Digital Platforms

RESEARCH FOCUS

The development and spread of technology have had far-reaching impacts on the economy and are promising to revolutionise further how we work. One area where this has been most apparent is the rapid rise of the gig economy. The gig economy refers to a flexible, market-driven labour market where individuals offer their services in short-term, project-based work arrangements. Enabled by online platforms, apps, and smartphone penetration, this form of work has become increasingly common. While it initially affected sectors of the economy such as ride-hailing and delivery, it is increasingly penetrating other sectors of more white-collar jobs such as lawyers, designers, academia etc.

Consequently, the gig economy has received increasing attention from academics, policymakers, and the general public. Much of the early discourse around the gig economy has been positive, highlighting its potential to create flexible job opportunities and pathways for entrepreneurship. However, scholars have highlighted the potential adverse effects of the gig economy on working conditions and the larger labour market. The different form of organisation in the gig economy is the main contributor to these negative effects. In contrast to traditional employment, workers in the gig economy are not employed by the platforms but rather classified as partners or contractors and are not entitled to benefits and experience acute income and job insecurity. Additionally, platforms leverage algorithms and gamification, among others, to maintain control over the labour process without human managerial interactions.
The rapid growth of the gig economy worldwide and its increasing spread into other sectors of society indicate that it is a development that is likely to continue in the future. The gig economy can be understood as the focal point of two larger trends in the labour market that have been going on for decades. First, it is the pinnacle of flexibilisation of work allowing for the automatised adjustment of a company’s workforce to demand. The flexibilisation of work has been going on in other forms, such as subcontracting or putting out, for decades. It allows companies to shift the risk of adverse events to workers and thus maximise profits. Second, the gig economy represents the trend towards the increasing digitalisation of work. Throughout the economy, digital technology has been adopted to streamline production and work processes for maximum efficiency. In many cases, this has been to the detriment of workers who either have been laid off as their work has become irrelevant or whose work has become intensified, requiring a new skill set. The gig economy can provide insights into possible futures of work and ways towards more just and inclusive adoption of digital technology in the workplace.

At CDS, we focus on possible pathways to more sustainable, just and equitable use of digital technology. The gig economy is a crucial area of our research as we strive to understand better the impact of digital technology on the economy and ways to ensure its benefit for all. In a study of online interactions of gig economy riders, we have found that while digital technology can be used to suppress worker agency and potential for collective action, at the same time, it can enable the same. Another study that we carried out on offline interactions of gig riders in Bangkok reproduces this sentiment. While we found that the gig economy individualises and rationalises workers, they strive to create a sense of belonging and community by utilising digital technology.

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Gig Economy Riders on Social Media in Thailand: Contested Identities and Emergent Civil Society Organisations

Team Member: Dr Daniel McFarlane, Yannik Mieruch

The emergence of the gig economy has generated a new class of workers who are categorised as independent “partners” instead of employees with rights to labour protection. Civil society research has neglected to analyse such groups within the gig economy. Triggered by observations of a protest movement by platform-based delivery riders in Thailand, we engaged in seven months of digital ethnographic research of riders’ interactions online to understand the emergence of informal groups facilitating mutual aid and collective action. The study finds that social media is a site for developing and contesting identity narratives. We observed a “Hero” narrative that glorifies delivery riders' independent status and a “Worker” narrative that challenges riders' conditions. We argue that these collective identity narratives crucially facilitate or inhibit the emergence of labour-oriented civil society organisations, thus contributing to third-sector research that examines civil society in the Global South.<

This study focuses on several of CDS’s core research areas. First and foremost, it is concerned with the impacts of digital technology on society, in this case, the delivery sector of the economy. However, it also highlights the overlap between online and offline worlds by adopting digital ethnographic methods. Furthermore, it is deeply rooted in the emancipatory spirit of CDS, aiming to showcase pathways towards a more just and equitable use of digital technologies. In this spirit, the online communities of gig economy riders can show us that digital spaces are contested and can play a significant role in either furthering or hindering a sustainability agenda.

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11266-022-00547-7