Equipping Frontline Workers as Knowledge Producers

• In Event: 41064 - Strategies for Broadening Knowledge and Engaging with Communities through the Use of Sociology

Abstract

No one is better qualified to study the future of work than the low-wage frontline workers who make up the majority of the labor force. However, most researchers and institutional leaders lack direct access and personal relationships with this population. Many workers, especially those in the growing gig and nonstandard work segment, are particularly adept at seeking out paid work, including compensated research opportunities, but also are likely to view these opportunities as part of a broader labor market rather than as avenues for knowledge generation or contributing to societal improvements.

How do organizations and researchers best and most authentically engage these workers? This discussion is based on an ongoing participatory research project, The Gig Worker Learning Project, conducted by The Workers Lab, a nonprofit labor organization dedicated to worker-centered innovation. This project has led to two reports identifying key challenges faced by gig and nonstandard workers, and their ideas for a better, more equitable future of work. More than 150 low-wage frontline workers were participant-researchers for these projects, and more than 90 percent of participants return for continued engagement. The resulting reports have shaped policymaking and public perception and are examples of effective public sociology.

Through this research, we have learned the importance of a significant trust and relationship building phase, how to meaningfully transfer power over the project to the participants, and enabling participants to act as peer recruiters for ongoing engagement. This discussion will highlight these best practices, and welcome discussion of other strategies on best equipping and empowering frontline workers as recognized experts on the future of work.

Author

• Shelly Steward, The Workers Lab