By+Brandon+Ambrosino+譯/劉志良

Kage Yami is a ninja1） for hire.

For the past four years， the 27-year-old Newton2） resident has worked as a professional stunt3） performer for films and TV shows being made in the Boston area. Sometimes work takes him to New York. Sometimes California. Sometimes he models. Basically， he says， he takes on “whatever gig comes my way4）.”

Yami is one of a growing number of workers participating in the “gig economy，” the hip-sounding term used to describe those who make their livings in nontraditional ways—nontraditional meaning “in ways not limited to a 9-to-5 job” or， framed in less optimistic terms， “in ways that dont usually offer health insurance.”

According to a 2014 study commissioned by the Freelancers Union， 53 million Americans are independent workers， about 34 percent of the total workforce. A study from Intuit predicts that by 2020， 40 percent of US workers will fall into this category.

While there is considerable disagreement over this projection， what is clear is that “more and more jobs are being moved to independent contractor status，” says Jeffrey Pfeffer， a professor of organizational behavior at Stanford University. Pfeffer cites a recent paper that found that “the percentage of workers engaged in alternative work arrangements rose from 10.1 percent in February 2005 to 15.8 percent in late 2015.” This rise accounts for over 9 million people—more than all of the net employment growth in the US economy over that decade.

To be clear， employers are driving the change. Between 2009 and 2013， the unemployment rate was more than 7 percent， suggesting workers were turning to gigs because they didnt have a choice. But thats not to say most independent workers arent happy with their job situations. According to the Freelancers Union， a 300，000-plus member nonprofit， nearly nine out of 10 of its members surveyed said they would not return to a traditional job if given the chance.

Kage Yami loves what he does， and hes glad he gave up his Target job three years ago to focus exclusively on stunt work. The gigs are consistent， he says， “at least once a week.” In fact， he doesnt even need to seek them out anymore. Hes been dodging5） cars and falling off buildings for so long that directors now know who he is and offer him work before he even asks. Hes also in the union SAG-AFTRA6）， which means his pay is regulated7） （and pretty good） and he gets benefits.

But Yamis arrangement is wildly different than that of Jillian Melnyk， a 33-year-old independent worker in Waltham. Melnyk is a photographer and sells her work through traditional markets and online via Etsy. She also holds an MFA8） in writing and is working on a novel. “I kind of enjoy doing a handful of different things，” she says. “I like having different creative pursuits.” Good thing—because， as she readily admits， its tough to make a living just selling photography. So she supplements her income by working part time for Rochester & Genesee Valley Parent Magazine， a small publication her mother owns.endprint

Melnyk thinks the biggest challenge for independent workers is the income unpredictability. “Youll have one month thats great， then a month that isnt so great. You never really know where the revenue streams are going to be.”

Not to mention， says Pfeffer， that “in the US， every benefit comes through your employer—your 401k9）， health insurance， unemployment insurance. To the extent that you dont have an employer， you have no access to any of these things.”

To remedy this， Steven Hill， author of Raw Deal： How the “Uber Economy” and Runaway Capitalism Are Screwing American Workers， has proposed an Individual Security Account， which would stay with gig workers wherever their careers took them.

The gig economy doesnt treat everyone fairly， says Hill. “This economy leans to certain personalities，” he says， noting that making it largely depends on being able to hustle and market yourself 24/7.

“Taking great photos is step one，” says Zac Wolf， a 27-year-old wedding photographer in Brighton， who studied marketing in college to give himself an edge， “but there are so many steps after that.” If you know those steps， youll do well in this economy. If you dont—you might not.

Though researchers have long studied workplace psychology—the field even has its own name， industrial and organizational behavior—the growing gig economy hasnt received the same attention. Thats a shame： According to a recent paper from Roosevelt University， many freelancers regularly experience anxiety， frustration， anger， and depression， which is not surprising given the demonstrated benefits of regular employment on mental health.

