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Numerous digital labour platforms have emerged across various Latin American countries, connecting users with domestic services and care for children, the elderly, and dependents. Despite this growth, regulatory debates have largely ignored the digitalization of this sector, and there is a lack of research documenting the impact of these new technologies in the region. The purpose of this article is to enhance the existing body of knowledge on the platform economy in Latin America and the Caribbean with two main objectives: firstly, to provide an initial mapping of the platforms operating in the domestic and home care services; and secondly, to analyze the potential role these digital platforms can play in formalizing the labor market for workers in these sectors

Purpose: The aim of this article is to investigate perceptions of the income earned by couriers and drivers operating through digital labor platforms (DLPs), as well as to assess the future prospects for the development of this segment of the labor market. Design/methodology/approach: A critical review of literature and a diagnostic survey method. Findings: The digital platform segment exhibits features of a secondary labor market while Polish society largely remains unaware of this fact and uninterested in paying higher fees for courier and driver services. Growth of this segment is anticipated. Research limitations/implications: The typical imperfections of direct research. Moreover, conducting the internet-based survey narrows the sample of respondents to digitally included people only. Future research could investigate perspectives on the circumstances of online platform workers. This approach, however, is contingent on the development of platform work and the recognition of this phenomenon. Social implications: Providing an insight into the general working practices of couriers and drivers providing services via the app. Originality/value: The topic is relatively new, especially in the Polish public's awareness. The article as the first publication brings a presentation of Poles’ opinions on platform work with focus on couriers and drivers incomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerous digital labour platforms have emerged across various Latin American countries, connecting users with domestic services and care for children, the elderly, and dependents. Despite this growth, regulatory debates have largely ignored the digitalization of this sector, and there is a lack of research documenting the impact of these new technologies in the region. The purpose of this article is to enhance the existing body of knowledge on the platform economy in Latin America and the Caribbean with two main objectives: firstly, to provide an initial mapping of the platforms operating in the domestic and home care services; and secondly, to analyze the potential role these digital platforms can play in formalizing the labor market for workers in these sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article analyses the effects of digital labour platforms in a context characterised by high informality, exploring the way platforms may or may not imply a disruption in this respect. To do so, it examines the labour transitions that lead to platform labour, taking into account the formal status of workers before and after joining platforms, as well as their evaluation of resulting labour conditions. The article relies on a quantitative survey and in depth interviews for three on‐demand occupations in the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area, ride‐hailing, home repairs and domestic service. Results show that a platform's influence on the formal status of workers (and their assessment of it) is highly contingent upon: the platform's business model, including the legal status that may be used to integrate the workforce, the pre‐existing formal/informal dynamics within the occupation and the general labour market situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The article examines the business model of digital labour platforms (DLPs) and the relative financial attractiveness of this form of work for platform workers. Research Design & Methods: The leading research methods used in the article include a critical analysis of the scientific achievements of Polish and international literature on the topic and a diagnostic survey using a questionnaire. Findings: The business model of digital labour platforms inherently exerts downward pressure on earnings, favouring low worker income. This pattern affects the pricing of both online and offline services. However, survey results indicate that most service providers in Poland have experienced an income increase since starting work through these online platforms, compared to their previous earnings Implications/Recommendations: The business model of digital labour platforms theoretically incorporates elements that force down the incomes of service providers. However, the delivery of services within this framework can, depending on the national context, potentially lead to an increase in platform workers' earnings. That being said, the relative income growth observed in the Polish labour market does not necessarily contradict the overarching trend of relatively low earnings for the workers in this sector. Contribution: The topic of platform work and the income of individuals engaged with DLPs in Poland have received limited attention from researchers. There has been also a notable absence of studies addressing these phenomena, particularly with regard to changes in income. The contribution of the present study is that it fills this gap in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The article aims to identify the relationships between artificial intelligence and digital labour platforms and how these relationships are potentially significant for human labour in the light of the labour reinstatement effect. Design/methodology/approach: The theoretical part drew on the reinstatement effect hypothesis, while the empirical part used Online Labour Observatory data. The analysis concerned the changes that occurred in the

