(In)visible by Design

An Analysis of a Domestic Labor Platform

Dados Bibliográficos

ID2371208
AutoresKatarzyna Gruszka (0000-0002-5423-6428, Malmö University, autor correspondente), Anna Pillinger (0009-0007-7932-9579, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria), Stefanie Gerold (0000-0002-2693-0156, Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg), Hendrik Theine (0000-0002-5272-0670, WU Vienna University of Economics and Business, Austria)
Ano2024
Volume52
Fascículo4-5
Páginas903-922
Data de publicação2024-09-08
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoCritical Sociology (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0896-9205 • E-ISSN: 1569-1632
EditoraSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/08969205241276803
OpenAlexW4402412227
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas13
Referências citadas45

Since the rise of platform labor, food delivery, and ride hailing workers have become a visible part of cityscapes, unlike platform workers in the domestic sector. The invisibilization and economic devaluation of reproductive tasks, especially in the private sphere, has a long history.Although platforms are not likely to yield a radical transformation in this sector, qualitative changes concerning the invisibility of work outsourced by households can be observed. In this contribution, we draw from the analytical framework of (in)visibility of/in platform-mediated work and map it against our research findings on a key platform in domestic cleaning in Europe, including netnographic data and interviews with workers and clients. Using the framework as a heuristic tool leads us to a more nuanced understanding of (in)visibility in platform-mediated cleaning in perceptible, institutional, and individual terms. Moreover, we argue that the interrelations between these three layers of (in)visibility offer novel insights for making sense of worker organizing and collective action, the practices related to leaving the platform, and the issue of workers' occupational identity of domestic cleaners. As such, the study contributes to the current debates on platform labor and domestic work, including the value-visibility relation and the role of digital platforms therein

Economics · Labour economics · Political science · Sociology · Digital Economy and Work Transformation · Sharing Economy and Platforms · Transportation and Mobility Innovations