Spencer Harrison， associate professor in the Carroll School of Management at Boston College， says that although gig workers face financial anxieties， the bigger issue can be an existential one. “Because we spend so much of our lives at work， work is a place where we find out who we are and craft our identities，” he says. “When were moving from one thing to the next， some people might sense a difficulty cobbling together10） ‘Who am I？ ”

Gianpiero Petriglieri， a psychiatrist and associate professor at INSEAD， an international graduate business school， studies independent workers with colleagues Sue Ashford and Amy Wrzesniewski. Theyve noticed a unique double bind adding to the anxiety of freelancers. “On one hand， the work is precarious11）， but at the same time， its very self-defining，” says Petriglieri. “So work is becoming more and more important to who you are， and at the same time its becoming less secure.”endprint

Anxiety about the future is one reason why Kage Yamis parents want their only son to get out of the stunt industry. “They say， ‘I know you make enough money to do this and to do that， but its not steady. If you want a job thats steady， you should go back to school. ” But Yami isnt listening. He thinks about the old saying that if you find a job you love， you wont ever have to work again. “To be honest， I dont think Ive ever worked a day in my life on a film set.”

Renee Rakowsky， a 60-year-old life coach in Newton， feels the same way. She says shes “virtually unemployable” in a traditional environment， with “the bureaucracy， the politics.” Thats why， when shes not coaching， she drives for Uber. “I want to take time off Friday because I want to do blah blah blah； I block out12） time. Flexibility is fundamental to me.”

But theres a hidden cost to this kind of flexibility. Because gig workers are never “on the clock，” theyre never really off it. A 2004 study concluded that because of the cyclical nature of independent work and the 24/7 brand management it requires， gig markets actually “place more rather than fewer constraints on workers time.”

So why， in light of all these anxieties， do most freelancers seem to prefer gig work？ “Thats the million-dollar question13），” says Wilma B. Liebman， former chair of the National Labor Relations Board. But one things for sure， she says： “There is deep discontentment among working people.”

The hard part for researchers who study gig work is knowing whether someone is pursuing a genuine narrative of passion— “Im doing this job because it gives me purpose” — or as more of a temporary Band-Aid14）， says Harrison. In either case， workers may speak positively about their jobs. And that makes sense， says Jeffrey Pfeffer. “Theres a process called cognitive dissonance15）， so you come to terms with16） where you are，” he says. “Humans have a way of not being chronically unhappy.”

But perhaps， says Petriglieri， some academics who spend their lives in established institutions might find it hard to look at freelance work as anything other than a bump in the road on the way to traditional employment. “Its as if we cant imagine people might actually choose to have a working life outside of an organization—and thrive.”

Whether they see the workplace changes as fundamentally positive or negative， experts agree that they need more research， because the gig economy isnt going away. In any economy， the name of the game17） is getting work done efficiently at the lowest cost. Sure， youre great at your job—but an independent worker could do just as well， and your boss wouldnt have to give her benefits. Or pay for her water-cooler time.endprint

Every worker needs to take part in these discussions， says Petriglieri. “This might be you some day.”

卡格·亞米是一名打短工的武者。

在過去四年中，這位27歲的牛頓市居民在波士頓地區(qū)制作的電影和電視節(jié)目中擔(dān)任專業(yè)特技演員。出于工作需要，他有時(shí)會(huì)去紐約，有時(shí)會(huì)去加州。有時(shí)他當(dāng)模特。他說，自己基本上“遇到什么零工”就干什么。

亞米是日益壯大的參與“零工經(jīng)濟(jì)”勞動(dòng)者中的一員，“零工經(jīng)濟(jì)”這個(gè)聽起來很時(shí)髦的用語是描述以非傳統(tǒng)的方式謀生的人——這里“非傳統(tǒng)”的含義是指“不限于朝九晚五的工作方式”，或者用不那么樂觀的說法來表述的話，是指“通常不提供醫(yī)療保險(xiǎn)的工作方式”。

2014年由自由職業(yè)者聯(lián)盟委托進(jìn)行的一項(xiàng)研究表明，美國有5300萬人是個(gè)體勞動(dòng)者，約占全部勞動(dòng)力的34%。經(jīng)營財(cái)務(wù)軟件的高科技公司財(cái)捷集團(tuán)的一項(xiàng)研究預(yù)測，到2020年，美國勞動(dòng)力的40%將歸入這一類別。

盡管針對這一估測有許多不同的意見，但顯而易見的是，“越來越多的工作崗位正在轉(zhuǎn)變?yōu)楠?dú)立合同工性質(zhì)”，斯坦福大學(xué)組織行為學(xué)教授杰弗里·普費(fèi)弗這樣說。普費(fèi)弗引用了近期的一篇論文，該論文發(fā)現(xiàn)，“從事非傳統(tǒng)工作類型的勞動(dòng)者比例從2005年2月的10.1%上升至2015年底的15.8%?！边@一比例增長代表著增加了900多萬人——超過這十年美國經(jīng)濟(jì)就業(yè)凈增長的總數(shù)。

