3FOOD

Third Industrial Revolution Consulting Group
Procedures will need to be put in place to track and record shared work and the exchange of
goods and services for the purposes of charging taxes, measuring social security contributions,
and providing accurate statistics for national accounting purposes. The Sharing Economy will
also require new codes and regulations to ensure product safety and protect consumer rights.
The migration of employment from the automated market economy to the Sharing Economy
and social economy is going to fundamentally change the nature of work. Government
agencies, universities, and think tanks will need to explore, analyze, and assess how the
changing nature of employment – flexible working hours, part time employment, and
augmented virtual reality work environments – will affect quality of life indicators, including
changes in conception of selfhood and identity, sociability, and cultural affiliations.
The digital Third Industrial Revolution not only impacts job opportunities and the working
environment in the mid to long term, but is already changing today’s working conditions. The
massive diffusion of digital tools changes the way work is being organized, structured and
executed. Digitalisation creates new possibilities such as remote working and virtual teams. The
other side of the coin is the acceleration of work, new command and control options, and the
risk of information and communication overload. In addition, digitalization brings on a spate of
new issues regarding changes in management and training. To benefit both employers and
employees, related work-life balance and legal issues will need to be tackled.
The advent of the Sharing Economy via online intermediation platforms also raises specific
questions regarding working conditions and social welfare by service providers who share
assets, resources, time and skills. Substantial new questions arise with the emergence of the
Sharing Economy. For example, are services providers – car share drivers and home sharing
providers – engaged by companies like Uber and Airbnb independent contractors or employees
of the companies whose platforms they use? The classification depends on the degree of
subordination or dependency between service provider and intermediation platform and is
crucial in terms of social insurance coverage, working hours, working place safety and the like.
The quality of the job (formal or informal) and the income generated are connected issues.
The emergence and maturation of the Sharing Economy alongside the conventional capitalist
market will require a rethinking of regulations, codes, and standards at the state level in
Luxembourg.
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