Flexibility and freedom for whom? Precarity, freedom and flexibility in on-demand food delivery
<p class="first" id="d217690e93">On-demand delivery platforms appropriate ‘freedom’ and ‘flexibility’ discourses with claims such as ‘be your own boss’ and ‘work as much as you want to’. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Deliveroo updated its courier pla...
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Pluto Journals
2021-01-01
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| Series: | Work Organisation, Labour and Globalisation |
| Online Access: | https://www.scienceopen.com/hosted-document?doi=10.13169/workorgalaboglob.15.1.0046 |
| _version_ | 1797833881373638656 |
|---|---|
| author | Melissa Renau Cano Ricard Espelt Mayo Fuster Morell |
| author_facet | Melissa Renau Cano Ricard Espelt Mayo Fuster Morell |
| author_sort | Melissa Renau Cano |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <p class="first" id="d217690e93">On-demand delivery platforms appropriate ‘freedom’ and ‘flexibility’ discourses with
claims such as ‘be your own boss’ and ‘work as much as you want to’. During the COVID-19
pandemic, Deliveroo updated its courier platform application with a ‘free login system’
in Barcelona whereby platform couriers could connect to the platform whenever, wherever,
and as often as they wanted to. In this paper, we ask why the introduction of a ‘free
login’ system generated even more precarious forms of work, by comparing workforce
management systems both before and during the COVID-19 period. We argue that the reason
it becomes problematic is rooted in Deliveroo's business model, which is characterised
by hiring on-demand, using a piece-rate payment and exercising hard workforce control
through algorithmic management.
</p> |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T14:30:09Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-21e9d8ef480d4f39a67c5a21061d4bb1 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1745-641X 1745-6428 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T14:30:09Z |
| publishDate | 2021-01-01 |
| publisher | Pluto Journals |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Work Organisation, Labour and Globalisation |
| spelling | doaj.art-21e9d8ef480d4f39a67c5a21061d4bb12023-05-03T15:49:56ZengPluto JournalsWork Organisation, Labour and Globalisation1745-641X1745-64282021-01-01151466810.13169/workorgalaboglob.15.1.0046Flexibility and freedom for whom? Precarity, freedom and flexibility in on-demand food deliveryMelissa Renau CanoRicard EspeltMayo Fuster Morell<p class="first" id="d217690e93">On-demand delivery platforms appropriate ‘freedom’ and ‘flexibility’ discourses with claims such as ‘be your own boss’ and ‘work as much as you want to’. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Deliveroo updated its courier platform application with a ‘free login system’ in Barcelona whereby platform couriers could connect to the platform whenever, wherever, and as often as they wanted to. In this paper, we ask why the introduction of a ‘free login’ system generated even more precarious forms of work, by comparing workforce management systems both before and during the COVID-19 period. We argue that the reason it becomes problematic is rooted in Deliveroo's business model, which is characterised by hiring on-demand, using a piece-rate payment and exercising hard workforce control through algorithmic management. </p>https://www.scienceopen.com/hosted-document?doi=10.13169/workorgalaboglob.15.1.0046 |
| spellingShingle | Melissa Renau Cano Ricard Espelt Mayo Fuster Morell Flexibility and freedom for whom? Precarity, freedom and flexibility in on-demand food delivery Work Organisation, Labour and Globalisation |
| title | Flexibility and freedom for whom? Precarity, freedom and flexibility in on-demand food delivery |
| title_full | Flexibility and freedom for whom? Precarity, freedom and flexibility in on-demand food delivery |
| title_fullStr | Flexibility and freedom for whom? Precarity, freedom and flexibility in on-demand food delivery |
| title_full_unstemmed | Flexibility and freedom for whom? Precarity, freedom and flexibility in on-demand food delivery |
| title_short | Flexibility and freedom for whom? Precarity, freedom and flexibility in on-demand food delivery |
| title_sort | flexibility and freedom for whom precarity freedom and flexibility in on demand food delivery |
| url | https://www.scienceopen.com/hosted-document?doi=10.13169/workorgalaboglob.15.1.0046 |
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