N. Raghuraman's column: 'Platform Economy' is transforming our employment model

Lan Lu, who lives in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, China, was newly married and was looking for some extra income. That's when he came across a website called 'Xianyu' (unusable fish in Chinese). It is the largest consumer-to-consumer second-hand marketplace in China. The Alibaba Group's platform operates primarily as an app, which is linked to payment apps such as Taobao and Alipay. Users can buy and sell old items like clothes, electronics and rare collector items on it. Lu spontaneously posted a list on it, and then what happened surprised him. A lot of people from all over the country contacted him. During this time, his Philips electric toothbrush worth one thousand yuan broke down. Instead of selling it and getting a new one, they opened it and thought it was easy to fix. This moment changed his perspective. They formally listed themselves as a 'Small Appliance Repair' service on Xianyu. Just a smartphone and a desire to fix things – just opened their store, that too without any deposit and staff. Fond of tinkering with gadgets, Lu started a demand-based gig job. He did not believe that he could earn more than 2 lakh yuan (about 27,80,650 rupees) annually. Everything that was damaged in the house now started coming to them. They 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 two o'clock in the night became his daily routine. After this, there were big changes. This side business changed the family's view of his career. His parents were initially in favour of a permanent job, but then changed. The father feels that the son is doing a great job and there is a lot of demand for him. Eventually, Lu also felt that he had found a way to show his value to the family. And whenever they improve something, they personally feel accomplished and not bored. What's more, today he and his family look at this work from a philosophical perspective. They think Lou's work is the answer to 'disposable consumption'. That is, they are saving the earth by increasing the lifespan of the devices that people throw away. For example, a water flosser, which can be repaired for a few yuan and last for many years. This is not just the story of Lou or a few like him, but it shows the emerging trend of how young people view employment opportunities. The latest report by the China New Employment Research Center, which explores ways in which young people prioritise employment opportunities, also says that China's youth are moving towards flexible models with "diverse roles and identities" rather than permanent and long-term jobs. So now the question is, why would people buy second-hand goods? This is because the way people spend is moving away from just buying things to getting experiences and personal growth. This has led to the emergence of digital services that offer the same goods at half the price. Imagine that you are leaving and the village uncle coming from the front with an electric toothbrush instead of a toothbrush. They say 'son stop java, let me turn off the brush', then they switch-off the brush before responding. But, by the day that happens, our youth will be too late to take advantage of the task-based employment model. The trick is that the emerging gig work culture among the youth and the growing platform economy are changing the way the youth entered the job market in the past. Our youth should not miss out on this period of change that is unfolding in some parts of the world.