Title
Why, and so what? The work motivations of rideshare gig workers
Publisher
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
Place of Publication
Chattanooga (Tenn.)
Abstract
The growth of digital gigs – such as driving for apps like Uber, and completing brief tasks on websites like MTurk – has challenged much of what organizational psychologists think we know about work. In particular, emerging reports consistently suggest that financial dependence – that is, doing this type of work out of financial need – can define the type of experiences that digital gig workers have. For example, financially dependent gig workers are especially likely to face time‐, location, and customer-based constraints on their work, while workers who are less financially dependent likely experience more true autonomy via gigs. After briefly introducing the gig economy (What is it? How big is it? And, why should we care what the IRS has to say?), I will highlight key, recent findings on work motivations among rideshare drivers. I will also discuss the implications of employment status for designing meaningful interventions and tools for gig workers. This talk will provide a basis for us to consider how we can ensure our science and practice remain relevant as work continually changes.
Date
October 2022
Subject
Industrial and organizational psychology
Document Type
presentations
Language
English
Rights
http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
Why, and so what? The work motivations of rideshare gig workers
The growth of digital gigs – such as driving for apps like Uber, and completing brief tasks on websites like MTurk – has challenged much of what organizational psychologists think we know about work. In particular, emerging reports consistently suggest that financial dependence – that is, doing this type of work out of financial need – can define the type of experiences that digital gig workers have. For example, financially dependent gig workers are especially likely to face time‐, location, and customer-based constraints on their work, while workers who are less financially dependent likely experience more true autonomy via gigs. After briefly introducing the gig economy (What is it? How big is it? And, why should we care what the IRS has to say?), I will highlight key, recent findings on work motivations among rideshare drivers. I will also discuss the implications of employment status for designing meaningful interventions and tools for gig workers. This talk will provide a basis for us to consider how we can ensure our science and practice remain relevant as work continually changes.
Department
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Dept. of Psychology