This article explores the relationship between migration and the gig economy, specifically focusing on the experiences of migrant workers in urban gig work. The authors argue that while gig economy platforms can offer opportunities for migrants to improve their livelihoods, they often lead to poor working conditions. The article emphasizes the complex factors that shape migrant gig work, including institutional barriers, personal and professional trajectories, and labor market governance. The authors call for a more comprehensive understanding of the role of migration in the gig economy in order to improve the conditions for this diverse workforce. The text also examines the role of platform companies in defining and prioritizing the work of migrant workers, as well as the behaviors and networks that migrant workers engage in to maintain their distinct status. It explores the experiences and agency of individual migrant workers in platform work, as well as the challenges they face in terms of career pathways and workplace identity. The article concludes by discussing the future of the gig economy and the need for regulatory interventions to enhance the working conditions of migrant gig workers. [Extracted from the article]

In the wake of the platform economy's transformative influence on translation work, this study aims to address a critical concern: the alignment of translation workers' labour conditions with the principles of decent work. Through a quantitative analysis of a subset of questionnaire data collected from translators in Turkey engaging with various digital labour platforms, the findings suggest substantial disparities in meeting the six fundamental conditions of decent work, as defined by the International Labour Organization (ILO). These include insufficient earnings, excessive and asocial working hours, difficulties in achieving work-life balance, absence of a safe and healthy work environment, limited social security access, and a deficiency in social dialogue, representation, and workplace democracy. The identified issues align with the findings of prior studies, which warn that the techno-political developments in the translation industry, coupled with the dominance of capitalist business structures, may introduce new challenges and constraints to translation work and its workers, ultimately leading to exploitative and unsustainable working conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This qualitative study explores the conceptualisation of justice in the context of platform work, focusing on the dimensions of distributive, procedural, interpersonal, and informational justice. Drawing upon in-depth interviews with platform-based food delivery couriers in Taiwan, the study extends the organisational justice theory to platform work, showing how the dimensions of justice remain highly relevant in platform work, despite its individualised work organisation and algorithm-mediated transactions. The study highlights the influence of legal categorisations on distributive justice perceptions, while uncovering how perceptions of procedural justice had been undermined in relation to task allocation, fee calculations, and the lack of voice and consultation. Furthermore, it underscores the significance of dignity, respect, transparency, and explainability in interpersonal and informational justice within the platform work context. The theoretical and empirical contributions provide insights for scholars, practitioners, and policymakers seeking to better understand and address justice concerns within the rapidly expanding platform work sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The article examines the business model of digital labour platforms (DLPs) and the relative financial attractiveness of this form of work for platform workers. Research Design & Methods: The leading research methods used in the article include a critical analysis of the scientific achievements of Polish and international literature on the topic and a diagnostic survey using a questionnaire. Findings: The business model of digital labour platforms inherently exerts downward pressure on earnings, favouring low worker income. This pattern affects the pricing of both online and offline services. However, survey results indicate that most service providers in Poland have experienced an income increase since starting work through these online platforms, compared to their previous earnings. Implications / Recommendations: The business model of digital labour platforms theoretically incorporates elements that force down the incomes of service providers. However, the delivery of services within this framework can, depending on the national context, potentially lead to an increase in platform workers’ earnings. That being said, the relative income growth observed in the Polish labour market does not necessarily contradict the overarching trend of relatively low earnings for the workers in this sector. Contribution: The topic of platform work and the income of individuals engaged with DLPs in Poland have received limited attention from researchers. There has been also a notable absence of studies addressing these phenomena, particularly with regard to changes in income. The contribution of the present study is that it fills this gap in the literature.

