From Degrees to Dimensions

Accounts of Workers' Socioeconomic Dependence on Platforms

Bibliographic Data

ID2424448
AuthorsDavid Joseph‐goteiner (0000-0002-7474-0162, University of California, Berkeley, corresponding author)
Year2024
Volume10
Publication date2024-01-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSocius Sociological Research for a Dynamic World (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2378-0231 • E-ISSN: 2378-0231
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/23780231241275412
OpenAlexW4402692222
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited52

Platform work is one prominent type of independent contracting in the United States. Yet the independent status of platform workers is contested. Some scholars call platform workers dependent contractors. Others are measuring workers' economic dependence to support better classification. Given platform workers' heterogeneity, current efforts to classify workers' dependence might be missing different kinds of dependencies. This article asks the following: What are the dimensions of economic dependence that platform workers experience? I interviewed 47 individuals working on the microwork platform Prolific and analyzed three dimensions that were salient in workers' accounts: 'episodic,' 'discretionary,' and 'projected' dependencies. These dimensions can help us to measure platform dependence. Furthermore, this article theorizes how each form of dependence might reinforce economic precarity. This study calls for further connections between platform studies and literature on household finance, consumption, and culture

Demographic economics · Econometrics · Economics · Geography · Socioeconomic status · Sociology · Demography · Digital Economy and Work Transformation · Employment and Welfare Studies · Taxation and Compliance Studies

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Open DOIOpen Access