Documents Vermeerbergen, Lander 6 results

"Purpose – Revitalisation of Quality of Working Life (QWL) research points to non-standard work such as remote platform work as a compelling setting where research on QWL is needed. Whereas the literature on working conditions in remote work platforms is rich, knowledge on the topic is fragmented. This systematic review aims to synthesize and integrate findings from existing literature, to offer an encompassing and multidimensional understanding of QWL and the managerial practices linked to it, in remote work platforms. Design/methodology/approach – A systematic review of 24 empirical qualitative studies selected based on a multiple-database search using Boolean search engines. The selection of studies to be included in the review was performed through a 4-steps procedure, following the PRISMA protocol. A thematic analysis of the studies was performed to synthesize findings. Findings – We synthesize and show how remote platform workers experience a degrading quality of working life along five QWL dimensions and we illustrate how these QWL dimensions are influenced by platforms' managerial practices such as client-biased systems, rate-setting mechanisms, reputational systems, global competition schemes, lock-in systems, monitoring and nudging systems and information asymmetry. Originality – The study contributes to reinvigorating QWL literature by producing a systematic synthesis of workers' experience of QWL in the non-standard work context of remote platform work and the managerial practices that influence QWL. Our study overcomes two main shortcomings of the existing empirical studies published: (a) studies examine only a few QWL dimensions and/or (b) examine some platforms' managerial practices that influence QWL, overlooking others."

"This working paper identifies some key areas of policy intervention for advancing socially sustainable and fair solutions for freelancers working in the creative industries, who are among those have suffered the most from the economic fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic.

In particular, the authors focus on those who work entirely on their own account, without employees (i.e. the ‘solo self-employed'), and who undertake project- or task-based work on a fixed-term basis. While demand for some services (e.g. ICT services, software development, digital communication, media, medical translation and audiobooks) has grown, due to their digital nature or essentiality in the post-Covid reality, other types of creative work have suffered due to increased competition, decreased demand, or because they were entirely put on hold due to the pandemic.

National government policy measures aimed at cushioning the impact of Covid-19 on workers' livelihoods proved necessary but insufficient to guarantee long-term protection. This is because the eligibility criteria for such support measures exclude many freelancers in the creative industries. Moreover, those who have been guaranteed access to national government support are often confronted with the complexity and length of the administrative proceedings which accompany the implementation of these measures.

Finally, career development and employability are vulnerable areas for freelancers due to there being a lack of (or insufficient) national funds dedicated to these areas."

"Digital platforms provide many workers with vital income and offer the promise of flexible work, and yet also contribute to experiences of precariousness and exploitation, particularly with regard to pressures to undertake unpaid work. This article explores why unpaid labour is necessary and what drives its extent and form among diverse types of digital platforms. We theorize two ideal types of ‘open' and ‘closed' socio-technical platform regimes of worker autonomy, building on sociological insights about socio-technical systems, management control over worker autonomy and labour market segmentation by skill. In principle, ‘open' (‘closed') platform regimes grant relatively high (low) worker autonomy in terms of access to the platform, paid work and control over work tasks. Analysing five case studies, illustrative of ‘open' and ‘closed' regimes, we investigate unpaid labour in low-skill locational (i.e. food delivery) platforms and medium/high-skill online (i.e. freelancing) platforms. In brief, digital freelancers exhibit a lower extent of unpaid labour within relatively ‘open' regimes, owing to greater autonomy over access to, and control over, platform work in a sector requiring medium/high skills. Conversely, ‘closed' regimes mitigate unpaid labour for food-delivery platforms by providing market shelter for workers, who are easily replaced in an overcrowded sector requiring few skills."

"Policy recommendations
• Unpaid labour should be recognised as a systemic feature of platform
work, inherent in its current model of work organisation. Its prevalence
and magnitude render it a pressing regulatory issue.
• Introducing minimum standards regarding working time and wages
is a key step towards limiting unpaid labour and establishing fairer
working conditions.
• Limiting unpaid labour requires recognition of the subordinate status
of large segments of workers, improvements in employment stability
and a floor of contractually guaranteed working hours. Platform work
within the framework of hourly-paid employment is less frequently
linked to unpaid work than piece-rate and self-employment models.
But without predictability of hours, hourly-paid employment can also
lead to unpaid labour.
• Data sharing and transparency in compliance with digital protection
law, as well as some forms of data portability (of ratings, portfolios)
for freelancers working remotely on platforms is necessary to promote
career progression and upskilling.
• Freelancers and independent workers on platforms should be
granted access to effective voice mechanisms through the creation
of representation structures and inclusion in collective bargaining,
affording them some presence in policy and regulatory processes.
• Protection should be extended to different categories of labour by
revising EU competition law's scope of application, thereby making it
possible to improve working conditions through collective agreements."

"In 2020, Covid-19 was spreading quickly in nursing homes, leading to numerous challenges for care workers. We tell the story of Marieke, a devoted female care assistant working in a Belgian nursing home that is customer-centred in their organisational model. Her narrative provides poignant insights into the ‘work and life' struggles and conflicts of a female care assistant facing the challenges of this model during the Covid-19 pandemic, which has left the largely female care workforce widely exposed to the risk of work intensification and over-involvement with residents, especially in a context of liberalisation and privatisation of care. In the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic, this model led to Marieke facing the unprecedented fear of endangering her own life and the lives of those she loves. In this article, she reflects on her work and family life under the strain of ensuring physical distancing in a nursing home."