Platform Precarity: Surviving Algorithmic Insecurity in the Gig Economy

48 Pages Posted: 2 Mar 2021 Last revised: 9 Sep 2021

See all articles by Alex Wood

Alex Wood

Oxford Internet Institute; University of Oxford; University of Bristol

Vili Lehdonvirta

University of Oxford - Oxford Internet Institute

Date Written: March 31, 2021

Abstract

Digitalization and the use of algorithms have raised concerns regarding the future of work; the gig economy being identified by some as particularly concerning. Yet academic research is inconsistent as to whether this sector constitutes precarious work. We attempt to reconcile contrasting existing accounts by developing a new model for gig economy precarity. In doing so we draw on 81 interviews in addition to participant observations to highlight the role of platform reputation in shaping experiences of traditional socio-economic insecurity. We also demonstrate that gig economy platforms produce a novel form of insecurity, which we term, ‘algorithmic insecurity’. This relates to the vulnerability and fear that workers experience as a result of working in an unstable and opaque environment in which platforms use customer-generated ratings to score workers, and algorithms to amplify the consequences of those scores. We also detail how workers respond to this capricious environment through unpaid labor, digital communities, and individual resistance. The aim of this qualitative research is to generate a model that can be tested quantitatively, as a first step towards this aim we draw on European survey data to provide tentative support for the existence of algorithmic insecurity beyond our interview participants.

Keywords: Algorithms, gig economy, platform, precarious work, insecurity, resistance

Suggested Citation

Wood, Alex and Wood, Alex and Lehdonvirta, Vili, Platform Precarity: Surviving Algorithmic Insecurity in the Gig Economy (March 31, 2021). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3795375 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3795375

Alex Wood (Contact Author)

Oxford Internet Institute ( email )

1 St. Giles
University of Oxford
Oxford OX1 3PG Oxfordshire, Oxfordshire OX1 3JS
United Kingdom

University of Oxford

Mansfield Road
Oxford, Oxfordshire OX1 4AU
United Kingdom

University of Bristol ( email )

36 Tyndall's Park Road
Bristol, Avon BS8 1TB
United Kingdom

Vili Lehdonvirta

University of Oxford - Oxford Internet Institute ( email )

1 St. Giles
University of Oxford
Oxford, Oxfordshire OX1 3JS
United Kingdom

HOME PAGE: http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk

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