Labour process theory and the gig economy

By Alessandro Gandini. Human Relations, 2018

731 citations recorded by the source corpus.

What are the distinctive traits that characterize work(ing) through (and for) a digital platform? In the burgeoning debate on the ‘gig economy’, a critical examination that comprehensively addresses this issue beyond specific examples or case studies is currently missing. This article uses labour process theory – an important Marxist approach in the study of relations of production in industrial capitalism – to address this gap. Supported by empirical illustrations from existing research, the article discusses the notions of ‘point of production’, emotional labour and control in the gig economy to argue that labour process theory offers a unique set of tools to expand our understanding of the way in which labour power comes to be transformed into a commodity in a context where the encounter between supply and demand of work is mediated by a digital platform, and where feedback, ranking and rating systems serve purposes of managerialization and monitoring of workers.

Subfields: General Health Professions, Public Administration, Sociology and Political Science

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/94301e4be25a278130cb628cb6936a895578a8af

How researchers see this paper

The researchers whose trusted networks rank it highest, strongest advocate first. Every researcher gets a different order.

In General Health Professions

1. Paul Glavin
2. Scott Schieman
3. A. Bierman
4. Emmanuel Josserand
5. Sarah Kaine
6. Deniz Yucel
7. Beth A. Latshaw

In Public Administration

1. Emmanuel Josserand
2. Sarah Kaine

In Sociology and Political Science

1. Scott Schieman
2. Paul Glavin
3. A. Bierman
4. Emmanuel Josserand
5. Sarah Kaine
6. M. Young
7. David R. Williams
8. Deniz Yucel

Citations in the corpus

• Über-Alienated: Powerless and Alone in the Gig Economy (2021, background): “Uber, for example, encourages drivers to keeping working with nudge messages and awards enticing them to take additional trips to reach income targets (Gandini, 2019).”
• The organisation and experience of work in the gig economy (2019, methodology): “There is an emerging body of literature that deals with the emotions and challenges of gig workers, for instance their emotional labour (Gandini, 2018).”