The precariousness of work on digital platforms: Narratives of wear and tear and discouragement among drivers and couriers

Abstract

The digital economy, which began in the 1980s and has been strengthened since the global crisis in 2008, has transformed the world of work through information and communication technologies. In this scenario, app-based work appears as a survival alternative for 61% of the world’s informal workers under the fallacy of entrepreneurship for all. This research aimed to analyze the new morphology of work based on in-depth interviews with app drivers and couriers. It used a questionnaire developed from the theoretical framework that problematizes the precariousness of work. The obtained data were analyzed using discourse analysis. The data was analyzed using discourse analysis methodology, resulting in the thematic matrix ‘Precarization of work on platforms’, broken down into five axes of analysis: wear and suffering, gender, management model, defense and resistance strategies, and the future of work. The evidence reveals experiences of domination, suffering, and exhaustion and points to a disheartening future, with the possibility of uberization for the entire working class, which requires work alternatives based on a decent work agenda. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some interviews took place before and others during the pandemic, with a significant and antagonistic impact on the group of interviewees.