The Life Fair
11 June 2016 - 7 January 2017
7. Work
Work is a click, a step or a kidney on offer. We quantify every effort and turn every action into cash. To be a better worker, you can train yourself to be an efficient sleeper, a heavy lifter and a hyper-performer. But work can also consume your family, your health and your life. You work for us, we work for you, we are all in the same business.
7.1 FAMILY BUSINESS
Become a temporary contractor
Lucas Maassen & Sons
Made at The Life Fair Lucas Maassen & Sons is a furniture company. Lucas Maassen employed his three sons Thijme (13), Julian (11) and Maris (11) to work for him. Due to Dutch child labour laws it is only possible for his sons to work for three hours a week, as a result production time is limited. In order to increase production the company is inviting visitors of The Life Fair to become temporary contractors. The resulting products are available for sale.
If you would like to become a temporary contractor, please follow the design instructions by Thijme, Julian and Maris. If your product is sold at The Life Fair, you will receive a portion of the profits made by Lucas Maassen & Sons.
7.2 ONLINE WORKER
Draw a sheep for 0.02 cents
Aaron Koblin
The Sheep Market TheSheepMarket.com is a collection of 10,000 sheep made by workers through Amazon's labour distribution mechanism, Mechanical Turk. Workers were paid $0.02USD to "draw a sheep facing to the left." These drawings were later offered for sale. Koblin's goal was to raise questions about the emergence of new labour systems in the information age.
7.3 LIFE SHARES
Become a shareholder in Mike Merrill's life
Mike Merrill
KmikeyM KmikeyM is a personal decision making engine modelled after a stock market. Via the engine, stock owners are asked to vote on significant choices in Mike Merrill's life. The more stocks one purchases, the more weight one's opinion has on Mike's personal and professional decisions.
Since 2008, shareholders have voted on issues ranging from whether or not Mike should enter into a relationship agreement, get a vasectomy, stop eating meat, or make various business acquisitions.
As there is no company behind KmikeyM, its fully-functional market simulation is essentially an experiment in decision-making. Borrowing language and concepts from the business world, it strives to make collective decision making accountable, easy to understand and well documented.
7.4 MODELLING AGENCY
Hire a child or register yours
Zaza Zaza features children in all shapes and colours; funny, tough, beautiful, enthusiastic, cute and very brave. The modelling agency offers fully tailored proposals from their database and by scouting models. Zaza also offers experienced child escorts to accompany the child and offer guidance during and in between shoots.
In some parts of the world, child modelling has become a serious business. Sire Jackson, three-year-old son of American rapper 50 Cent, has earned a $700,000 modelling contract with children's headphone company Kidz Safe.
7.5 ENERGY CONTROL
Shift the state of your mind
Thync Thync enables users to shift their mental states in minutes. The neurosignaling device is operated with an accompanying app to deliver Thync Vibes, which help users to achieve calm or increase their energy level. The wearable is designed for use at home, work, or while commuting.
Thync users have described the chemical-free effects to be similar to a "shot of an espresso" or a "glass of wine". The immediate effects can last from 30 minutes to an hour, with the carry-over impacts lasting several hours.
7.6 EGG FREEZING
Work now and have kids later
IRMS Reproductive Medicine Facebook and Apple were the first major employers to offer egg freezing coverage for non-medical reasons.
Known as oocyte cryopreservation, egg freezing is a process by which a woman extracts and stores her eggs so that they can be reinserted into her uterus at a later date, allowing her to have children at a time when she might otherwise be infertile.
Egg freezing enables women to continue working during the period in which they approach declining fertility, which coincides with prime work years for women hoping to advance their careers.
7.7 WORKPLACE WELLNESS
Rewarding healthy behaviour
BP
BP Wellness Program Employees of the oil company BP can earn points for their healthy behaviour, such as preventative screenings, exams and wellness activities. Points can be redeemed in the form of a gift card from over 300 merchants including health and wellness, clothing, department and sporting goods stores, as well as iTunes, restaurants and travel.
Participating employees' activities, exercise, food, weight and sleep are tracked using a Fitbit device, which is provided free of charge by BP. Fitbit provides software that makes it easier to log the activity of workers, down to specific individuals if a company wants.
Corporate wellness programs are intended to keep employees happy, healthy and engaged. They are deemed to benefit the corporation by increasing employee health and productivity, boosting acquisition and retention, and reducing health-care costs.
7.8 STEP MARKET
Generate money by walking
Wristband by Murata
Bitwalking Bitwalking is a digital currency. Each Walking dollar (W$) is earned by walking approximately 10,000 steps, or 8 km. Each W$ will be equivalent to 1$ in the Bitwalking online store, where users will be able to spend the currency.
The global scheme plans to partner with sportswear brands, health services, health insurance firms, environmental groups, and potentially advertisers who could be offered unique insights into the audiences they are targeting.
In developed nations the average person would earn around 15 W$ a month, but it is hoped that in poorer countries where people have to walk further for work, school, or simply to collect water, the Bitwalking scheme could help transform lives.
7.9 DOMESTIC WORKERS
Support the rights of undocumented workers
The Dutch Union of Domestic Workers There are an estimated 150,000 domestic workers in The Netherlands, half of them undocumented. Hundreds of thousands Dutch families entrust them with their house keys and their children.
While The Netherlands can not go on without domestic workers, the country is hopelessly behind in how it treats them. Countries like Belgium, United Kingdom, Sweden, Switzerland, Italy and Spain recognise domestic work as fulfilling and respectful work. They have regulated the market and have given domestic workers better working conditions.
The Dutch Union of Domestic Workers - part of the Dutch Federation of Trade Unions (FNV) - is a platform which the workers use to voice their demands: respect for their work, recognition of their work, and a working permit. Their main campaign is '100,000 families trust us' - a campaign for the ratification of ILO Convention 189, and, against a bill to criminalise undocumented work.