Work Monitor. And we’ve just launched it in Davos the other day. What are employees looking for? And this year, 2025, was a marquee year in a sense. that for the first time in the decades that we have done this research, work-life balance now scores a little bit higher, but higher than compensation. So that’s just an interesting milestone. It’s not the case everywhere. It’s not the case in Latin America. It’s not the case in Africa. It’s not the case in APEC, but let’s say in the developed world or in the mature markets, I should say, it’s clearly there. This means that whilst you would say that the labor market has been challenging over the last couple of years after COVID, COVID there was a massive peak. Now the market, the number of vacancies has come down. The hiring rate has come down. The quit rate has come down. So the market is stuck. And you see indeed employers saying, well, go back in the office five days. The employees are not saying that. They say we want something that works for us. For us, not for us as a group, but for me as an individual. And that means I want to work for a company of which the values and the purpose are aligned with my personal values. I want the work-life balance. And that translates into flexibility. One comment on flexibility, the worker, the employees on average say three days per week in the office works for me. The employers say 3.5 days works for us on average. That means the employers are a bit more skewed towards the four or five days, whereas the employees are a bit more skewed to the three, four days. So I think this whole debate effectively is going to settle down over the next year or so. We do have a different impression. because we read in the newspaper about JP Morgan and Amazon and other companies that come back five days in the office. But there are as many companies, and Randstad is one of them, that say, well, we can work it out together. And I’m sure ultimately Amazon and JP Morgan will also work it out together. I live in New York, and you can see on the streets of New York now there are a lot more people, especially in midtown where JP Morgan and all the other businesses are, than a year ago. That will go up a little bit more. But I think if I’m a very good employee of JP Morgan and I say to my boss, would you be OK if I work from home on Friday because I have to finish this report or whatever, I think chances are that my boss would say, yes, you’re fine. So I think we can work that out. Then the other big thing that employees are looking for, and they are very consistent in that, is a sense of community at work. That means a workplace where they can feel comfortable, a workplace where they can be their best because they don’t have to think about anything else than work because they don’t have to leave anything by the door. And employees are very vocal about that. Now, obviously, the new administration in the United States has a different view on that. I think that companies will stay the course on inclusive workplaces. And I think that makes total sense because if talent is scarce in the world, and it is scarce in the world, we need everybody on board and we need everybody to perform. And that’s good for business. And guess what? It’s also what the employees want. 88% want a sense of community. And employers get that. So I think, let’s say, we need to. maybe use different words here or there or, you know, battle back a little bit. But I don’t think all the efforts that companies have made on the topic of equity and inclusive workplaces are going to be, are going, are going to go away. Because I think that would be very, very bad for for business. So, employees are very clear. They’re staying the course. Last but not least, they want to learn and grow. The best news, I would say, out of the Work Monitor this year is that the workplaces, at least, where the employees, and it’s tens of thousands of employees that we have, that have been part of this survey, are generally high-trust environments. So, 80% of people in the workplace trust their manager and their company. So, I don’t think employers want to put all of that at risk. That’s what employees want.

Kumiko Seto: How do you see the gig economy and, you know, fleetless workers?

Sander van ’t Noordende: The gig economy, I know, I don’t know, you’ve all, no, if you go on Upwork or Fiverr, there is a lot of small jobs there, and they’re great, and many people are using them. But there’s a lot of jobs, small admin jobs, a lot of design, marketing. I mean, that’s maybe one-third or 40% of the gig jobs. That work is very much at risk from AI. So, we’ll see how this all pans out. I agree. I don’t know where, let’s say, I don’t know where it will go, but I heard someone, the other day, someone told me, you know, yeah, that could be the case, but do I really want to figure out how I need to Photoshop that picture if there is someone on the other end of the world that can do it for me for a relatively… low price. So now we’ll see how it goes. I think gig work gets back to the regulation of course, provided that it’s organized well, and this is a point of view that we feel very strongly about at Ransat, there has to be a level playing field in terms of the security, the social security, the level of payment, all those kinds of things need to be organized pretty much the same along other, all forms of work.

Kumiko Seto: Now I’d like to ask you, Mr. Osmela, I understand that the IFEWOOD offers a safety net for gig workers, and what led you to create a safety net for them, and what specific initiatives are you taking?

