Workers' Compensation: Reshaping Workers’ Compensation for the Sharing Economy

The most dramatic factor reshaping the future of workers’ compensation is the emergence of the sharing economy. Quietly over the decades, “work” has been dramatically influenced by the Millennial Generation. As the sharing generation reinvents the economy, the element of “trust” will have the most significant impact on the direction of social legislative programs, such as workers’ compensation.

The economy, because of technological advancements, climate change, and alterations to the educational system, has become based on sharing. In transportation, new entities such as Uber, Ola, and Lyft have emerged. In goods, organizations such as eBay, Trade, and Easy have been born. In space, Airbnb, HomeAway, and rework have established themselves. In the service market, there are now freelancer.com and TaskRabbit. Chegg has a foothold in learning, and in logistics, there is Instantcart.

These new entities were established by the Millennial Generation. The generation born between the early 1980s and the early 2000s. Millennials are detached from institutions and networked through friendships. They have high levels of student loan debt and unemployment. They have benefited least from any economic recovery in US history. They are upbeat, and 75% consider wealth to be important. The Millennial Generation is withdrawn from politics and world news, and they have a “Peter Pan trait” of being slow to grow up.

The Millennials have an overwhelming belief in “trust.” It is that “trust” that has accelerated the rise of the new sharing economy. Present-day politicians, administrators, and bureaucrats are being challenged to the very core of existence by the reformulated sharing economy. The very existence of social insurance programs such as workers’ compensation is being challenged to the point of extinction.

The social media networks reflect trust in the sharing of data. That is the basis of Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Google+. Author Malcolm Gladwell recently said, “I think millennials are very trusting.”

The unfolding future of the sharing economy will not be eliminated by mere statutory authority. We are in the midst of a generational change, advanced by the Millennials and fueled by technology, climate change, and challenging educational adjustments. The future of reformulating social insurance programs, such as workers’ compensation, will require recognizing the importance of trust in the sharing economy.