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From Flexible Labour to ‘Sticky Labour’: A Tracking Study of Workers in the Food-Delivery Platform Economy of China

Author

Listed:
  • Ping Sun

    (University of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, China)

  • Julie Yujie Chen

    (University of Toronto, Canada)

  • Uma Rani

    (International Labour Organization, Switzerland)

Abstract

Despite considerable scholarly attention to the proliferation of gig work on digital platforms, research tracing the broad trends of labour relations is scant. Analysing interview and survey data on food-delivery workers in China between 2018 and 2019, this article demonstrates a trend of de-flexibilisation for workers, which contradicts the purported flexibility of platform-mediated work. It is argued that de-flexibilisation is achieved through intertwined labour management tactics, technological engineering, and the cultural normalisation of platform-dependent precarious jobs. Platform companies and third-party staffing agencies have jointly deployed algorithmic systems and communicative techniques to cultivate what we refer to as ‘sticky labour’. The study contributes to the current debate on working in platform capitalism by weighing the compound effects of labour management strategies, social impact of technological engineering of the work process, and the cultural normalisation of platform work.

Suggested Citation

  • Ping Sun & Julie Yujie Chen & Uma Rani, 2023. "From Flexible Labour to ‘Sticky Labour’: A Tracking Study of Workers in the Food-Delivery Platform Economy of China," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 37(2), pages 412-431, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:woemps:v:37:y:2023:i:2:p:412-431
    DOI: 10.1177/09500170211021570
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Harvey, David, 2007. "A Brief History of Neoliberalism," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199283279.
    2. Lehdonvirta, Vili, 2018. "Flexibility in the Gig Economy: Managing Time on Three Online Piecework Platforms," SocArXiv k3hy4, Center for Open Science.
    3. Snyder, Benjamin, 2016. "The Disrupted Workplace: Time and the Moral Order of Flexible Capitalism," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780190203504.
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