Women around the world experience much higher levels of fear of crime, profoundly impacting their perceptions of safety and influencing their interactions with public spaces. This fear prompts women to alter their behaviour, such as avoiding specific urban areas and public transport, especially after dark. While many amend their habits and limit their exposure to public spaces due to the fear of crime, what happens to those women for whom the urban space is also their workplace and whose work occurs solely in public spaces? This article focuses on women whose work demands engagement with public spaces, exploring the experiences of women drivers in male-dominated sectors such as taxi and platform-based (Uber and Cabify) services in the city of Malaga, Spain. Drawing on 35 semi-structured interviews, the article explores their experiences as mobile workers navigating urban spaces and their dual role in the dynamics of violence: as the receiver of violence and sexual harassment from clients and colleagues, and simultaneously acting as protectors for their women clients, ensuring their safety in public spaces. Rather than understanding women as passive victims, the article explores how women deploy a sense of agency in creating strategies that help them navigate these challenges. While some responses involve self-censorship to mitigate potential dangers, others defy gender by not conforming to the cultural norms of traditional femininity. Through these processes, women survive, challenge, and resist violence, and move from the sense that 'this city is not for me' to developing a higher sense of power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on interviews with 49 visual artists, graphic designers and illustrators working on two leading global digital labour platforms, this article examines how creative workers perform relational work as a means of attenuating labour commodification, precarity, and algorithmic normativity. The article argues that creative work on online labour platforms, rather than being entirely controlled by depersonalised, anonymised and algorithm-driven labour market forces, is also infused in relational infrastructures whose upkeep, solidity and durability depends on the emotional efforts undertaken by workers to match economic transactions and their media of exchange to meaningful client relations. By applying a relational work perspective from economic sociology to the study of platform-mediated gig work, the article elucidates the micro-foundations of creative work in the digital gig economy, including how labour inequalities are produced and reproduced within and around micro-level interpersonal interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the increasing prominence of digital labour platforms in the labour markets of Southeast Europe, and compares the supply of online labour from nine selected countries: Serbia, Romania, Hungary, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, North Macedonia, and Bulgaria. Digital labour platforms, as an innovative business model, play an important role in today's labour markets by linking the demand and supply of digital work. Southeast Europe is no exception to this trend, and has become an important supplier of online labour. With the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, this and other new forms of employment further increased both globally and in Southeast Europe. Despite this trend, online labour often remains invisible and under the radar of national policymakers and regulators, as well as national statistical agencies, due to the globalised nature of online platforms. This paper aims to shed light on the development of online labour in the countries studied, based on publicly available data collected through Gigmetar, a web scraping tool designed to monitor trends on the number, gender, incomes, and occupations of online workers.1 The paper compares online labour from nine countries active on the most significant general digital labour platforms (Upwork, Freelancer, and Guru) from February 2022 to October 2022. The criteria for the comparison include occupations, 2 gender and income. The analysis is based on the data of approximately 80% of the total number of active digital workers on the platforms under investigation. The paper points out the similarities and differences in online labour between the countries of Southeast Europe. For example, the number of online workers increased in all the countries, with creative services and multimedia and software development comprising the most dominant occupations in each country. Moreover, men are more commonly represented in these digital markets than women. However, these generalities hide remarkable differences between the countries in terms of the number of online workers per capita, the comparative advantages of each country based on the composition of the online labour force in terms of professions, variations in the gender gap in income distribution, and the average hourly labour price demanded by workers. The results of our analysis may provide useful information to national policy makers as they work to address the challenges in the labour market brought by technological advancements. This information can also be used to develop policies in areas such as labour rights, education and training, and gender equality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Research Papers of the Wroclaw University of Economics / Prace Naukowe Uniwersytetu Ekonomicznego we Wroclawiu is the property of Uniwersytet Ekonomiczny we Wroclawiu and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The subject of the author’s analysis is the performance of work for digital platforms, which is currently developing very dynamically and is significantly ahead of legal regulation. The first legal regulation of work performed for digital platforms at the level of the European Union will be the upcoming directive on improving the working conditions of persons working through digital platforms. The author examines the draft of the aforementioned directive, especially its legal consequences for the legislation of the Slovak Republic. Since the work for digital platforms with algorithmic management often does not meet either the legal characteristics of “dependent work” or the legal characteristics of “independent work”, the author de lege ferenda proposes a legislative solution to the status issues of persons working for digital platforms also by means of a reassessment of the current normative definition of the term “dependent work” as well as the term “employee” which, according to the legal status de lege lata, is defined significantly narrower compared to the personal scope of the proposed directive. In this way, it would be realistically possible to ensure the social protection of natural persons working for digital platforms in the near future.

In December 2021, the European Commission proposed a directive creating five criteria for the presumed classification of platform economy workers as salaried employees. The issue is timely, of course, as the digital organisation of work continues to grow rapidly. Our article contrasts the merits and limitations of this initiative to the Canadian experience concerning so-called independent contractors in the platform economy. In fact, Canadian labour law has long recognised a third status of workers—dependent contractors. It permits collective bargaining, while platform workers remain autonomous, notably for tax purposes. Immediately, the striking similarities between the European Union’s five criteria and judicial tests applied by Canadian labour tribunals seem to indicate that both entities are moving in the same direction. However, the federal structure of labour law in Canada and the single market’s social dimension also pose important challenges regarding the uniform implementation of new protections. Based on recent fieldwork in Toronto, and as the European Union directive moves into the approval and implementation stages, our article addresses the research question of how basic labour rights in the platform economy progress similarly (or differently), and which actors are driving the change on each side of the Atlantic. We argue that this policy field provides labour market actors with opportunities for “institutional experimentation” navigating the openings and limitations of federalism.

