Unstable and insecure: Being an academic is a tough gig

Young workers in higher education face less job security and more monitoring of their work.

Note:  Names of people in this article have been changed to protect their identity.

Tomo and Mulan are junior and mid-career lecturers at state universities in Java and east Indonesia. Each day they scan their fingerprints to sign into work, where their academic performance is constantly monitored and they are expected to do extra work for no pay.

While they are contracted employees, these elements of the casual ‘gig economy’ have become increasingly common for younger higher education employees in Indonesia, whose job performance is increasingly overseen by various online apps.