需要說明的是，雇主正在推動(dòng)這場變革。在2009年至2013年期間，失業(yè)率超過7%，這表明勞動(dòng)者別無選擇，只能轉(zhuǎn)向打零工。但這并不是說大多數(shù)個(gè)體勞動(dòng)者對其工作狀況不滿意。自由職業(yè)者聯(lián)盟是一個(gè)擁有30多萬成員的非營利組織，據(jù)該組織稱，接近九成的受訪成員表示，即便有機(jī)會(huì)，他們也不會(huì)重新從事傳統(tǒng)的工作。

卡格·亞米很喜歡自己現(xiàn)在所做的工作，他三年前放棄了在塔吉特百貨的工作，只專注于特技表演，他現(xiàn)在對當(dāng)初的決定仍然感到高興。他說，這些零工持續(xù)不斷，“至少每周一次”。實(shí)際上，他甚至不再需要自己去找活兒干了。他長期從事躲閃汽車、跳樓之類的特技表演，導(dǎo)演現(xiàn)在都知道他是誰，甚至不用他主動(dòng)請求就會(huì)給他提供工作。他也加入了美國演員工會(huì)及廣播電視藝人聯(lián)合會(huì)，這意味著他的薪資在政府監(jiān)管的范圍（并且相當(dāng)不錯(cuò)），而且他還享有福利。

但是，亞米的工作安排與來自沃爾瑟姆市的33歲的個(gè)體勞動(dòng)者吉利安·梅爾尼克的工作安排相差懸殊。梅爾尼克是一名攝影師，通過傳統(tǒng)的交易市場和手工藝品交易平臺(tái)Etsy網(wǎng)站出售自己的作品。她還擁有寫作專業(yè)的藝術(shù)碩士學(xué)位，正在創(chuàng)作一部小說。“我喜歡做一些不同的事情，”她說，“我喜歡從事各種創(chuàng)意活動(dòng)。”這是件好事——因?yàn)樗斓爻姓J(rèn)，僅靠出售攝影作品是很難維持生計(jì)的。所以她還在《羅切斯特和杰尼西谷家長雜志》（她母親擁有的一份小型刊物）兼職來增加收入。

梅爾尼克認(rèn)為，個(gè)體勞動(dòng)者面臨的最大挑戰(zhàn)是收入的不可預(yù)測性?！澳銜?huì)遇到特別好的一個(gè)月，然而接下來一個(gè)月又不那么好。你從來不會(huì)真正知道收入來源會(huì)在何處?！?/p>

更不用說的情況是，如普費(fèi)弗所言，“在美國，每一項(xiàng)保險(xiǎn)都要通過你的雇主提供——你的401k退休金計(jì)劃、醫(yī)療保險(xiǎn)、失業(yè)保險(xiǎn)。在沒有雇主的情況下，這些東西你都沒法獲得?！?/p>

為了解決這個(gè)問題，《原始交易：“優(yōu)步經(jīng)濟(jì)”和赤裸的資本主義如何壓榨美國工人》一書的作者史蒂芬·希爾建議設(shè)立個(gè)人保險(xiǎn)賬戶，打零工的勞動(dòng)者無論為了工作而前往何地，都將保有該賬戶。

希爾說，零工經(jīng)濟(jì)并非公平地對待每個(gè)人。“零工經(jīng)濟(jì)傾向于某些特定性格的人。”他說，并強(qiáng)調(diào)一個(gè)人要想成功，在很大程度上取決于其能否全天候地忙碌與推銷自己。

“拍攝出色的照片是第一步，”布萊頓27歲的婚禮攝影師扎克·沃爾夫說，他在大學(xué)學(xué)習(xí)的是營銷，這賦予了他優(yōu)勢，“但是之后還有許多步驟?！比绻阒滥切┎襟E，你將在零工經(jīng)濟(jì)中做得如魚得水；如果你不了解——你可能就做得不好。

