Antagonism beyond employment- how the ‘subordinated agency’ of labour platforms generates conflict in the remote gig economy
This article investigates why gig economy workers who see themselves as self-employed freelancers also engage in collective action traditionally associated with regular employment. Using ethnographic evidence on the remote gig economy in North America, the United Kingdom, and the Philippines, we arg...
| Principais autores: | , |
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| Formato: | Journal article |
| Idioma: | English |
| Publicado em: |
Oxford University Press
2021
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| _version_ | 1826304501689090048 |
|---|---|
| author | Wood, AJ Lehdonvirta, V |
| author_facet | Wood, AJ Lehdonvirta, V |
| author_sort | Wood, AJ |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | This article investigates why gig economy workers who see themselves as self-employed
freelancers also engage in collective action traditionally associated with regular employment.
Using ethnographic evidence on the remote gig economy in North America, the United
Kingdom, and the Philippines, we argue that labour platforms increase the agency of workers
to contract with clients and thus reduce the risk of false self-employment in terms of the
worker-client relationship. However, in doing so, platforms create a new source of
subordination to the platform itself. We term this phenomenon ‘subordinated agency’, and
demonstrate that it entails a ‘structured antagonism’ with platforms that manifests in three
areas: fees, competition, and worker voice mechanisms. Subordinated agency creates worker
desire for representation, greater voice, and even unionisation towards the platform, while
preserving entrepreneurial attitudes towards clients. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T06:18:46Z |
| format | Journal article |
| id | oxford-uuid:f1ff898e-3f99-49f2-a8b2-4e629d0a4bae |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T06:18:46Z |
| publishDate | 2021 |
| publisher | Oxford University Press |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:f1ff898e-3f99-49f2-a8b2-4e629d0a4bae2022-03-27T12:00:15ZAntagonism beyond employment- how the ‘subordinated agency’ of labour platforms generates conflict in the remote gig economyJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:f1ff898e-3f99-49f2-a8b2-4e629d0a4baeEnglishSymplectic ElementsOxford University Press2021Wood, AJLehdonvirta, VThis article investigates why gig economy workers who see themselves as self-employed freelancers also engage in collective action traditionally associated with regular employment. Using ethnographic evidence on the remote gig economy in North America, the United Kingdom, and the Philippines, we argue that labour platforms increase the agency of workers to contract with clients and thus reduce the risk of false self-employment in terms of the worker-client relationship. However, in doing so, platforms create a new source of subordination to the platform itself. We term this phenomenon ‘subordinated agency’, and demonstrate that it entails a ‘structured antagonism’ with platforms that manifests in three areas: fees, competition, and worker voice mechanisms. Subordinated agency creates worker desire for representation, greater voice, and even unionisation towards the platform, while preserving entrepreneurial attitudes towards clients. |
| spellingShingle | Wood, AJ Lehdonvirta, V Antagonism beyond employment- how the ‘subordinated agency’ of labour platforms generates conflict in the remote gig economy |
| title | Antagonism beyond employment- how the ‘subordinated agency’ of labour platforms generates conflict in the remote gig economy |
| title_full | Antagonism beyond employment- how the ‘subordinated agency’ of labour platforms generates conflict in the remote gig economy |
| title_fullStr | Antagonism beyond employment- how the ‘subordinated agency’ of labour platforms generates conflict in the remote gig economy |
| title_full_unstemmed | Antagonism beyond employment- how the ‘subordinated agency’ of labour platforms generates conflict in the remote gig economy |
| title_short | Antagonism beyond employment- how the ‘subordinated agency’ of labour platforms generates conflict in the remote gig economy |
| title_sort | antagonism beyond employment how the subordinated agency of labour platforms generates conflict in the remote gig economy |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT woodaj antagonismbeyondemploymenthowthesubordinatedagencyoflabourplatformsgeneratesconflictintheremotegigeconomy AT lehdonvirtav antagonismbeyondemploymenthowthesubordinatedagencyoflabourplatformsgeneratesconflictintheremotegigeconomy |