Luana Marques Garcia Ozemela: Yes. Yeah, when we talk about gig work, I think it’s important to note that there is a lot of heterogeneity among gig workers. In our case, more than 70% do not have college degrees, right? So it’s a different dynamics. 26% of them were unemployed just before becoming gig workers, and about 46% of them use the platform income to complement a day job or some other type of activities that they have. So in a way, we could say that simply earning from the platform already provides a safety net for that, but we go beyond. We provide insurance, and then various types of coverage of insurance for absolutely everybody who work, who are actively working on the platform, and it’s free for everybody. We obviously, with that… comes new dynamics and how do we scale those kinds of services and AI has been a huge ally for us to identify fraud, for speed up the premiums, and simply create more efficiency in that case, right? But we also understand that this group of gig workers that we work with, they are really, they suffer from a cultural chronic stigma and in Brazil in particular because they also come from low income, from low levels of education, most of them black and brown living in marginalized communities, so there is a lot of discrimination, racism, violence, classism that happens simply because the way the history of Brazil was constructed and we are a microcosm of Brazil and we try and prioritize addressing violence, discrimination by giving all the workers free access to justice services, legal services in case things have happened, we also give them support for therapeutic service, for mental health, so in this trend of setting at least minimum protections for us is extremely important and valued by the workers, right? So I think it’s sometimes maybe people who do not know the dynamics within the region, Latin America and Brazil sometimes do not realize how important it is for a worker in the service industry to be valued. and respected and feel pride for being a delivery worker and for others to also value that. So, and that’s something very challenging to change within personal relationships, right? And human behavior. So we work more and more with social and behavioral change. We nudge people to change behavior and we have seen a lot of positive changes. We have been able in Rio de Janeiro, for example, to reduce a conflict between drivers, couriers and customers in 67% using all these new approaches.

Kumiko Seto: Thank you.

Erika Kraemer Mbula: Can I comment on that? Sure, sure. That’s great. And I think what was coming up to mind when I was listening to you is that how to use gig work and digital platforms to empower flexible work. Because what informal workers are worried about and the negative side of, there are some positive sides and there are some negative sides to informality. Flexibility allows for creativity, innovation, problem solving, all of that. There are good qualities, but it comes with a cost of lack of social protection and lack of job mobility as well. And also all the stigma and sort of issues of exploitation and so on that come in the same package often, right? And I was thinking how to use these digital platforms as a way of empowering these workers. And you’ve described it really nicely. And what workers want is to have this portable, for instance, social protection schemes that you can take from one job to the next, micro contributions to pension plans, support with upskilling. and onboarding training, things like that, that allow you to not only be empowered and have that decency in the space of work being respected, but also allow you to have that mobility and social mobility and job mobility. And some platforms are starting to do that, and you’ve given some examples, but I think there’s much more that can be done. And also the regulatory space can do a lot to sort of put pressure for digital platforms to do that more fairly. What’s interesting these days is I followed a training to be a freelancer on a platform.

Sander van ’t Noordende: It was from an Indian guy on a podcast, 25 minutes. He said, oh, lesson one, lesson… I mean, there’s so much out there these days that, I mean, the platforms have a role to play, but an entrepreneurial gig worker can find their own way in all of this. It’s very, very interesting and exciting even, I would say. The first lesson was, by the way, try, pretend to be a customer on the platform and learn how that works. So put yourselves in the shoes of the client. Yeah, we do that all the time. And that’s great. Yes, yes. Do deliveries as well, be on the restaurants, be a customer, just leave it there. Exactly. And see what’s important.

Erika Kraemer Mbula: And understand the dynamics, yes. But also there was a sectoral story to what you say. There’s a sectoral story, so it’s not the same for graphic designers and food delivery. And there’s also a geographical story that you said in Rio, there’s a local combination of actors and organizations and negotiations that have taken place at the local level that have managed to deal with that sector, with that locality. And I think that maybe points out to where the solution lies in all this. To the point of regulation.

Luana Marques Garcia Ozemela: if I just might add, I think it’s important to, I like to understand the gig work in three phases, right? I think at the beginning, there was a lot of excitement with the technology, what the technology could bring, right? It’s adding value, it’s creating convenience, it’s creating opportunities for people to just, you know, make money really quickly. But at the startup level, as we grow as companies, then comes the questions from the government, as you said. Taxes. Exactly, how do we regulate this? How do we deal with this? And I think you said something super interesting that let’s not use old frameworks to govern new things. You know, we need new frameworks to govern this. And we have been a huge advocate for regulation that can balance, right, this value creation that the platform work brings to all the stakeholders in the ecosystem with those protections. That’s why we are doing what we are doing on the protection side, because we cannot wait for regulation to catch up. We have to just do something. And I think for us, it has been a huge learning. If I may just, again, a couple of comments.

