Gig Economy Employment during the Pandemic: An Analysis of GrabFood Driver Experiences in the Philippines

NO.251 JULY2023 ADBBRIEFS KEYPOINTS •Thekeyfeaturesofthegigeconomyarethatworkersarepaidpertaskorproject,ratherthanonatimebasis(hourlywagesormonthly salaries),andtheyaretypicallymatchedtojobsusingadigitalplatform. •TheriseofthegigeconomyinthePhilippinesaccelerated duringthecoronavirusdisease(COVID-19)pandemic. •InJuly2022,theAsianDevelopmentBankcollaboratedwithGrabtoconductasurveyof1,200GrabFoodtwo-wheelerdriversinMetroManila,Cebu,andDavaointhePhilippines. •ThesurveyeddriverschoseGrabFoodmainlybecauseofitsflexibleworkinghours.TheaveragedriverearnedP5,699perweek,whichisabovethetransportationindustrymean. •About95%ofthemintendedtocontinueworkingviaGrabFoodafterthepandemic. •Aboutone-thirdofthedrivershadanaccidentinthepast 12months.Morethan70%ofdriversarewillingtopayforhealthinsuranceifaffordableprogramsaremadeavailable. •Amongthe1,200drivers,only21arewomen.However,74%ofrespondentssaidtheywouldrecommendthejob totheirfemalerelativesorfriends. ISBN978-92-9270-243-4(print) ISBN978-92-9270-244-1(electronic) ISSN2071-7202(print) ISSN2218-2675(electronic)PublicationStockNo.BRF230265 DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.22617/BRF230265 GigEconomyEmploymentduringthePandemic:AnAnalysisofGrabFoodDriverExperiences inthePhilippines INTRODUCTION Theglobalgigeconomyhasexpandedduetoitsflexibilityingeneratingemploymentandprovidingservices(Chenetal.2020;HallandKrueger2018).Severalempiricalstudieshaveshownthatgigeconomyplatformsareefficientinmatchingworkerswithclients,whichreducesbarrierstocreatingjobsforlow-productivityworkers(Schwellnusetal.2019).Thegigeconomyexpansionacceleratedinmanycountriesduringthecoronavirusdisease(COVID-19)pandemic. SincetheWorldHealthOrganization(WHO)officiallydeclaredtheCOVID-19pandemicinMarch2020,countriesaroundtheglobehavegonethroughseveralcyclesofrestrictionsonpublicmovementandinteraction(TirachiniandCats2020).Publictransportationexperiencedsevererestrictions(Shortall,Moutera,andVanWeeb2021).InthePhilippines,allpublictransportationwassuspendedatthebeginningofthepandemic(GovernmentofthePhilippines2020a).Urbanmobilityfelltoaslowas26%ofthepre-lockdownlevelinthefirstmonthofrestrictions(Jiang,Laranjo,andThomas2022).SubsequentcommunityquarantinepoliciesgraduallyrelaxedrestrictionsonpublictransportationwhileimposingsafetyconditionstoreducetheriskofCOVID-19transmission. ThegigeconomyinthePhilippineswaslimitedbeforeGrab’stransportationandfooddeliveryserviceskickedoffinthecountry.GrabplaysasimilarroleinSoutheastAsiatoUber(whichbeganasaride-hailingserviceandexpandedtoincludefooddelivery) intheUnitedStates.However,thereislittleevidenceonthesentimentofGrabworkers.TheanalysisofoursurveyofGrabFooddeliverydriverssuggeststhatthegigeconomyprovidesflexibleemploymentanddecentincomeforworkersacrossthecountry. Italsosuggestspolicyreformsthatcouldimprovethewelfareofgigeconomyworkers. Notes:ThisstudywascarriedoutundertheAsianDevelopmentBank(ADB)TechnicalAssistance6585-REGImpactEvaluationofFinancialTechnologyInnovationsinSelectedDevelopingMemberCountriesfundedbytheRepublicofKoreae-AsiaKnowledgeandPartnershipFund.ThisbriefwaspreparedbyTakashiYamano,principaleconomist,EconomicResearchandDevelopmentImpactDepartment(ERDI),ADB;AngelicaMaddawin,consultant;MilanThomas,economist,ERDI;andLilibethPoot,senioreconomicsofficer,ERDI.ThebriefwaspeerreviewedbyKellyBird,countrydirector,ADBPhilippinesCountryOffice. TheauthorsappreciatethegeneroussupportfromGrabinallowingthemtointerviewthedrivers.ThestudybenefitedfromcommentsandsuggestionsofCaroleMalenab,publicaffairsmanagerofGrabPhilippines. BACKGROUND Beforetheadventofgigeconomyservices,fooddeliverywasdonethroughtelephoneorder,andfoodwasdeliveredeithertothehomeortodesignatedpick-uppoints(Melián-González2022).Third-partyplatformshavetransformedfooddeliverybyfacilitatingtransactionsbetweencustomers,workers,andrestaurantsor“ghostkitchens”(alsocalledvirtualorcloudkitchens)(InternationalLabourOrganization2021). Third-partyfood-deliveryplatformsoffercustomersarangeoffooditemsfromtherestaurant’smenuwithoutrequiringcustomerstoleavetheirphysicallocation.UnderthemovementrestrictionsoftheCOVID-19pandemic,theseplatformshelpedrestaurantsandghostkitchenssurviveandcreatedjobsaroundtheworld(Charlton2021). GrabFooddeliverydriversinthePhilippinesreportpositivefeedbackontheirjobexperienceduetothreemainreasons:flexibilityinworkinghours,decentearnings,andindependentworkingconditions. DATA InJuly2022,atelephonesurveywasconductedamongGrabFooddeliverydriversinmajorregionsofthePhilippines.1Thesurveyincluded1,200driverscoveringthethreemajorareasofoperation:MetroManila(43%ofthesample),Cebu(30%),andDavao(27%).ThecoverageofMetroManilaincludedsomedriversfromneighboringareassuchasCalabarzonandCentralLuzon. FINDINGS WhoaretheGrabFooddeliverydrivers? DemographicCharacteristics GrabFooddeliverydriversinthePhilippinesaremostlymale(98%ofthesample)andmostlybelongtotheprimeworkingagegroup:226–35yearsold(56%),followedby36–45yearsold(25%).ThisindicatesthatGrabFooddeliveryinthePhilippinesistypicallyneitheraretirement-agejobnorapart-timejo