研究人員對職場心理學(xué)進(jìn)行了長期研究，該領(lǐng)域甚至有專屬的名字，即工業(yè)和組織行為學(xué)，但是正在蓬勃發(fā)展的零工經(jīng)濟(jì)并沒有受到同等的關(guān)注。這一點(diǎn)很遺憾：根據(jù)近期來自羅斯福大學(xué)的一篇論文，許多自由職業(yè)者經(jīng)常感到焦慮、沮喪、憤怒和抑郁，這并不足為奇，因?yàn)檎?guī)就業(yè)對心理健康的益處已經(jīng)得到證實(shí)。

波士頓學(xué)院卡羅爾管理學(xué)院副教授斯賓塞·哈里森表示，雖然零工勞動(dòng)者面臨財(cái)務(wù)方面的焦慮，但更大的問題可能是個(gè)人存在的焦慮?！耙?yàn)槲覀儼焉械拇罅繒r(shí)間花在了工作上，所以工作是我們發(fā)現(xiàn)自我、構(gòu)建自己身份的地方，”他說，“當(dāng)我們不斷變換自己所做的工作時(shí)，對于‘我是誰？這個(gè)問題，有些人可能會(huì)感覺難以拼湊出答案。”

英士是一所培養(yǎng)研究生的國際商學(xué)院，該學(xué)院副教授、精神科醫(yī)生詹比耶洛·彼崔格里利與同事休·阿什福德和埃米·弗熱辛斯基一起對個(gè)體勞動(dòng)者進(jìn)行了研究。他們注意到一種獨(dú)特的雙重束縛加重了自由職業(yè)者的焦慮?！耙环矫婀ぷ髯兊貌环€(wěn)定，但同時(shí)工作對自我定義非常重要?！?彼崔格里利說，“工作對定義‘你是誰變得越來越重要，而同時(shí)其又變得更加不穩(wěn)定可靠?！?/p>

對未來感到焦慮是卡格·亞米的父母希望其獨(dú)生子離開特技表演行業(yè)的原因之一?！八麄冋f：‘我知道你賺的錢足夠用來做這個(gè)、做那個(gè)，但是這并不穩(wěn)定。如果你想要一份穩(wěn)定的工作，你應(yīng)該回學(xué)校讀書?！钡?，亞米聽不進(jìn)去。他腦海里一直回想起一句古話：如果你找到一份自己喜愛的工作，你一生中的任何一天都不是在工作中度過的。“說實(shí)話，我從未把在電影拍攝場的哪一天當(dāng)做上班度過的。”

住在牛頓市的人生教練雷內(nèi)·拉科夫斯基已經(jīng)60歲了，她也有同樣的感受。她說因?yàn)槭懿涣藗鹘y(tǒng)環(huán)境中的“官僚主義和辦公室政治”，她覺得“自己實(shí)際上不適合受雇”。這就是她在沒有教練任務(wù)時(shí)會(huì)去給優(yōu)步開車的原因?！拔蚁朐谛瞧谖逍菹⒁幌?，因?yàn)槲蚁胱鲞@個(gè)或那個(gè)；我可以預(yù)留時(shí)間。靈活性對我來說至關(guān)重要。”endprint

但這種靈活性也有潛在的成本。因?yàn)榱愎趧?dòng)者永遠(yuǎn)不會(huì)“按時(shí)上班”，所以他們也永遠(yuǎn)不會(huì)“按時(shí)下班”。2004年一項(xiàng)研究得出的結(jié)論是，由于獨(dú)立工作具有周期性，并要求進(jìn)行全天候的品牌管理，零工市場實(shí)際上“對勞動(dòng)者的時(shí)間限制更多，而不是更少”。

既然存在所有這些令人焦慮的因素，那么為什么大多數(shù)自由職業(yè)者似乎仍更加鐘情于打零工呢？“這是個(gè)難以回答的問題?！?美國全國勞資關(guān)系委員會(huì)前主席威爾瑪·B·利布曼說。但有一件事是確定無疑的，她說：“勞動(dòng)人民普遍深感不滿?！?/p>

對于研究零工的研究人員來說，比較棘手的是搞清楚某人是否在真實(shí)地描述其激情——“我現(xiàn)在做這項(xiàng)工作，是因?yàn)檫@個(gè)工作讓我覺得有意義”——還是更多的是作為臨時(shí)的權(quán)宜之計(jì)，哈里森說。無論屬于哪一種情況，勞動(dòng)者都可能會(huì)積極地評價(jià)自己的工作。這也很容易理解，杰弗里·普費(fèi)弗表示?！叭祟惔嬖谡J(rèn)知失調(diào)的現(xiàn)象，由此你能與自己的處境相妥協(xié)，”他說，“人類總有方式讓自己規(guī)避長期不快樂?！?/p>