Hassan Elkhatib: One, on the stigma, it’s exactly what you described in Brazil is exactly what we see in Egypt today. It’s exactly the same. The recognition and the respect for these type of jobs. The second point as well is, again, we’ve seen, again, these are new topics, the right hailing, for example. Who would pay for the medical insurance or any type of support to those? I mean, I wouldn’t say names of these big right hailing mechanism. Whose responsibility it is? And this is a debate that sometimes the government will actually take the side of actually the gig or not in this case, the people who put their time, part time, and we need to support you because these big names, big companies, needs to actually provide you the minimum support, minimum pay, at least for the number of hours. hours that you put into that job. But as I said, it’s evolving. And I go back to your study. Again, when I look at my son who works in software, one, the number one thing you said is actually work-life balance. It’s definitely now for him, after 3 and 1⁄2 years or almost four years being cracked down with no work-life balance whatsoever, he would move job immediately for lower pay, but in a good place with a good community. And actually, his dream job now is to go to Indonesia and just work remotely. So you see, it’s happening. That’s why when I started saying, now I’m in government for the past six months, it actually, OK, there is a market for this. I mean, these younger generation that are doing fantastic job. And actually, in these jobs, artificial intelligence would work against some jobs and actually for some jobs. If the software engineering would take AI in their hand, they will actually be much better. And they can work remotely from anywhere in the world. And for them, OK, if he’s in London or in Europe, Northern Europe, OK, I need a sunny place. It’s Indonesia, Egypt, Morocco, whatever. Then as a government, OK, I want to create that ecosystem for these highly talented, techy geeks to come and be in my place. So I want to see it as an advantage because they are actually exporting service.

Luana Marques Garcia Ozemela: So. Yeah. And the nice thing about the future of jobs report that the forum just launched, it’s there. The research is there. Flexibility makes people happier. And I think that’s across the board. It doesn’t matter if it’s the low educated or the highly educated, flexibility adds value to people’s lives. And efficiency as well. Exactly. So exactly. And it has research on productivity, so we cannot, you know, we have to. to advance on what are the rules of this new game that makes people happier. Absolutely.

Sander van ’t Noordende: I could not agree more. We have introduced a platform here, not here, but in the United States for factory workers. They can select the time of their own shift. Wednesday I cannot make it, it’s my grandma’s birthday, so I go Thursday. Guess what? They select the shifts not at 9 o’clock in the morning when they used to call us, no,

Kumiko Seto: Wednesday evening when they are working from home, and they love it. It’s fantastic. I’m sorry. We have three minutes left, so I would like to have some questions from the audience. Okay. Then I have one question. We have one. We have one. Could you please? There’s always a bit of a pause. Thank you.

Audience: Thank you so much for this engaging conversation. I wonder if you could pull out your crystal balls and look into the future. I’m curious what you think the influence of gig work will be on more formal employment, either in your country, in the United States. Will there be trends of adopting some of the things that people like about gig work into more traditional jobs? Well, I can give it a go. I think the whole distinction between gig, freelance, temp, permanent, it’s all going

Kumiko Seto: to blur.

Sander van ’t Noordende: We heard it a couple of times. Sometimes people have a permanent job and they drive an Uber car in the evening, or they have three days per week work and they do all that work on another platform. I think work is going to be more distributed and it’s going to be work form agnostic. For every occasion, the client, or the employer, and the employee, or the worker, or the freelancer, they will figure out what the best. form of work is for that particular job. I think that’s sort of how things will evolve. Which is, you say we need new frameworks because we all come from a world where, oh, the job for the next 40 years in one company, that’s the fantastic situation, and the unions say that, and this and that, and the other. So there is a lot of work to do still to get to that situation, in, it sounds like, across the world.

Audience: Here’s a question. Yes, please. Hello, hello. Could you please stand up? Thank you, thank you. So we have one. Thank you, first of all. My question is simple, or kind of simple. What happens now with workers after they’ve been working in gigs for their whole lives? Is there a way to create, you know, worker journeys, employee journeys that bring their benefits, that bring their pensions with them to the end, because the precarity of gig work is, it’s freeing now, but it can be a punishment later.

