Platforms at Work: Automated Hiring Platforms and Other New Intermediaries in the Organization of Work

Ifeoma Ajunwa, Daniel Greene, "Platforms at Work: Automated Hiring Platforms and Other New Intermediaries in the Organization of Work" In Work and Labor in the Digital Age. Published online: 14 Jun 2019; 61-91. DOI: 0.1108/S0277-283320190000033005

32 Pages Posted: 15 Aug 2019 Last revised: 9 Jul 2019

See all articles by Ifeoma Ajunwa

Ifeoma Ajunwa

Emory University School of Law; Harvard University - Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society

Daniel Greene

UMD iSchool

Date Written: September 12, 2018

Abstract

This article lays out a research agenda in the sociology of work for a type of data and organizational intermediary: work platforms. As an example, we employ a case study of the adoption of Automated Hiring Platforms (AHPs) in which we distinguish between promises and existing practices. We draw on two main methods to do so: Critical discourse analysis (CDA) and affordance critique. We collected and examined a mix of trade, popular press, and corporate archives; 135 texts in total. Our analysis reveals that work platforms offer five core affordances to management: 1) structured data fields optimized for capture and portability within organizations; 2) increased legibility of activity qua data captured inside and outside the workplace; 3) information asymmetry between labor and management; 4) an ‘ecosystem’ design that supports the development of limited-use applications for specific domains; and 5) the standardization of managerial techniques between workplaces. These combine to create a managerial frame for workers as fungible human capital, available on demand and easily ported between job tasks and organizations. While outlining the origin of platform studies within media and communication studies, we demonstrate the specific tools the sociology of work brings to the study of platforms within the workplace. We conclude by suggesting avenues for future sociological research not only on hiring platforms, but also on other work platforms such as those supporting automated scheduling and customer relationship management.

Suggested Citation

Ajunwa, Ifeoma and Greene, Daniel, Platforms at Work: Automated Hiring Platforms and Other New Intermediaries in the Organization of Work (September 12, 2018). Ifeoma Ajunwa, Daniel Greene, "Platforms at Work: Automated Hiring Platforms and Other New Intermediaries in the Organization of Work" In Work and Labor in the Digital Age. Published online: 14 Jun 2019; 61-91. DOI: 0.1108/S0277-283320190000033005 , Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3248675

Ifeoma Ajunwa (Contact Author)

Emory University School of Law ( email )

1301 Clifton Road
Atlanta, GA 30322
United States

Harvard University - Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society ( email )

Harvard Law School
23 Everett, 2nd Floor
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

Daniel Greene

UMD iSchool ( email )

4th Floor, 4130 Campus Dr
College Park, MD 20742
United States

HOME PAGE: http://dmgreene.net

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