Digital labour platforms have become increasingly common for the trade of a range of digitally transferable services. To help participants mitigate the uncertainty that is inherent to trading on digital platforms, feedback mechanisms have become the main tool to gauge the 'performed' quality and reliability of platform participants. Based on an analysis of 750 written feedback texts, this article first examines which freelancer qualities (technical skills, generic skills or personal competences) matter most to clients and, therefore, are instrumental to the building of a freelancer's digital reputation on a platform and, second, how exactly these feedback texts help reduce uncertainty when trading via a platform. Herewith, this paper adds to a deeper understanding of the 'rules of the game' on digital labour platforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Marketing (0354-3471) is the property of SEMA - Srpsko udruzenje za Marketing i Ekonomski fakultet Beograd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In December 2021, the European Commission proposed a directive creating five criteria for the presumed classification of platform economy workers as salaried employees. The issue is timely, of course, as the digital organisation of work continues to grow rapidly. Our article contrasts the merits and limitations of this initiative to the Canadian experience concerning so‐called independent contractors in the platform economy. In fact, Canadian labour law has long recognised a third status of workers—dependent contractors. It permits collective bargaining, while platform workers remain autonomous, notably for tax purposes. Immediately, the striking similarities between the European Union’s five criteria and judicial tests applied by Canadian labour tribunals seem to indicate that both entities are moving in the same direction. However, the federal structure of labour law in Canada and the single market’s social dimension also pose important challenges regarding the uniform implementation of new protections. Based on recent fieldwork in Toronto, and as the European Union directive moves into the approval and implementation stages, our article addresses the research question of how basic labour rights in the platform economy progress similarly (or differently), and which actors are driving the change on each side of the Atlantic. We argue that this policy field provides labour market actors with opportunities for “institutional experimentation” navigating the openings and limitations of federalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Transfer: European Review of Labour & Research is the property of Sage Publications, Ltd. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The study aims to identify and describe the most relevant professional skill patterns among the digital platform workers from the selected Southeastern European (SEE) countries. Such orientation is based on the relatively modest presence of SEE countries in large pan-European studies, and on the lack of information regarding the applicability of existing online job taxonomies in observed countries. Applying a topic approach as a natural language processing technique, we analyzed the sets of self-reported skills provided by digital platform workers registered at the Upwork platform. Seven distinctive skill profiles were extracted, which only partly overlapped with the standard Oxford’s Online Labour Index of digital job taxonomy. Results are indicating clear distinctions between highly specialized and general job categories, and between creative and technical professions. Mapping of the skills and national affiliations reveal differences between EU and non-EU countries in the region regarding professional inclinations. Partly in line with the findings of previous studies, the results pave the way for future research on this topic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper deals with the current proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council regarding the improvement of working conditions when working through digital platforms. The presented text is focused in particular on the legal presumption of the existence of an employment relationship between a digital labour platform and a person who performs work through the platform if the digital labour platform controls certain elements of the performed platform work.

