跑腿工作外包網(wǎng)站TaskRabbit的崛起、Lyft司機(jī)以及Postmates快遞員已經(jīng)為大家所熟悉，對(duì)此也出現(xiàn)了許多針對(duì)性探討，但大家能想到嗎？世界上一些最大的公司里也開始出現(xiàn)打零工的人。越來(lái)越多的《財(cái)富》500強(qiáng)企業(yè)以及三星這樣的跨國(guó)公司開始在Upwork和PeoplePerHour等在線自由職業(yè)市場(chǎng)招募設(shè)計(jì)師、營(yíng)銷人員、IT專才以及其他專業(yè)人員。

牛津大學(xué)經(jīng)濟(jì)社會(huì)學(xué)家、副教授威利·萊頓維塔說(shuō)：“這些大公司對(duì)自由職業(yè)平臺(tái)的使用程度之深令人驚訝?！比R頓維塔正在研究網(wǎng)絡(luò)自由職業(yè)平臺(tái)及其對(duì)勞動(dòng)力組織方式的影響。一年來(lái)，這些平臺(tái)上的外包項(xiàng)目總數(shù)增加了26%。萊頓維塔指出，雖然我們通常認(rèn)為使用這些平臺(tái)的是初創(chuàng)公司和小企業(yè)，但越來(lái)越多的大公司也開始轉(zhuǎn)向這些平臺(tái)。他說(shuō)：“這種情況有可能產(chǎn)生實(shí)質(zhì)性影響?！北局芏R頓維塔及其同事格莉塔·科波拉爾在牛津大學(xué)互聯(lián)網(wǎng)研究所的報(bào)告中發(fā)表了他們的研究結(jié)果。該報(bào)告題為《外包平臺(tái)：《財(cái)富》500強(qiáng)公司怎樣使用在線自由職業(yè)平臺(tái)，萊頓維塔和科波拉爾在其中詳細(xì)探討了九家大公司的情況。

十多年以前上線的自由職業(yè)平臺(tái)Upwork（當(dāng)時(shí)用的是另一個(gè)名字）也注意到了這種趨勢(shì)。該公司CEO斯特芳·卡斯雷爾說(shuō)：“直到幾年前，我們看到的大多數(shù)公司還都非常小，員工數(shù)量也許只有100人。”現(xiàn)在，這個(gè)平臺(tái)上的大公司對(duì)自由職業(yè)者的需求是如此之大，以至于Upwork計(jì)劃將“企業(yè)團(tuán)隊(duì)”的規(guī)模擴(kuò)大一倍，以滿足大公司的需要（Upwork目前和20%的《財(cái)富》500強(qiáng)公司建立了合作關(guān)系）。

依靠一批外部自由職業(yè)者看似和現(xiàn)代企業(yè)的需求以及價(jià)值相悖，因?yàn)槿藗兂Ｕf(shuō)人才和留住人才是現(xiàn)代企業(yè)的根本。同時(shí)，它們還得保護(hù)知識(shí)產(chǎn)權(quán)并保持自己的文化（文化本該吃定公司策略才對(duì)）。

萊頓維塔認(rèn)為這些價(jià)值觀正在發(fā)生改變。大公司已經(jīng)開始青睞更“開放的邊界”，并把自由職業(yè)者視為新想法的源泉和更廣闊世界（更確切地說(shuō)，它們所在的整個(gè)行業(yè)）的“知識(shí)傳遞者”。萊頓維塔說(shuō)：“企業(yè)變得更加開放，目的是推動(dòng)知識(shí)的創(chuàng)造?！彼€指出，在使用這些平臺(tái)方面最有心得的公司已經(jīng)為自己匯聚了一批很有價(jià)值的專家，在需要時(shí)就可以去找他們。