Luana Marques Garcia Ozemela: How do we deal with that? Yeah, I can give a go on that. In our case, we know that 90% of the workers work less than 90 hours per month. So the way social security is set today, it’s not, they cannot, they achieve the minimal threshold in order to benefit from the social security as it is today. So we have been a huge, also, advocate on, let’s bring the discussion of portability, of benefits. Most of these workers work not only for one platform, but sometimes to five or six different platforms. Let’s be able to design something that works for the future. And the other thing that we are investing a lot on. is on upskilling of those workers. So today, iFood already represents 2.5% of all GED takers. The GED is the high school examination. We do see a role for us to play, nudging and incentivizing and engaging workers to think about the future. And aspirationally, a lot of these workers see that as an inherent benefit from being with us. So we are concerned about the future and we are engaging with the government on this and we see the future as building a stronger social security and a new way of doing it.

Kumiko Seto: Okay, so we’re running out of time and it concludes our session. Thank you so much for joining us and have a great rest of today. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Agreement points

Shift towards prioritizing work-life balance

Speakers

– Sander van ‘t Noordende
– Hassan Elkhatib
– Luana Marques Garcia Ozemela

Arguments

Work-life balance now prioritized over compensation

Younger workers valuing remote work options and work-life balance

Flexibility makes people happier

Summary

Speakers agree that there is a significant shift towards prioritizing work-life balance over compensation, particularly among younger workers. This trend is seen across different regions and is supported by research.

Need for new regulatory frameworks

Speakers

– Hassan Elkhatib
– Sander van ‘t Noordende
– Luana Marques Garcia Ozemela

Arguments

Need for new regulatory frameworks to govern gig economy

Need for equal social security and payment across all forms of work

Importance of providing safety nets and insurance for gig workers

Summary

Speakers agree that there is a need for new regulatory frameworks to govern the gig economy, ensuring fair treatment, social security, and safety nets for gig workers.

Impact of AI on gig jobs

Speakers

– Sander van ‘t Noordende
– Hassan Elkhatib

Arguments

AI poses a risk to certain gig jobs

Younger workers valuing remote work options and work-life balance

Summary

Speakers acknowledge that AI poses a risk to certain gig jobs, particularly in admin, design, and marketing. However, they also note that AI can create new opportunities, especially for tech-savvy workers.

Similar viewpoints

Both speakers see the gig economy as a potential pathway for inclusion and formalization of work for marginalized groups, particularly in developing economies.

Speakers

– Luana Marques Garcia Ozemela
– Erika Kraemer Mbula

Arguments

Gig economy providing income opportunities for marginalized groups

Gig work as potential pathway to formalization in African context

Both speakers emphasize the importance of flexibility in work arrangements and its positive impact on worker satisfaction and productivity.

Speakers

– Sander van ‘t Noordende
– Luana Marques Garcia Ozemela

Arguments

Employees seek flexibility and sense of community at work

Flexibility makes people happier

Unexpected consensus

Addressing discrimination and stigma in gig work

Speakers

– Luana Marques Garcia Ozemela
– Hassan Elkhatib

Arguments

Addressing discrimination and stigma faced by gig workers

Lack of social protection as key barrier for gig workers

Explanation

Despite coming from different perspectives (corporate and government), both speakers recognize the importance of addressing discrimination and stigma faced by gig workers, particularly in developing economies.

Overall assessment

Summary

The main areas of agreement include the shift towards prioritizing work-life balance, the need for new regulatory frameworks for the gig economy, and the recognition of both opportunities and challenges presented by AI in the gig economy. There is also consensus on the potential of the gig economy to provide opportunities for marginalized groups and the importance of flexibility in work arrangements.

Consensus level

There is a moderate to high level of consensus among the speakers on key issues. This consensus suggests a growing recognition of the changing nature of work and the need for adaptive policies and practices. The implications of this consensus point towards a future where flexible work arrangements, inclusive policies, and new regulatory frameworks will be crucial in shaping the evolving landscape of work.

Different viewpoints

Impact of AI on gig jobs

Speakers

– Sander van ‘t Noordende
– Luana Marques Garcia Ozemela

Arguments

AI poses a risk to certain gig jobs but opportunities remain

Digital platforms are a phenomenon. They have been around just maybe over 15-20 years but we can see that this has been an irreversible trend.

