The impact of COVID-19 on the standard of living of Chinese food delivery workers in the gig economy1

Zien Chen

doi:10.54254/2754-1169/3/2022747

Research Article

Open access

Published on 21 March 2023

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Chen,Z. (2023). The impact of COVID-19 on the standard of living of Chinese food delivery workers in the gig economy1. Advances in Economics, Management and Political Sciences,3,36-47.

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The impact of COVID-19 on the standard of living of Chinese food delivery workers in the gig economy1

Zien Chen *^,1,

¹ New York University Stern School of Business, New York, NY 10012, USA

* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

https://doi.org/10.54254/2754-1169/3/2022747

Abstract

When the Chinese economy stopped amid the coronavirus pandemic, more than 6 million food delivery workers helped to distribute medicine, daily supplies, and meals becoming the crucial link between individual households and society. In light of the positive media attention and the heightened importance of food delivery workers, the researc her wondered if their living standards have actually been improved during COVID-19. Surveying 227 workers and interviewing 11 workers, the author conducted research on the impact of the pandemic on their compensation, ratings, social status and customer respect. After analyzing both the interview and survey data. This study found that although workers experienced a moderate improvement in their ratings, social status and customer respect, they also suffered a drastic income loss during the pandemic. Furthermore, this research found that the reasons behind those changes were mainly temporary and unique features of the pandemic. As the pandemic failed to make lasting systemic improvements in Chinese food delivery workers’ living standards, further research is needed to address their daily challenges.

Keywords

Covid-19, Gig Workers, Media Impact on Public Perception, Sharing Economy, Chinese Food Delivery Industry

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References

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Cite this article

Chen,Z. (2023). The impact of COVID-19 on the standard of living of Chinese food delivery workers in the gig economy1. Advances in Economics, Management and Political Sciences,3,36-47.

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About volume

Volume title: Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Economic Management and Green Development (ICEMGD 2022), Part Ⅰ

Conference website: https://www.icemgd.org/

ISBN：978-1-915371-15-7(Print) / 978-1-915371-16-4(Online)

Conference date: 6 August 2022

Editor：Javier Cifuentes-Faura, Canh Thien Dang

Series: Advances in Economics, Management and Political Sciences

Volume number: Vol.3

ISSN：2754-1169(Print) / 2754-1177(Online)

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