Lost in the crowd? An investigation into where microwork is conducted and classifying worker types

Ryan A Morgan, Ward van Zoonen, Claartje ter Hoeven

Research output: Contribution to JournalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

The global expansion of the platform economy raised questions about where and by whom different forms of platform work are performed in Europe. This study focuses on microworking – that is, where an anonymous ‘crowd’ completes piecemeal digital work. Specifically, we address two questions about microworking in the EU-27: Where is microworking performed? Who is performing it? Based on the geolocation of 5,239 workers active on six prominent microworking platforms, we identify variation in the relative prevalence of microworking across the EU. Furthermore, we build on existing research to provide a more granular understanding of different classes of microworkers, in terms of diversity and (income) dependency. Four distinct classes of microworkers emerge through statistical modelling of eight relevant diversity and dependency indicators: age, gender, education, citizenship, experience, hours per week, personal income earned, household income. We label these classes Explorers, Enthusiasts, Supplementers, and Dependents. The identification of these emergent classes and varied prevalence of microworking across the EU, suggest the importance of heterogeneity to both the future study and regulation of microwork.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)301-322
JournalEuropean Journal of Industrial Relations
Volume29
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Sept 2023

Funding

The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement n° 101003134)

FundersFunder number
Horizon 2020 Framework Programme101003134
European Research Council

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