Summary

While van ‘t Noordende highlights the risk AI poses to certain gig jobs, Ozemela emphasizes the growing trend of digital platforms without explicitly addressing AI risks.

Approach to regulating gig economy

Speakers

– Hassan Elkhatib
– Sander van ‘t Noordende

Arguments

Governments is all about regulation. And we’re talking about the formula. But again, we’re talking about the informalization of these sectors that are very important to bring, because in my view, and I fully agree, they add to your GDP, they add a lot to your diverse economies.

Need for equal social security and payment across all forms of work

Summary

Elkhatib suggests a more hands-off approach to regulation for startups and gig economy businesses, while van ‘t Noordende advocates for equal social security and payment across all forms of work.

Unexpected differences

Perception of gig work stigma

Speakers

– Luana Marques Garcia Ozemela
– Hassan Elkhatib

Arguments

Addressing discrimination and stigma faced by gig workers

The recognition and the respect for these type of jobs. The second point as well is, again, we’ve seen, again, these are new topics, the right hailing, for example.

Explanation

While both speakers acknowledge the issue of stigma in gig work, Ozemela focuses on actively addressing discrimination, while Elkhatib seems to view it more as a recognition issue. This subtle difference in approach to the same problem was unexpected.

Overall assessment

summary

The main areas of disagreement revolve around the impact of AI on gig jobs, approaches to regulating the gig economy, and strategies for addressing gig work stigma and formalization.

difference_level

The level of disagreement among speakers is moderate. While there are differing perspectives on specific issues, there is a general consensus on the importance and potential of the gig economy. These differences highlight the complexity of adapting to new work models and the need for nuanced, context-specific approaches to regulation and worker protection.

Partial agreements

Both speakers agree on the potential of gig work to provide opportunities, but Mbula focuses on its role in formalization in the African context, while Ozemela emphasizes its growth and impact on the broader economy.

Speakers

– Erika Kraemer Mbula
– Luana Marques Garcia Ozemela

Arguments

Gig work as potential pathway to formalization in African context

Digital platforms are a phenomenon. They have been around just maybe over 15-20 years but we can see that this has been an irreversible trend.

Similar viewpoints

Both speakers see the gig economy as a potential pathway for inclusion and formalization of work for marginalized groups, particularly in developing economies.

Speakers

– Luana Marques Garcia Ozemela
– Erika Kraemer Mbula

Arguments

Gig economy providing income opportunities for marginalized groups

Gig work as potential pathway to formalization in African context

Both speakers emphasize the importance of flexibility in work arrangements and its positive impact on worker satisfaction and productivity.

Speakers

– Sander van ‘t Noordende
– Luana Marques Garcia Ozemela

Arguments

Employees seek flexibility and sense of community at work

Flexibility makes people happier

Key takeaways

The gig economy is rapidly expanding globally, driven by digital platforms and providing new income opportunities, especially for marginalized groups.

Gig work presents both benefits (flexibility, income) and challenges (lack of social protections, stigma) that vary by context and sector.

There is a need for new regulatory frameworks and portable benefits systems to address the unique nature of gig work.

Worker preferences are shifting towards prioritizing work-life balance and flexibility over traditional compensation models.

The lines between traditional employment and gig work are blurring, with many workers combining multiple forms of work.

Resolutions and action items

Some platforms like iFood are proactively offering safety nets and insurance to gig workers

Governments need to develop new regulatory frameworks suited to the gig economy

More research and experimentation is needed on portable benefits systems for gig workers

Unresolved issues

How to ensure long-term financial security for career gig workers

Balancing flexibility of gig work with adequate worker protections

Addressing discrimination and stigma faced by gig workers in some contexts

Mitigating potential job losses in certain gig sectors due to AI advancements

Suggested compromises

Using digital platforms to empower flexible work while providing basic protections

Developing hybrid models that combine elements of formal and informal work

Creating location-specific solutions that account for local contexts and regulations

Today, iFood represents 0.55% of Brazil’s GDP in terms of annual contributions. We generate about 1 million direct and indirect job opportunities. We have over 400,000 merchants selling on the platform. And this is a huge income, actually, for the vast majority who are microentrepreneurs. It’s their lifeline.