This article examines the impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on ride‐hailing drivers in Africa. It argues that, although ride‐hailing offers paid work to some African workers, the commodified and informalized nature of this work results in poor job quality, the effects of which were greatly amplified during the pandemic. Drawing on a mixed methods approach involving in‐depth interviews with ride‐hailing drivers in Nairobi and digital ethnography, it also provides accounts of drivers' hustles to demonstrate strategies of resilience, reworking and resistance among informal workers. The article concludes by highlighting the need for adequate regulatory frameworks and on‐the‐ground solidarity networks to ensure decent working conditions, and to push back against precarity in the gig economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the exercise of the rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining by platform workers. It focuses on several significant developments involving the collective organization of platform workers worldwide, and considers the rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining as human rights. It contends that the shifting context of work has led to changes in modern workplaces, which, in turn, have generated a novel interest in the adoption of a human rights‐based approach towards labour protection. This approach considers that all workers are entitled to rights, such as the right to collective bargaining, which derive from international human rights instruments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article traces the development of the online labour market in the Russian Federation and across the wider post‐Soviet space. The authors draw on the unique data of four waves of an online survey for 2009, 2011, 2014 and 2019 on the leading Russian‐speaking general‐purpose platform for creative and knowledge‐based work. The results shed light on key trends, such as spatial decentralization, occupational diversification, feminization, maturing, rising educational attainment and educational mismatch, the consolidation of freelance careers, platformization and legalization. The article discusses these findings and their potential policy implications for the future development of online platform work in the Russian Federation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The paper brings Foucauldian analysis of neoliberal governmentality in the discussion on the new forms of labour control within digital labour platforms. The aim of the paper is to reveal the effect of control mechanisms employed by platforms on "entrepreneurial self" within the context of work relations. Design/methodology/approach: Drawing on in-depth interviews, conducted with workers under different service categories, the author undertook an extended case study of Armut.com, a digital labour platform operating in Turkey. Findings: The study finds that competitive mechanisms employed by the platform have a considerable effect on worker self-commercialisation and self-rationalisation. This is dependent on different control mechanisms employed by the platform, based on different platform working models. Originality/value: The research brings the worker subjectivities to the discussion of control within the scope of digital labour platforms. By undertaking a rare empirical study on this issue, it contributes to the theory of entrepreneurial self within the scope of work relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this exploratory study, we investigate the effects of digital labour platforms (DLPs) on cleaning workers. The prevalence of informality in this sector leads us to suggest analysing workers’ experiences by combining the literature on DLPs with that on the informal economy. Through in-depth interviews with cleaners in Milan and Rome, as well as DLP representatives, the article highlights on one hand, how DLPs affect informal workers and their conditions, and, on the other hand, how workers represent their work and what meanings they associate with the terms formal and informal in the location-based platform economy. The study shows that DLPs seem to play a limited role in the formalisation of work, revealing new forms of hybridisation between formal and informal labour. The use of DLPs also results in increasingly confusing perceptions of what constitutes formal (or regular) and informal work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The expansion of digital labour platforms (DLPs) in South Asia has incorporated the pre-existing intersectional social inequalities, initiating new sites of exploitation and collective resistance which disrupt and negotiate the gendered labour's positions of vulnerabilities. This paper explores the case of a courageous strike by women workers of Urban Company (online beauty and home services platform) in New Delhi to hike their commission percentage amid the pandemic. We identify that the gendered labour's positions of vulnerabilities in DLPs are informed by the false promise of flexibility, algorithmic insecurity, lack of safety and security, and high dependence of workers on the platform. Against this backdrop, the women's resistance via informal unionism employed the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) and informal kin networks to co-ordinate and develop solidarities and launch protest actions, with the support of the traditional trade union. Their limited success is evidence of the associational power of informal unionism, along with the visibility of women harnessing public attention as 'sufferers of injustice'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Platform labour, especially when it comes to its flexible schedules, may represent a job insertion possibility and a source of income for many women. However, such opportunities are not exempted from gender bias. This article inspects how the expansion of the platform economy affects gender inequalities by focusing on two platform occupations: ride-hailing and delivery services. First, it investigates gender gaps in terms of working hours and earnings via linear regression as well as their determinants. Second, qualitative data further deepen the analysis of female riders' and drivers' experience in male-dominated territories, exploring how it is perceived and endured by workers. This paper is based on qualitative and quantitative data collected in the metropolitan area of Buenos Aires between 2019 and 2021. The analysis suggests that the gender-differentiated economic performance of riders and drivers is associated with demographic and on-the-job characteristics, implying restrictions for women workers in terms of how long, where, and when they can work. Algorithmic management further reinforces these initial female disadvantages, through tools such as scoring systems, dynamic pricing, and selective work allocation. The article concludes by providing some insights into a gender-transformative approach to the future regulation of these activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper applies insights from global value chains (GVC)/global production networks (GPN) frameworks to explore the economic geographies brought into being by digital labour platforms. In particular, these perspectives facilitate analyses of power imbalances and value extraction across territories—an under‐theorized aspect within platform studies. We theorize this dynamic by introducing the descriptor 'digital value network' (DVN): a digitally mediated nexus of platform operations that produce and distribute value between territories, on the basis of labour transactions. Empirically, we draw on a multi‐year action research project, assessing the operations of platforms and the experiences of platform workers in 54 countries. Our analysis highlights that platforms as lead firms extend GVC/GPN logics of coordination and drivenness in DVN to (i) optimize production capabilities while externalizing ownership and costs, (ii) accumulate both monetary and non‐monetary forms of value, and (iii) concentrate power at the global scale in both existing and new sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While digital labour platforms are booming, their ability to constitute a sustainable alternative to the managerial firm and to salaried work is questionable. To date, this debate has been approached mainly from legal or political angles, and the organizational sustainability of such platforms remains underexplored. We respond to calls to study more specifically the cognitive capabilities of platforms by mobilizing knowledge-based theories of the firm. We contribute to the literature in three ways: (1) we introduce the concept of ‘cognitive sustainability’, which we define as the capacity to ensure the integration, conservation and creation of knowledge; (2) we develop a set of propositions aimed at identifying the activities that platforms are most likely to carry out in a cognitively sustainable way; (3) we argue for the possibility of an increased hybridization of digital labour platforms to perform complex activities. Mobilizing knowledge-based theories of the firm to explore new objects such as platforms and taking such hybridization processes into account adds to this body of literature by extending its application domain and taking a more dynamic perspective.

