’No limits’: The healt and safety of young workers on the digital labor market

Algorithms as work environment

Background and aim: The gig economy is upon us. More and more people have tried to perform work mediated through a digital platform. In Denmark, 1% of the Danish population has earned money via a digital platform, of whom 36% are students (Illsøe 2017). The digital labor market is composed of a variety of digital platforms and services or ‘gigs’. Some platforms mediate tasks that are delivered locally in the physical world, such as food delivery and carpentry. Other platforms mediate tasks delivered online, such as search engine optimization and translation. The emergence of social media platforms and entertainment platforms, such as YouTube and Twitch, have allowed people to earn money as for instance YouTubers, fashion bloggers, or e-sport gamers. While the digital platforms claim to be mere facilitators of transactions between entrepreneurs and customers (Prassel 2018), they excess a tight control over the workers through the algorithms embedded in the platforms, which influence the workers’ working conditions (Prassel 2018, Wood et al. 2018). The declared promises of this new type of work are autonomy and flexibility for workers. However, studies show that the perils include insecurity regarding income and work, poor work conditions, overwork etc. (Prassel 2018, Wood et al. 2018). Since labor market changes and new ways of working usually appear among young workers before adult workers (Furlong 2014), this paper investigates young workers’ digital work life and their encounters with algorithmic control.

The question asked: How do young workers in Denmark between the age of 18 and 30 experience algorithmic control on Digital Platforms? How do algorithms influence risks at work? What actions do the young workers take, if any, in order to engage with the algorithms?

Method: This study is based on qualitative interviews with 20 young adults aged 18-30 from Denmark who work on the digital labor market. The study includes gamers, YouTubers, influencers, digital nomads, and workers on different ‘gig’ platforms. The data will be collected during January 2018-December 2019. The themes included in the interviews were about the young workers’ life situation, working routines, work organization, pay, social -and economic risks, and risks and working environment.

Findings: Preliminary findings suggest that the algorithmic control happening across the various platforms influence the young workers’ work practices, income opportunities, and risks at work. Some workers express an algorithmic awareness and develop ways in order to engage with the algorithms and become ‘algorithmically recognizable’ (Gillespie 2014).

Key words: Young workers, work environment, digital labor market, algorithmic control