企業(yè)還希望找到更靈活的低成本招聘途徑，自由職業(yè)平臺(tái)則讓它們?nèi)缭敢詢敗＿@正是三星臨時(shí)人才部門負(fù)責(zé)人凱思琳·尼爾森去年初找上Upwork的原因。尼爾森說(shuō)，當(dāng)時(shí)三星的主服務(wù)提供商出現(xiàn)了產(chǎn)能缺口，安排人員的過(guò)程往往又很耗費(fèi)時(shí)間，特別是在三星需要找人來(lái)完成緊急項(xiàng)目的時(shí)候。雖然在Upwork上進(jìn)行的嘗試最初受到了內(nèi)部質(zhì)疑，但參與本次“試點(diǎn)”的三星業(yè)務(wù)團(tuán)隊(duì)對(duì)結(jié)果感到滿意。這家電子巨擘還省了一筆錢——尼爾森說(shuō)，Upwork為三星節(jié)省了60%的成本，并將走行政程序的時(shí)間縮短了64%。另外，人員入職速度是傳統(tǒng)方法的七倍（Upwork為企業(yè)客戶承擔(dān)了很大一部分管理工作，包括發(fā)工資和簽署保密協(xié)議）。目前三星正在讓自由職業(yè)平臺(tái)發(fā)揮更多作用。尼爾森說(shuō)：“我確實(shí)相信這就是未來(lái)?！彼J(rèn)為在線人才模式適合年輕工作者的品味和預(yù)期。像三星這樣公開表示接納在線人才的公司寥寥無(wú)幾——在牛津大學(xué)的這次研究中，三星是唯一披露自己身份的大公司。

自由職業(yè)崗位通常不享受正式員工的福利，也不像后者那樣得到其他保護(hù)，這種崗位不斷增多一直是近年來(lái)許多論述的主題。CEO卡斯雷爾說(shuō)，Upwork等平臺(tái)對(duì)自由職業(yè)者和企業(yè)招聘團(tuán)隊(duì)?wèi)?yīng)該都有幫助。

萊頓維塔指出，雖然使用自由職業(yè)平臺(tái)可能顛覆組織勞動(dòng)者的方式，但這種情況尚未出現(xiàn)。而且即使出現(xiàn)這種局面，也需要建立一個(gè)全新的生態(tài)系統(tǒng)來(lái)支持這些獨(dú)立就業(yè)者。對(duì)公司來(lái)說(shuō)，這里存在協(xié)調(diào)成本，也就是管理內(nèi)部員工以及和外部勞動(dòng)者互動(dòng)帶來(lái)的雙重挑戰(zhàn)。對(duì)個(gè)人來(lái)說(shuō)，這里存在風(fēng)險(xiǎn)，而且沒有多少支持，這樣的機(jī)制會(huì)產(chǎn)生贏家和輸家。萊頓維塔說(shuō)：“如果你是專業(yè)自由職業(yè)者，你就可以在世界上的任何地方工作，而且有靈活性，收入也很好。但如果沒有任何拿得出手的技能，而是因?yàn)閯e無(wú)他法才到這些平臺(tái)上來(lái)……那你就得接受培訓(xùn)?！?/p>

他指出，這樣一個(gè)系統(tǒng)或許可以消除勞動(dòng)力市場(chǎng)中的一些不公平現(xiàn)象，比如給某些精英學(xué)校的學(xué)位賦予的溢價(jià)，但也會(huì)帶來(lái)其他不公平問題，比如在某些平臺(tái)上完成項(xiàng)目較多的人得到的溢價(jià)。但大家還不用立即為此感到擔(dān)心。萊頓維塔認(rèn)為，目前大公司使用在線自由職業(yè)者并不是為了取代自己的核心員工，而是作為核心員工的補(bǔ)充，并且通常是為了特殊項(xiàng)目。他說(shuō)：“你需要內(nèi)部員工來(lái)承載公司文化。”也就是說(shuō)，朝九晚五還不會(huì)馬上過(guò)時(shí)。（財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)）

譯者：Charlie

The rise of the TaskRabbit, the Lyft driver, the Postmates delivery man are well-known and much discussed, but guess what? Gig workers are coming to some of the world’s largest corporations too. Increasingly Fortune 500 companies and global giants like Samsung are turning to online freelancing platforms like Upwork and PeoplePerHour to find designers, marketing staff, IT specialists and other knowledge workers.