The first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, which peaked in 2020, and the unprecedented demand for home delivery services have led to the growth of platform work in many countries all over the world. The article analyses the situation of platform workers in the Lithuania’s labour market in the context of other EU countries. The paper presents the findings of a survey of platform workers carried out to define the social-economic picture of platform workers and identify their attitudes towards platform work in Lithuania. The survey has shown that the labour market situation of platform workers in Lithuania follows trends similar to other European countries in terms of socio-demographic characteristics, preferences and challenges. Slightly more significant differences between EU countries and Lithuania can be observed when analysing platform workers’ working time and earnings.

Although studies on digital labour platforms show how the internet has opened up access to income opportunities in the developing world, they have not explored how informal workers use the internet to access work without an intermediary. Using data from digital ethnography and interviews with workers in Indonesia, this article examines how platform‐based motorcycle taxi drivers and domestic workers accessed work through social media during the COVID‐19 pandemic when the platforms were not allowed to operate. Findings suggest that while social media offered workers increased opportunities, their success was largely dependent on their social networks and bounded by the algorithms designed by platform owners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital labour platforms have been widely promoted as a solution to the unemployment crisis sparked by the COVID‐19 pandemic. However, the pandemic has also highlighted the vulnerability of gig workers when cast as essential workers. This article examines the COVID‐19 policies of 191 platforms in 43 countries to understand how the crisis has shifted the conventions of the gig economy. Using a typology of "fair platform work", the authors identify areas of progress in worker protection but also significant shortfalls, including the entrenchment of precarious work as platforms leverage the opportunities arising from the crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores how the COVID‐19 pandemic has affected platform workers' work and life experiences in Poland and how they have responded. These workers have been exposed to substantial fluctuations in demand during the pandemic, magnifying the distortions existing in an unregulated asymmetrical employment relationship that diverges from the standard employment relationship. Findings illustrate how workers have attempted to reduce the disruptions underpinning this relationship by adopting different strategies, which resemble Hirschman's typology of exit, voice and loyalty. The authors explain workers' choice of strategy by different levels of access to resources and institutional capabilities, as well as by variations in workers' orientations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, which peaked in 2020, and the unprecedented demand for home delivery services have led to the growth of platform work in many countries all over the world. The article analyses the situation of platform workers in the Lithuania’s labour market in the context of other EU countries. The paper presents the findings of a survey of platform workers carried out to define the social-economic picture of platform workers and identify their attitudes towards platform work in Lithuania. The survey has shown that the labour market situation of platform workers in Lithuania follows trends similar to other European countries in terms of socio-demographic characteristics, preferences and challenges. Slightly more significant differences between EU countries and Lithuania can be observed when analysing platform workers’ working time and earnings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today’s artificial intelligence, largely based on data-intensive machine learning algorithms, relies heavily on the digital labour of invisibilized and precarized humans-in-the-loop who perform multiple functions of data preparation, verification of results, and even impersonation when algorithms fail. Using original quantitative and qualitative data, the present article shows that these workers are highly educated, engage significant (sometimes advanced) skills in their activity, and earnestly learn alongside machines. However, the loop is one in which human workers are at a disadvantage as they experience systematic misrecognition of the value of their competencies and of their contributions to technology, the economy, and ultimately society. This situation hinders negotiations with companies, shifts power away from workers, and challenges the traditional balancing role of the salary institution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Critical research into the gig economy frequently relies on using platform interfaces, platform mobile applications or websites, as intermediaries to contact and recruit participants. Yet, these methods are accompanied by significant ethical implications that are rarely considered. In this article, we look at the organisational features of platform interfaces for research and explore the ways in which, through their intensive knowledge about their users, they present additional challenges to researchers' abilities to (a) conduct independent