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Work Precarity and Gig Literacies in Online Freelancing

Author

Listed:
  • Will Sutherland

    (University of Washington, USA)

  • Mohammad Hossein Jarrahi

    (The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA)

  • Michael Dunn

    (Skidmore College, USA)

  • Sarah Beth Nelson

    (University of Wisconsin–Whitewater, USA)

Abstract

Many workers have been drawn to the gig economy by the promise of flexible, autonomous work, but scholars have highlighted how independent working arrangements also come with the drawbacks of precarity. Digital platforms appear to provide an alternative to certain aspects of precarity by helping workers find work consistently and securely. However, these platforms also introduce their own demands and constraints. Drawing on 20 interviews with online freelancers, 19 interviews with corresponding clients and a first-hand walkthrough of the Upwork platform, we identify critical literacies (what we call gig literacies), which are emerging around online freelancing. We find that gig workers must adapt their skills and work strategies in order to leverage platforms creatively and productively, and as a component of their ‘personal holding environment’. This involves not only using the resources provided by the platform effectively, but also negotiating or working around its imposed structures and control mechanisms.

Suggested Citation

  • Will Sutherland & Mohammad Hossein Jarrahi & Michael Dunn & Sarah Beth Nelson, 2020. "Work Precarity and Gig Literacies in Online Freelancing," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 34(3), pages 457-475, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:woemps:v:34:y:2020:i:3:p:457-475
    DOI: 10.1177/0950017019886511
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Didier, Nicolas, 2024. "Turning fragments into a lens: Technological change, industrial revolutions, and labor," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    2. Valeria Pulignano & Karol Muszyński & Maite Tapia, 2024. "Variations of Freelancers’ “Effort-Bargain†Experiences in Platform Work: The Role of Skills," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 77(5), pages 742-769, October.
    3. Qi Zheng & Jing Zhan & Xinying Xu, 2024. "Platform Training and Learning by Doing and Gig Workers’ Incomes: Empirical Evidence From China’s Food Delivery Riders," SAGE Open, , vol. 14(3), pages 21582440241, September.
    4. Dominika Polkowska, 2021. "Unionisation and mobilisation within platform work: towards precarisation—a case of Uber drivers in Poland," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(1), pages 25-39, January.
    5. Behl, Abhishek & Jayawardena, Nirma & Ishizaka, Alessio & Gupta, Manish & Shankar, Amit, 2022. "Gamification and gigification: A multidimensional theoretical approach," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 1378-1393.
    6. Nancy Worth & E. Alkim Karaagac, 2022. "Accounting for Absences and Ambiguities in the Freelancing Labour Relation," Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, Royal Dutch Geographical Society KNAG, vol. 113(1), pages 96-108, February.
    7. Jing Wang & Quan Meng, 2024. "Unregulated Flexibility and the Multiplication of Labour: Work in the Chinese Platform Economy," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 12.
    8. Meredith Dedema & Howard Rosenbaum, 2024. "Socio‐technical issues in the platform‐mediated gig economy: A systematic literature review: An Annual Review of Information Science and Technology (ARIST) paper," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 75(3), pages 344-374, March.
    9. Thomas, Robert D. & Davis, John W. & Cuccaro, Paula M. & Gemeinhardt, Gretchen L., 2022. "Assessing associations between insecure income and US workers’ health: An IPUMS-MEPS analysis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 309(C).
    10. Christina Purcell & Paul Brook, 2022. "At Least I’m My Own Boss! Explaining Consent, Coercion and Resistance in Platform Work," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 36(3), pages 391-406, June.
    11. Netta Avnoon, 2021. "Data Scientists’ Identity Work: Omnivorous Symbolic Boundaries in Skills Acquisition," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 35(2), pages 332-349, April.
    12. Allyson Stokes, 2021. "Masters of None? How Cultural Workers Use Reframing to Achieve Legitimacy in Portfolio Careers," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 35(2), pages 350-368, April.
    13. Jie Ren & Viju Raghupathi & Wullianallur Raghupathi, 2023. "Exploring Influential Factors in Hiring Freelancers in Online Labor Platforms: An Empirical Study," Economies, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-18, March.
    14. Ana Alacovska & Eliane Bucher & Christian Fieseler, 2024. "A Relational Work Perspective on the Gig Economy: Doing Creative Work on Digital Labour Platforms," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 38(1), pages 161-179, February.
    15. Maria Hameed Khan & Jannine Williams & Penny Williams & Robyn Mayes, 2024. "Caring in the Gig Economy: A Relational Perspective of Decent Work," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 38(4), pages 1107-1127, August.
    16. Trang Thi Quynh Dinh & Janne Tienari, 2022. "Brothers and broken dreams: Men, masculinity, and emotions in platform capitalism," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(2), pages 609-625, March.

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