Why You Are Doing 'Shadow Work' for Free and Don't Even Know It

‘Shadow Work’ includes all the unpaid tasks we do on behalf of businesses and organizations every day from pumping gas to bagging groceries, said Craig Lambert, author of 'Shadow Work.' Lambert adds that the self service economy has been fueled by technology and cost cutting. He said employees often don't realize how much time and effort goes into commuting and also points out that interns are being used to push down the cost of labor. While it is too early to tell how the expansion of shadow work has affected hiring and firing, Lambert said the trend is growing and could very well create structural unemployment in some sectors.