A New Breed of Online Worker

The Internet has transformed nearly every aspect of work — the way we search for it, the way we perform it, and what type of workers are valued — but there is a sinister side of this transformation. Corporations are realizing the potential of a global Internet marketplace and are beginning to rely upon a new breed of contract-based online worker: the microworker.

The “microworker” is basically an outsourced sub-contractor unique to the Digital Age. He takes advantage of near-instant global communication and readily available software to work anywhere in the world at extremely low cost. This puts an instant global workforce at a company’s fingertips, one that can be sourced via the Web at a moment’s notice.

Microworkers are paid strictly by the task (sometimes as little as ten cents) and typically receive office grunt work, such as creating PowerPoint presentations and entering data. But they can also bid for higher-level work, such as software code testing and online video creation. Employees of microwork-supportive businesses simply create tasks and dish them out through a microworking website.

By participating in microwork, companies have contract-based employees working twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week; saving millions of dollars; and freeing-up thousands of mindless work hours.

But at what cost?

Global competition for contract-based jobs drastically decreases wages, causing workers in developed countries to surrender to and become outbid by foreign counterparts. This also leaves job creation stagnant and contributes to a disgruntled, unemployed population segment.

Also, because microworkers are paid as little as ten cents per task, they have little or no incentive to produce a satisfactory product. Companies shovel chores and pennies to workers, possibly resulting in mediocre performance and lost time for the company.

Furthermore, because of the limited contact companies have with microworkers, company-worker relationships are non-existent. This could result in data leakage due to non-informed security practices, or even a microworker badmouthing a company because of low pay.

And none of this even begins to touch on the ethical and legal issues. Companies may be violating minimum wage laws and running virtual sweatshops on a global scale, setting themselves up for law suits, fines, and terrible publicity.

To me, microworking offers no sustainable benefits for the enterprise. By committing to this micro-service, a company creates an expectation that the service is always available. Regular employees then presume that micro-work is consistently outsourced, and that their job does not require these outsourced tasks.

But what happens if the micro-trend dies out? Or when microworkers become fed up with micro-paychecks? And is the cheap labor worth the poor output and disgruntled labor force?

What do you think? Has your company hired a microworker, and what was your experience?