Caring in the Gig Economy: A Relational Perspective of Decent Work

Maria Hameed Khan, Jannine Williams, Penny Williams and Robyn Mayes
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Maria Hameed Khan: Queensland University of Technology, Australia
Jannine Williams: Queensland University of Technology, Australia
Penny Williams: Queensland University of Technology, Australia
Robyn Mayes: Queensland University of Technology, Australia

Work, Employment & Society, 2024, vol. 38, issue 4, 1107-1127

Abstract: The rapidly expanding gig economy has been criticized for creating precarious and indecent working conditions. These critiques draw on decent work debates centred on employment classification, regulation and platform fairness, with less focus on the interactions between workers, platforms and clients, which are central to the experience of platform-mediated work. This article adopts a worker-centric relational perspective to explore decent work in the gig economy. Drawing on the experiences of workers in platform-mediated domestic care work, the insights from this study highlight the importance of social interactions and relationships, using an ethics of care lens, to elucidate how relational aspects shape workers’ experiences. The findings reveal platform workers centre mutuality of interests, responsiveness and reciprocity, attentiveness and solidarity to maintain a balance of care (care-for-self and care-for-others) when negotiating platform-mediated care work. This article contributes relationality as a key dimension of decent work currently overlooked in studies exploring gig work arrangements.

Keywords: care work; decent work; ethics of care; gig economy; gig work; platform-mediated work; relationality (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:woemps:v:38:y:2024:i:4:p:1107-1127

DOI: 10.1177/09500170231173586

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