TempHow American Work, American Business, and the American Dream Became TemporaryBy Louis HymanViking. 400 pp. $28
What happened to the steady job? Gig-economy start-ups like to imply that it has outlived its usefulness. Americans are supposed to have rejected it, leaving behind the ornery supervisors, fixed schedules, and rigid corporate culture that come with dependable employment. Whether they are freelance writers or cab drivers, engineering contractors or couriers or cleaners, these workers, we are told, want to choose their own hours and assignments—to be their own bosses—and the rise of mobile technology has at last made that possible.
Of course, all this independence comes with more than a few drawbacks. Unlike fulltime employees, temps don’t have paid sick days or vacation days, and their positions are, by their nature, short-term,…