The well-being of gig workers in the sharing economy during COVID-19. (Special Issue: The sharing economy in a post-pandemic world.)

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to deepen our understanding of the well-being of transient organizations/groups and to use this to develop a novel conceptual framework of gig worker well-being during times of crisis. Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative approach was adopted combining in-depth semi-structured interviews and daily diaries. Twenty-two workers working in the sharing economy were recruited. Thematic analysis was conducted for the diary and interview data. Findings: The findings illustrate a complex picture of sharing economy workers' four dimensions of well-being, including physical, subjective, psychological and social well-being. A number of the COVID-19 pandemic contexts, such as more time, restriction, economic recession and uncertainty, were seen to influence these workers' well-being in different ways including both positive and negative impacts. The precarious nature of gig work within the sharing economy was also found influential, which includes flexibility, uncertainty, temporality and diversity. Furthermore, the specific contexts of the hospitality, tourism and event industry (such as labor-intensive, low esteem, self-value and purpose in life) had also impacted gig workers physical and psychological well-being in various ways. Research limitations/implications: This study complements the gig workers' view of the sharing economy by investigating their well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, this study reveals the complex and various influences hospitality, tourism and events industry contexts made, amplified by the pandemic. Methodologically, the daily diary approach applied in this research has captured gig workers' instant feelings and thoughts, which enriches the current understanding of gig workers' well-being. Practical implications: From the findings and the newly developed conceptual framework, practical implications are proposed focusing on how the tourism, hospitality and event industries should look after their gig workers' well-being in the COVID-ized environment. From the physical well-being perspective, businesses should consider partnering with gym operators to provide corporate packages or discounted membership to their gig workers. From psychological well-being perspective, a recognition system integrating gig workers would be useful to strengthen gig workers' perception of value in their jobs. In addition, technology can be used to introduce more resources to their gig workers, particularly when distancing. Originality/value: A conceptual framework is developed, which captures the influence of both "internal" and "external" determinants of gig worker well-being during times of crisis. This research contributes to theory by developing a framework of well-being in the context of the sharing economy, as well as explicitly addressing how the uncertainty and precariousness of sharing economy work and the hospitality, tourism and event industry contexts relate to well-being. This model is likely to have applicability beyond COVID-19 as the pandemic made clear many existing challenges - rather than just simply creating new ones.

COVID-19 in Canada, Vaccination, and the Effects of the Pandemic on Healthcare Workers and the Healthcare System

This chapter examines types and rates of vaccination in Canada as well as the impacts the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the healthcare system and the impacts on healthcare workers, including a systematic review of news articles reporting on stress in healthcare workers. Vaccination in Canada began in December 2020, using predominantly the Pfizer-BioNTech Comirnaty vaccine, with more than 60% of the population fully vaccinated by the end of summer in August 2021. In response to the threat of treating COVID-19 patients, surgeries were canceled, decreasing by 50% during the first wave in March–June 2020 compared to March–June 2019. This has created a backlog of surgeries, diagnostic procedures, and other appointments that will need substantially more money or time to clear. A systematic review of news articles and examination of several surveys of health professionals revealed that being overworked and understaffed has likely led to increased stress and, for nurses, a desire to leave the profession. © TheEditor(s) (ifapplicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021, 2022.

QUEER CUARENTENA AND “MANDINGA TIMES”: Rita Indiana, Caribbean Artivism, and LGBTQ+ Social Media Spheres During COVID-19

In September 2020, the outlandishly talented Dominican novelist, musician, and performance artist Rita Indiana dropped her first musical album in a decade, Mandinga Times, at the height of the pandemic, offering an experimental blend of musical genres from her home island (Dominican and Haitian merengue, dembow, and gagá) with Caribbean-inspired bolero, post-punk, and metal. An outspoken voice for queer, anticolonial, and antiracist social critique in the space of the Caribbean, Indiana released Mandinga Times in tandem with a series of experimental social media performances that excavate elements of what the artist frames as “mandinga, " a multivalent, circum-Caribbean term she glosses as “the end times” or “the apocalyptic times” in which Caribbean peoples “are living.” Through the simultaneous creation of a persona named Mandinga, the acclaimed novelist and musician mobilizes the world-building potentiality of LGBTQ, diasporic, and transnational social media spheres to build a richly androgynous queer world dedicated to the contours of “Mandinga Times” under the specifically Caribbean experience of the cuarentena (COVID-19 quarantine). © 2022 selection and editorial matter, Paromita Pain;individual chapters, the contributors.