但是，彼崔格里利表示，有些一直在老牌的機(jī)構(gòu)里工作的學(xué)者除了把自由職業(yè)視為通往傳統(tǒng)就業(yè)道路上的一道坎兒之外，可能難以形成其他看法?！斑@就好像我們無法想象，人們可能真的愿意選擇機(jī)構(gòu)之外的職業(yè)生涯——并且獲得成功?！?/p>

無論他們對職業(yè)場景變化給予的看法在根本上是積極的還是消極的，專家們都認(rèn)為他們需要進(jìn)行更多的研究，因?yàn)榱愎そ?jīng)濟(jì)不會(huì)消失。在任何經(jīng)濟(jì)體系中，最關(guān)鍵的都是以最低的成本高效地完成工作。當(dāng)然，你很擅長自己的工作——但個(gè)體勞動(dòng)者也可以做得同樣好，而且你的老板還不用給她提供福利，或者為她喝水休息的時(shí)間付錢。

普費(fèi)弗說，每個(gè)勞動(dòng)者都需要參與這些討論，“說不定哪天打零工就輪到你頭上了”。

受夠了每天朝九晚五的固定工作時(shí)間的束縛，想要按自己的意愿靈活安排工作時(shí)間？受夠了日復(fù)一日重復(fù)同一種工作的枯燥乏味，想在多個(gè)職業(yè)領(lǐng)域內(nèi)一試身手？那么，歡迎來到零工經(jīng)濟(jì)時(shí)代。借助互聯(lián)網(wǎng)的高速發(fā)展，零工經(jīng)濟(jì)正成為一種時(shí)髦的新經(jīng)濟(jì)形式，受到雇主與勞動(dòng)者的歡迎與推動(dòng)。不過任何事物都有兩面性，下面就隨本文來全面了解零工經(jīng)濟(jì)時(shí)代給人們帶來的喜與憂吧！

1.ninja [?n?nd??] n. 忍者（受過日本傳統(tǒng)打斗和輕功訓(xùn)練的人）

2.Newton：牛頓市，位于美國馬薩諸塞州東部的米德爾塞克斯縣，波士頓市西面。

3.stunt [st?nt] n. （電影的）特技表演

4.come ones way：意外地發(fā)生在某人身上

5.dodge [d?d?] vt. 閃開，跳開，躲開

6.SAG-AFTRA：美國演員工會(huì)及廣播電視藝人聯(lián)合會(huì)，英文全稱為Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists。

7.此處指付給勞動(dòng)者的薪酬受到政府的監(jiān)管，比如需要符合最低工資標(biāo)準(zhǔn)等。

8.MFA：藝術(shù)碩士，全稱為Master of Fine Arts，是為了培養(yǎng)藝術(shù)創(chuàng)作、表演領(lǐng)域的人才的碩士專業(yè)教育。

9.401k：401k計(jì)劃，指美國于20世紀(jì)80年代初實(shí)施的一種由雇員、雇主共同繳費(fèi)建立起來的完全基金式的養(yǎng)老保險(xiǎn)制度， 相當(dāng)于中國的企業(yè)年金制度。

10.cobble together：（匆忙而草率地）拼湊

11.precarious [pr??ke?ri?s] adj. 不牢靠的，不穩(wěn)的，危險(xiǎn)的

12.block out：預(yù)留（時(shí)間）

13.the million-dollar question：重要卻難以找到答案的問題

14.Band-Aid：治標(biāo)不治本的解決辦法，權(quán)宜之計(jì)

15.cognitive dissonance：認(rèn)知失調(diào)，指當(dāng)個(gè)體同時(shí)出現(xiàn)持有相互沖突的信念、觀點(diǎn)或價(jià)值觀時(shí)在精神上所產(chǎn)生的不愉悅感。根據(jù)心理學(xué)理論，當(dāng)個(gè)體出現(xiàn)認(rèn)知失調(diào)時(shí)，人們會(huì)自動(dòng)地進(jìn)行自我調(diào)適，以緩解精神上的不適感，獲得心理平衡。

16.come to terms with：與……妥協(xié)，接受（不愉快的事物）

17.the name of the game：問題的實(shí)質(zhì)，最要緊的東西endprint