Hired

THE SHOCKING INSIDE STORY OF THE GIG ECONOMY, AS ENDORSED BY BERNIE SANDERS
 
A powerful and revelatory piece of journalism that exposes the exploitation at the heart of the low-wage economy.
 
We all define ourselves by our profession. But what if our job was demeaning, poorly paid, and tedious? Cracking open the gig economy, journalist James Bloodworth spends six months undercover working the most grueling low-wage jobs. He lives on the meagre proceeds and discovers the anxieties and hopes of those he encounters, including working-class men and women, young students striving to make ends meet, and Eastern European immigrants.
 
From a harrowing Amazon warehouse to Uber taxi-cabs, Bloodworth uncovers horrifying employment practices and shows how traditional working-class communities have been decimated by the move to soulless service jobs with no security, advancement or satisfaction. But this is more than an exposé of unscrupulous employers; this is a gripping examination of a divided society which needs to understand the true reality of how other people live and work, before it can heal.

"Outstanding."—ColdType Magazine

"James Bloodworth has done the hellish job of showing what it's like to scrounge a living off gruesome work conditions, callous paymasters, and no job security. He writes with humanity and keen moral insight. Although his setting is Britain, his subject is the post-industrial service economy and what it does to ordinary men and women. Orwell and Sinclair would be proud." -- Michael Weiss, CNN journalist and bestselling author of ISIS: Inside the Army of Terror
 

James Bloodworth is the former editor of Left Foot Forward, one of the most influential left-wing websites in the UK. He is a fortnightly columnist for the International Business Times and regularly contributes to the Independent, Guardian, New Statesman, and Wall Street Journal. He has 15,000 followers on Twitter.