research – for example by influencing the participant recruitment process and (b) establish and maintain respondent anonymity and researcher transparency. Our analysis is based on an international study of platform workers which investigates working conditions and fairness in the gig economy in both geographically tethered gig work and cloudwork. We argue that the ethical boundaries of doing research through platform interfaces are shaped not only by researchers, but also by the platforms whose interfaces researchers use. Establishing and protecting the anonymity of research participants provides an acute example of this, as platforms have the potential to scrutinise the activities of researchers on their interfaces, and capture information shared between researchers and participants. The question of anonymity arises also in the reverse order: when platforms share personal information on workers, at a level not required by researchers. After building our argument, we propose a set of suggestions for promoting ethical research in the study of gig economy platforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of Internet technology (IT) at the end of the 20th century and its integration into the business sector has led to the emergence of digital labour platforms that provoke a reorganization of work arrangements by matching the demand and supply of goods and services, known as the “gig economy”. The “gig economy” stands for economic activities or work arrangements related to the performance of very short-term tasks facilitated by digital platforms and can include freelance work, temporary work, work on-demand and contract work. Our paper focuses on the new, growing workforce of freelancers. Freelancers belong to the self-employed category of entrepreneurial activity who do not employ workers, who pay their own taxes, work on projects, work for several clients, and work remotely, usually from home. According to various sources and findings, they are also referred to as entrepreneurs, solopreneurs, digital micro-entrepreneurs, hybrids of employees and entrepreneurs, enablers of entrepreneurship, potential entrepreneurs, etc. The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between freelancers and entrepreneurs. The paper will use a literature-review approach to highlight the similarities and main differences between freelancers and entrepreneurs and to find an answer to the question whether freelancers can be considered entrepreneurs or not. In addition, the paper provides insights into freelance work and highlights the benefits and challenges that freelancers face in the labour market.

While digital labour platforms are booming, their ability to constitute a sustainable alternative to the managerial firm and to salaried work is questionable. To date, this debate has been approached mainly from legal or political angles, and the organizational sustainability of such platforms remains underexplored. We respond to calls to study more specifically the cognitive capabilities of platforms by mobilizing knowledge-based theories of the firm. We contribute to the literature in three ways: (1) we introduce the concept of 'cognitive sustainability', which we define as the capacity to ensure the integration, conservation and creation of knowledge; (2) we develop a set of propositions aimed at identifying the activities that platforms are most likely to carry out in a cognitively sustainable way; (3) we argue for the possibility of an increased hybridization of digital labour platforms to perform complex activities. Mobilizing knowledge-based theories of the firm to explore new objects such as platforms and taking such hybridization processes into account adds to this body of literature by extending its application domain and taking a more dynamic perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on high-skilled jobs performed through digital labour platforms (DLPs) in Europe. First, it discusses the main typologies developed in recent years to classify DLPs according to the level of skills required of workers. Second, it provides an overview of the available data and attempts to measure this growing phenomenon. Third, it focuses on the quality of high-skilled platform jobs in comparison to both low-to-medium-skilled platform jobs and offline jobs performed by the self-employed. The analysis identified several typical characteristics of platform work that have been overlooked by the debate on the quality of work, which has hitherto mainly been based on dependent employment and offline work. Finally, we conclude by discussing the main challenges that DLPs pose in terms of quality of work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Platform business models emerged with the growth of the Internet in the 1990s and are conceptualized as two- or multi-sided markets, as they facilitate exchange between service providers, clients (business) and workers. This article focuses on the impact of COVID-19 on digital labour platforms, such as freelance online web-based platforms and location-based platforms (transportation and delivery platforms), which have grown exponentially over the past decade. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed immediately some of the vulnerabilities that the workers in the platform economy were facing as they were declared as part of the 'emergency services', and this note explores their conditions during the pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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