This study aims to describe food delivery workers experiences in the gig economy of a specific company, their relationship with the trade union, and their thoughts on their future, within and outside the industry. The empirical data consists of seven semi-structured interviews. The purpose will be answered with help of the theoretical concepts of precariat, dependency, algorithmic control, and aspirations. Previous research in algorithmic control and the precariat shows that the freedom that the work provides, the so-called flexibility, exists under the algorithmic control, but isn’t considered positive for everyone. Those who benefit from flexibility are those who have other occupations, and they are the ones who are more likely to be satisfied with the work. At the same time, the flexible work can be negative for others, with negative impact on their mental health, which means that they are less to be satisfied with the work and they experience the precarious to a greater extent. This study shows that the workers are exposed to insecure work through mental and physical risks, which are the results of the conditions that the algorithmic control and the company produces. The workers with several occupations experience the flexible work as something positive. There is also a culture of silence in the company, where those with permanent contracts are those who try to make a change in the insecure work. Those with short- term contracts are afraid of being sanctioned by the company. The union and the company maintain a precariousness for the workers by not meeting them on their terms. The workers future plans and aspirations are dependent and affected by their Swedish language skills.

This study aims to explore future forms of work and their connection to innovation capabilities. Moreover, to deep-dive into how the gig-economy might evolve through business model innovation within knowledge-intense professions. The gig-economy as a phenomenon is relatively new and previous research is limited. Due to the limited amount of research, it’s safe to assume that the gig-economy still is in an early developing phase and that possible business model development therefore is valuable to predict. The method for this study is a forecast analysis where data from 21 respondents have been collected as well as secondary sources such as newspapers, media, webbinairs and reports. Through thematic analysis of the collected data the study predicts seven upcoming and current trends. These trends lay the groundwork for a scenario prediction resulting in four potential futures for the gig-economy: The public opinion rules, The individual rules, The business giants’ rules and The niche businesses rules. The study finds that the gig-economy has a natural place in the future of work and that it can contain elements which fosters innovation capabilities, partly through open innovation and sharing of competences and knowledge. / Denna studie ämnar undersöka framtidens arbetsformer och hur dessa kan främja innovation. Dessutom djupdyker studien i hur gig-ekonomi kan komma att utvecklas genom affärsmodellsinnovation för kunskapsintensiva yrkesgrupper. Gig-ekonomi är ett relativt nytt fenomen och tidigare forskning på området är begränsat. På grund av arbetsformens unga ålder finns det anledning att tro att vi är i en tidig fas av denna affärsmodell och att det kan finnas ett värde i att undersöka hur en förväntad utveckling kommer se ut. Studien har omvärldsanalys som huvudsaklig metod där data från 21 respondenter samlats in tillsammans med sekundärdata från tidningar, medier, webbinarier och rapporter. Genom tematiska analyser framkommer sju aktuella trender. Dessa trender ligger till grund för ett scenariokors med fyra potentiella framtidsscenarion för gig-ekonomin, opinionen styr, individen styr, företagsjättarna styr och nischade företag styr. Slutsatsen mynnar ut i att gig-ekonomi har en självklar del i framtidens arbetssätt och att gig-ekonomi innehåller element som kan främja innovation, inte minst genom open innovation och delande av kompetens och kunskap.

Med huvudsakligt fokus på budföretaget Foodora och de otrygga arbetsförhållanden som växer fram i samband med gig-ekonomins utbredning har denna studie som syfte att bilda en djupare förståelse för hur det fackliga arbetet påverkas, samt vilka huvudsakliga utmaningar som finns med att höja den fackliga organisationsgraden inom företaget Foodora. Det teoretiska ramverk som använts genom studien utgörs av Guy Standings teori om prekariatet. Standing framhåller hur prekariatet är en klass i vardande som idag växer fram till följd av de otrygga förhållanden denna grupp tvingas förhålla sig till. För att besvara studiens syfte har en kvalitativ metod använts där semistrukturerade intervjuer med fackligt anställda på Svenska Transportarbetarförbundet utgjort vårt empiriska material. Vår slutsats visar hur det fackliga arbetet påverkas negativt av hur de potentiella medlemmarna befinner sig i otrygga arbetsförhållanden och därför upplever det som riskfyllt att engagera sig fackligt. Vi identifierade främst hur en avsaknad av anställning-, inkomst- och representationstrygghet hos buden orsakade svårigheter för Transport med att organisera gruppen. Vi kunde även identifiera att det främst är migranter som anställs inom Foodora, där både den typ av dubbla otrygghet individen befinner sig i, samt kulturella skillnader och språkliga barriärer var försvårande i arbetet med att organisera gruppen fackligt. / With the main focus on the company Foodora and the precarious working conditions that emerge in connection with the gig economy, this study aims to gain a deeper understanding of how union work is affected and which primary challenges there are in reaching a higher level of trade union organization within the company Foodora. The theoretical framework used in the study is based on Guy Standing’s theory concerning the precariat. Standing emphasizes how the precariat is a becoming class whose growth is caused by the precarious work conditions that this group is forced to adhere to. The basis for gathering our empirical material has been a qualitative method with semi structured interviews with employees organized within the Transport union. Our results show that there is a negative attitude towards engaging in organized unions among the potential members since they perceive it as a risk, which then has a negative effect on the work of the union. We identified that the lack of insecurity with employment, insecurity with salary and lack of representation caused problems when trying to organize members in the trade union. We could also identify that those who are mainly employed at Foodora are immigrants, who are affected by insecurity based on various interplaying factors. Caused by the lack of civil rights as well as the lack of work-related safety. The cultural and linguistic barriers, in combination with the insecurity within the group caused obstacles when trying to organize members in the trade union.