“It’s surprising how far some of these very large enterprises are in adopting these platforms,” says Vili Lehdonvirta, an economic sociologist and associate professor at the University of Oxford, who is studying online freelancing platforms and their effects on the way workforces are organized. In the past 12 months, the total number of projects sourced using such platforms increased 26%. He says that while we typically think of start-ups and small businesses using such platforms, increasingly large firms are turning to them too. “That is something that could have real impact,” he says. Lehdonvirta and his colleague Gretta Corporaal on Tuesday published research on the subject—they looked closely at 9 large companies—in a report by the Oxford Internet Institute, “Platform Sourcing: How Fortune 500 Firms Are Adopting Online Freelancing Platforms.”

Upwork, the online freelancing platform that launched (under a different name) more than a decade ago, has noticed this trend as well. “Until a couple years ago, we mostly saw very small companies, with maybe as few as 100 employees ” says CEO Stephane Kasriel. Now, there’s so much demand from large firms for freelancers on its platform that Upwork is planning to double the size of the “enterprise team” that caters to them. (Upwork currently works with 20% of Fortune 500 companies.)

Leaning on a crew of outside freelancers may seem antithetical to the needs and values of the modern corporation, for which talent—and retaining it—is often said to be everything. There’s also intellectual property to protect and culture (which is supposed to be eating strategy for breakfast) to maintain.

Lehdonvirta says these values are shifting; large firms have begun to appreciate more “permeable borders” and to see freelance workers as a source of fresh ideas and “knowledge transfer” from the wider world (better yet, their broader industry). “Enterprises have become more open to facilitate knowledge creation,” he says, adding that the savviest of platform-using firms build a bench of these highly valued experts that they can call upon as needed.

Corporations are also looking for more flexible and low-cost ways to hire, which freelancing platforms make possible. This is what led Cathleen Nilson, head of On Demand Talent at Samsung to turn to Upwork early last year. The company’s master service provider had capability gaps—particularly when it came to staffing quick-turnaround projects—and a lengthy engagement process in general, says Nilson. Though the Upwork experiment was initially met with internal skepticism, the business teams involved in the piloting of the platform at Samsung were pleased with the results. The electronics giant also saved money—using the platform achieved 60% cost savings and reduced administrative time by 64%, says Nilson. The onboarding process was also seven times faster than with traditional models, she adds. (Upwork handles much of the administrative burden for its enterprise customers, from payrolling to handling non-disclosure agreements.) Samsung is now expanding its use of freelancing platforms. “I really believe this is the future,” says Nilson, who notes the online talent model fits the tastes and expectations of younger workers. Few companies are as open about embracing online talent as Samsung; it was the only large corporation involved in the Oxford study to reveal itself.

The rising number of freelance positions, which typically lack benefits and other protections that come with being a full-time employee, has been the subject of much handwringing in recent years. Kasriel says platforms like Upwork should benefit both the freelancers and the corporations hiring them.

Lehdonvirta says that while the use of freelancing platforms could disrupt the way workforces are organized, that hasn’t happened yet—and a whole new ecosystem will have to develop to support an independent workforce if it does. For corporations, there are coordination costs—the challenges that come with managing both an internal workforce and interfacing with an external one. And for workers, there is risk and not a lot of support—a system that produces winners and losers. “If you’re a skilled freelancer, you can work anywhere in the world with flexibility and good earnings, but if you don’t possess any marketable skills and you’re driven to platforms out of desperation...you'll have to upskill” says Lehdonvirta.

He notes that such a system may mitigate some inequalities in the labor market—the premium placed on degrees from certain elite institutions, for example—while creating others, like the premium placed on those who have performed more tasks on certain platform. But you don’t need to fret about that just yet. Lehdonvirta says large enterprises are at this point using online freelancers not to replace their core workforces, but to complement them, usually for special project work, he says. “You need the in-house employees to carry the culture,” Lehdonvirta says. That means the 9-5 isn’t obsolete just yet.