N. Raghuraman’s Column – The ‘Platform Economy’ Is Transforming Our Employment Model

N. Raghuraman Management Guru

Lan Lu, who lives in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province, China, was newly married and was looking for some extra income. Then he came across a website named ‘Xianyu’ (useless fish in Chinese). It is China’s largest consumer-to-consumer second-hand marketplace.

This platform of Alibaba Group mainly operates as an app, which is linked to payment apps like Taobao and Alipay. Users can buy and sell old items ranging from clothes, electronics to rare collector items on it. Lu spontaneously posted a list on it and what happened next shocked him.

Many people from all over the country contacted him. During this time, his Philips electric toothbrush worth one thousand yuan got damaged. Instead of selling it and getting a new one, he took it apart and found that it was an easy fix. This moment changed his perspective. They formally listed themselves on Xianyu as a ‘Small Appliance Repair’ service.

With just a smartphone and a desire to make things right, their store was up and running, with no deposit and no employees. Lu, fond of tinkering with gadgets, started doing demand-based gig jobs. He did not believe that this could earn more than 2 lakh yuan (about Rs 27,80,650) annually. Everything that was spoiled in the house now started coming to him.

He divided the work into two parts. Earlier, he used to serve as a consultant in an old age home and then working at home till 2 am became his daily routine. After this, major changes took place. This side business changed the perspective of his family regarding his career. His parents were initially in favor of a permanent job, but then changed. The father feels that his son is doing great work and is in great demand.

Finally, Lu also felt that he had found a way to show his value to his family. And whenever they improve something, they personally feel a sense of accomplishment and do not feel bored. What’s more, today he and his family view this work from a philosophical perspective. He feels that Lu’s work is an answer to ‘disposable consumption’.

That is, they are saving the earth by extending the life of devices that people would otherwise throw away. For example, a water flosser, which can be repaired for a few yuan and can last for many years. This is not just the story of Lu or a few people like him, but it reflects an emerging trend in how youth view employment opportunities.

The latest report by the ‘China New Employment Research Centre’, which examines the way youth prioritize employment opportunities, also says that China’s youth are moving towards flexible models with ‘multiple roles and identities’ rather than stable and long-term jobs. So now the question is why would people buy second hand goods?

This is because people’s spending patterns are now shifting from just buying things to experiences and personal development. This has given rise to digital services which offer the same goods at half the price.

Imagine that you are going and the village uncle from opposite is bringing an electric toothbrush in exchange for toothbrush. They say ‘Beta ruk java, switch off the brush’, then switch-off the brush before they can answer. But, by the time that happens, our youth will be too late to take advantage of the task-based employment model.

The bottom line is that The emerging gig work culture among youth and the growing platform economy are combining to change the way youth previously entered the job market. Our youth should not miss out on this phase of change unfolding in some parts of the world.

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