Publisher
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
Place of Publication
Chattanooga (Tenn.)
Abstract
Gig workers are susceptible to economic viability challenges, defined as the struggles faced by gig workers in maintaining financial stability, managing irregular income patterns, and securing consistent earnings (Ashford et al., 2018; Caza et al., 2022). There is limited literature examining the consequences of gig work viability challenges (Caza et al., 2021). The Conservation of Resources (COR) theory (Hobfoll, 1989) suggests that stress arises when resources such as finances and job security are threatened, lost, or fail to be gained (Hobfoll, 2011). Viability challenges represent a lack of these resources and the unpredictability of resource attainment. The ongoing pressure to manage these resources may increase burnout risk among gig workers. Burnout is described as a psychological condition characterized by physical and mental exhaustion of workers resulting from exposure to workplace stressors (Yang, 2023). In line with COR, we predict gig work viability challenges will be positively associated with burnout (H1). We further test underemployment as a moderator of this relationship. Underemployment refers to employment situations that underutilize an individual’s skills, qualifications, or working capacity (McKee-Ryan & Harvey, 2011). When gig workers perceive they are overqualified for the job, the frustration with their employment situation may exacerbate the burnout experienced from viability challenges. Thus, underemployment is expected to moderate the relationship such that the positive relationship will be stronger for gig workers experiencing higher levels of underemployment than those with lower levels of underemployment (H2). Participants were recruited through Amazon Mechanical Turk (N = 291). The cross-sectional survey measured gig work viability challenges (Caza et al., 2022), underemployment (Allan et al., 2017), burnout (Melamed et al., 1992), and control variables (age, gender, race, education). Using R Studio, we tested regression and moderation analysis. Both hypotheses were supported. For H1, viability challenges were positively associated with burnout (b = .42, p < .001). For H2, underemployment moderated this relationship (b = .13, p = .004). The interaction term was significant, therefore simple slopes were tested using +/- 1SD from the mean. The relationship was significantly stronger for gig workers experiencing higher levels of underemployment (b = .55, p < .001) than lower levels of underemployment (b = .29, p < .001). Our findings advance theory by demonstrating that even in gig work contexts where viability challenges may be inherent to the job, the unpredictability of resource attainment induces burnout - especially for underemployed gig workers. For practice, gig employers should be more transparent regarding earnings to reduce viability challenges and minimize burnout.
Date
11-9-2024
Subject
Industrial and organizational psychology
Document Type
posters
Language
English
Rights
http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/
Included in
Beyond the Gig: Exploring Economic Viability, Underemployment, and Burnout in Gig Workers
Gig workers are susceptible to economic viability challenges, defined as the struggles faced by gig workers in maintaining financial stability, managing irregular income patterns, and securing consistent earnings (Ashford et al., 2018; Caza et al., 2022). There is limited literature examining the consequences of gig work viability challenges (Caza et al., 2021). The Conservation of Resources (COR) theory (Hobfoll, 1989) suggests that stress arises when resources such as finances and job security are threatened, lost, or fail to be gained (Hobfoll, 2011). Viability challenges represent a lack of these resources and the unpredictability of resource attainment. The ongoing pressure to manage these resources may increase burnout risk among gig workers. Burnout is described as a psychological condition characterized by physical and mental exhaustion of workers resulting from exposure to workplace stressors (Yang, 2023). In line with COR, we predict gig work viability challenges will be positively associated with burnout (H1). We further test underemployment as a moderator of this relationship. Underemployment refers to employment situations that underutilize an individual’s skills, qualifications, or working capacity (McKee-Ryan & Harvey, 2011). When gig workers perceive they are overqualified for the job, the frustration with their employment situation may exacerbate the burnout experienced from viability challenges. Thus, underemployment is expected to moderate the relationship such that the positive relationship will be stronger for gig workers experiencing higher levels of underemployment than those with lower levels of underemployment (H2). Participants were recruited through Amazon Mechanical Turk (N = 291). The cross-sectional survey measured gig work viability challenges (Caza et al., 2022), underemployment (Allan et al., 2017), burnout (Melamed et al., 1992), and control variables (age, gender, race, education). Using R Studio, we tested regression and moderation analysis. Both hypotheses were supported. For H1, viability challenges were positively associated with burnout (b = .42, p < .001). For H2, underemployment moderated this relationship (b = .13, p = .004). The interaction term was significant, therefore simple slopes were tested using +/- 1SD from the mean. The relationship was significantly stronger for gig workers experiencing higher levels of underemployment (b = .55, p < .001) than lower levels of underemployment (b = .29, p < .001). Our findings advance theory by demonstrating that even in gig work contexts where viability challenges may be inherent to the job, the unpredictability of resource attainment induces burnout - especially for underemployed gig workers. For practice, gig employers should be more transparent regarding earnings to reduce viability challenges and minimize burnout.
Department
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Dept. of Psychology