The time-space-energy nexus in the gig economy

The work and everyday lives of migrant food delivery ‘walkers’ in Venice

Bibliographic Data

ID7843774
AuthorsGiorgio Pirina (0000-0002-2212-4149, Ca' Foscari University of Venice, corresponding author), F Della Puppa (0000-0003-1437-4719, Ca' Foscari University of Venice), Fabio Perocco (0000-0003-0991-0046, Ca' Foscari University of Venice)
Year2024
Volume50
Issue15
Pages3822-3838
Publication date2024-09-13
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueNew Community (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0047-9586 • E-ISSN: 1469-9451
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/1369183x.2024.2379648
OpenAlexW4400981894
LanguageEN
Citations received15
References cited31

The intersection of migrant labour and the gig economy is a field of growing interest. Although there is no comprehensive public data on the topic, current studies show that platform labour in urban gig economies is often carried out by migrants. While uberised work has been quite extensively analysed, the dimensions of everyday life and time are still little studied. This paper aims to fill this gap, looking at the convergence of migrant labour, the gig economy, everyday life, and time. The authors present a time-space-energy nexus to illustrate the constant assembling of working and non-working times by workers and the potential tensions arising from the algorithmic managerial model of work. Specific attention is given to how migrant couriers organise the times and spaces of their everyday lives within platform-mediated food delivery in Venice. To explore this topic, a qualitative-ethnographic investigation was carried out in the historic centre of Venice from January to June 2022. This article highlights the features and tendencies of the food delivery sector in Venice, in order to show how the particular forms that migrant worker/runners’ living and working conditions take contradict the supposed flexibility proposed by digital platforms

Business · Economic growth · Economics · Economy · Gig economy · Migrant workers · Sociology · Computer Science · Digital Economy and Work Transformation · Employment and Welfare Studies · Engineering · Sharing Economy and Platforms