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At Least I’m My Own Boss! Explaining Consent, Coercion and Resistance in Platform Work

Author

Listed:
  • Christina Purcell

    (Manchester Metropolitan University, UK)

  • Paul Brook

    (University of Leicester, UK)

Abstract

Platform work has grown significantly in the last decade. High-profile legal cases have highlighted the grey area which platform work inhabits in terms of the employment relationship and have raised concerns about the quality and conditions of work. Platform operators claim they are neutral intermediaries, yet often control over scheduling and tasks lies with them. This article presents a theoretical framework that integrates macro and micro-level analyses to account for the production of hegemony and playing out of consent, coercion and resistance within platform work. It does so by rearticulating Burawoy’s concept of hegemonic despotism by drawing upon Foucauldian notions of neoliberal governmentality and reasserting the centrality of Gramsci’s work in understanding power and hegemony, in particular the concept of contradictory consciousness and the dialogical contest between hegemonic ‘common sense’ and ‘good sense’, which constitutes our understanding and sense-making in the social world.

Suggested Citation

  • Christina Purcell & Paul Brook, 2022. "At Least I’m My Own Boss! Explaining Consent, Coercion and Resistance in Platform Work," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 36(3), pages 391-406, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:woemps:v:36:y:2022:i:3:p:391-406
    DOI: 10.1177/0950017020952661
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Arianna Tassinari & Vincenzo Maccarrone, 2020. "Riders on the Storm: Workplace Solidarity among Gig Economy Couriers in Italy and the UK," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 34(1), pages 35-54, February.
    2. Will Sutherland & Mohammad Hossein Jarrahi & Michael Dunn & Sarah Beth Nelson, 2020. "Work Precarity and Gig Literacies in Online Freelancing," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 34(3), pages 457-475, June.
    3. Woodcock, Jamie & Johnson, Mark R., 2018. "Gamification: what it is, and how to fight it," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 86373, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Arora Swapan Deep, 2023. "Contemporary challenges of consumption: a Kafkaesque and critical marketing perspective," International Journal of Contemporary Management, Sciendo, vol. 59(4), pages 58-73, December.
    3. Ana Alacovska & Eliane Bucher & Christian Fieseler, 2024. "A Relational Work Perspective on the Gig Economy: Doing Creative Work on Digital Labour Platforms," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 38(1), pages 161-179, February.
    4. Li, Xue & Tan, Alexander Jun Hao & Wang, Xueqin & Yuen, Kum Fai, 2023. "Investigating gig workers’ commitment to crowdsourced logistics platforms: Fair employment and social exchange perspectives," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    5. Jeemol Unni, 2023. "Platforms and Shared Economy: Precarity of Work or Building Agency?," The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer;The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), vol. 66(2), pages 355-370, June.

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