Speaker

Luana Marques Garcia Ozemela

Reason

This comment provides concrete data on the significant economic impact of gig economy platforms, highlighting their importance for small businesses and workers.

Impact

It set the tone for discussing the positive aspects of the gig economy and prompted further exploration of its benefits and challenges.

So in my view, what is important is to understand how are these two interrelating? And it’s not the boundaries between them two, informal work and gig work, they’re not completely clear.

Speaker

Erika Kraemer Mbula

Reason

This insight introduces the important perspective of how gig work interacts with existing informal economies, especially in the African context.

Impact

It broadened the discussion to consider gig work not in isolation, but as part of a complex economic ecosystem, leading to more nuanced analysis of its potential impacts.

How can we deal with this? One, we need the infrastructure. You need several infrastructures. So one is the tech infrastructure. You need to provide not only the depth that you would find in your Wi-Fi, the connectivity, but lots of the connectivity across the system. But you also need a legal infrastructure to address these points.

Speaker

Hassan Elkhatib

Reason

This comment highlights the multifaceted challenges governments face in adapting to the gig economy, emphasizing both technological and regulatory aspects.

Impact

It shifted the conversation towards the role of government and policy in shaping the future of work, prompting discussion on necessary infrastructural and legal changes.

2025, was a marquee year in a sense that for the first time in the decades that we have done this research, work-life balance now scores a little bit higher, but higher than compensation.

Speaker

Sander van ‘t Noordende

Reason

This insight from research data reveals a significant shift in worker priorities, highlighting changing expectations in the labor market.

Impact

It prompted discussion on evolving worker preferences and how both traditional employers and gig economy platforms need to adapt to these changing priorities.

We provide insurance, and then various types of coverage of insurance for absolutely everybody who work, who are actively working on the platform, and it’s free for everybody.

Speaker

Luana Marques Garcia Ozemela

Reason

This comment introduces concrete examples of how gig economy platforms can provide social protections for workers, addressing a key criticism of the gig economy model.

Impact

It shifted the discussion towards potential solutions for worker protection in the gig economy, prompting exploration of how platforms can take responsibility for worker welfare.

Overall assessment

These key comments shaped the discussion by providing a comprehensive view of the gig economy from multiple perspectives – economic impact, interaction with informal economies, governmental challenges, changing worker priorities, and potential solutions for worker protection. They moved the conversation beyond simple pros and cons to a more nuanced understanding of the complexities and potential of the gig economy across different contexts. The discussion evolved from describing the current state to exploring future possibilities and necessary adaptations in policy, business models, and worker support systems.

How can governments create new regulatory frameworks to govern gig work that balance value creation with worker protections?

Speaker

Hassan Elkhatib

Explanation

The minister emphasized the need for new frameworks rather than applying old ones to this evolving work model, highlighting the importance of finding appropriate ways to regulate the gig economy.

How can digital platforms be used to empower flexible workers and provide portable benefits?

Speaker

Erika Kraemer Mbula

Explanation

The professor suggested exploring how platforms can offer portable social protection schemes, micro-contributions to pension plans, and support with upskilling to improve job mobility for gig workers.

What will be the impact of AI on different types of gig work?

Speaker

Sander van ‘t Noordende

Explanation

The CEO noted that certain gig jobs, particularly in admin, design, and marketing, may be at risk from AI, suggesting a need to investigate how AI will reshape the gig economy.

How can countries create ecosystems to attract and support remote workers, particularly in tech fields?

Speaker

Hassan Elkhatib

Explanation

The minister expressed interest in developing environments that would appeal to talented remote workers, indicating a potential area for policy research and development.

How can the stigma associated with certain types of gig work be addressed across different cultural contexts?

Speaker

Luana Marques Garcia Ozemela and Hassan Elkhatib

Explanation

Both speakers noted similar issues with stigma in Brazil and Egypt, suggesting a need for further research on strategies to improve the social perception of gig workers.

How will the distinction between different types of work (gig, freelance, temp, permanent) evolve in the future?

Speaker

Sander van ‘t Noordende

Explanation

The CEO predicted a blurring of lines between work types, indicating a need for research on how employment models might change and converge.

How can long-term financial security be ensured for career-long gig workers?

Speaker

Audience member and Luana Marques Garcia Ozemela

Explanation

An audience question raised this issue, with the Chief Sustainability Officer acknowledging the need to design new systems for portable benefits and social security that fit the realities of gig work.