Introduction: Janus meets Proteus in the platform economy

Abstract

Discussing the contributions to this guide, the chapter provides an overview of key issues and significant trends related to labour within the platform economy, considering existing comparative evidence covering all world regions. The chapters put digital labour platforms in their historical, economic and geographical context, and address the regulatory response to platform work and the role of labour organisations and institutions in shaping the outcomes. Highlighting the diversity of experience of platform work, case studies illustrate how these general trends play out in individual types of platform work, both in online and location-based labour platforms, across the globe. They point to the need of a post-pandemic regulatory embeddedness of digital labour platforms at different policy levels.