The bossy Apps
“With the focus on sportiness and individual performance and with team spirit and cycling culture…”, Foodora advertised for students as new bike deliverers. We, the users of platform-based food delivery services, hardly know anything about the working reality of the deliverers called ‘riders’. A research group of sociologists and lawyers has taken a closer look at the situation of the riders of Foodora (now Mjam) and Deliveroo (now discontinued) in Berlin. The study focuses on the area of conflict between autonomy vs. control of the bike deliverers and asks in its title: “The App as a Boss?”. Looking at the results of the study, there are good reasons to affirm this question.
Contrary to what one might think, the riders do have some freedom of choice. They are free to choose the delivery route, there is no time limit for the completion of the job and if they work as freelancers, they have the right to refuse jobs. But through the functionality of the Apps, the platforms have various tools that condition the riders to behave in a way that is cumulatively beneficial to the company. For this purpose, nudging tools are combined with gamification elements. The prerequisite is total information asymmetry. The apps collect data from and about the deliverers and thus optimize the control features. On the other hand, the workers on the bikes are largely isolated from each other and the way the apps work function as their black box. Rational decision-making autonomy is not possible for them. Because, if at all, they are only marginally informed about which input variables lead to which result and how the variables are weighted. It is significant to note, for example, that the deliverers of Deliveroo must decide on an order without being aware of the customer’s address.
The strongest control feature of the platforms is undoubtedly the influence on earnings. Firstly, through a bonus system and secondly through the performance-based incentive of choosing the shift for the next month. The system, which rewards good behaviour, generates a ranking: The “High-Performers” are allowed to vote first and sign up for the best slots, for the “Moderate-Performers” the dregs remain. Passionate cyclists among the deliverers compete against each other using ‘Strava’ (a sports app) and thus strive for top performances. The platforms thus generate a “collateral” benefit.
The findings of “The App as a Boss?” suggest that the bicycle workers feel more autonomous than they actually are. Autonomy as the central promise of the gig economy is a double-edged sword.
References:
Foodora and Deliveroo: The App as a Boss?
Control and Autonomy in App-Based Management — The Case of Food Delivery Riders
Mirela Ivanova, Joanna Bronowicka, Eva Kocher and Anne Degner
What it's like to be a food delivery rider The Straits Times Singapore, John Lui
I Worked a Job At Deliveroo for a Week & Made £___ by Ben Morris
© Kai Pilger on Unsplash
The bossy Apps
“With the focus on sportiness and individual performance and with team spirit and cycling culture…”, Foodora advertised for students as new bike deliverers. We, the users of platform-based food delivery services, hardly know anything about the working reality of the deliverers called ‘riders’. A research group of sociologists and lawyers has taken a closer look at the situation of the riders of Foodora (now Mjam) and Deliveroo (now discontinued) in Berlin. The study focuses on the area of conflict between autonomy vs. control of the bike deliverers and asks in its title: “The App as a Boss?”. Looking at the results of the study, there are good reasons to affirm this question.
Contrary to what one might think, the riders do have some freedom of choice. They are free to choose the delivery route, there is no time limit for the completion of the job and if they work as freelancers, they have the right to refuse jobs. But through the functionality of the Apps, the platforms have various tools that condition the riders to behave in a way that is cumulatively beneficial to the company. For this purpose, nudging tools are combined with gamification elements. The prerequisite is total information asymmetry. The apps collect data from and about the deliverers and thus optimize the control features. On the other hand, the workers on the bikes are largely isolated from each other and the way the apps work function as their black box. Rational decision-making autonomy is not possible for them. Because, if at all, they are only marginally informed about which input variables lead to which result and how the variables are weighted. It is significant to note, for example, that the deliverers of Deliveroo must decide on an order without being aware of the customer’s address.
The strongest control feature of the platforms is undoubtedly the influence on earnings. Firstly, through a bonus system and secondly through the performance-based incentive of choosing the shift for the next month. The system, which rewards good behaviour, generates a ranking: The “High-Performers” are allowed to vote first and sign up for the best slots, for the “Moderate-Performers” the dregs remain. Passionate cyclists among the deliverers compete against each other using ‘Strava’ (a sports app) and thus strive for top performances. The platforms thus generate a “collateral” benefit.
The findings of “The App as a Boss?” suggest that the bicycle workers feel more autonomous than they actually are. Autonomy as the central promise of the gig economy is a double-edged sword.
References:
Foodora and Deliveroo: The App as a Boss?
Control and Autonomy in App-Based Management — The Case of Food Delivery Riders
Mirela Ivanova, Joanna Bronowicka, Eva Kocher and Anne Degner
What it's like to be a food delivery rider The Straits Times Singapore, John Lui
I Worked a Job At Deliveroo for a Week & Made £___ by Ben Morris
© Kai Pilger on Unsplash
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About this blog
By selecting a film or an image, this blog literally illustrates the vast sphere of work, employment & education in an open collection of academic, artistic and also anecdotal findings.
About us
Konrad Wakolbinger makes documentary films about work and life. Jörg Markowitsch does research on education and work. They are both based in Vienna. Information on guest authors can be found in their corresponding articles.
More about
Interested in more? Find recommendations on relevant festivals, film collections and literature here.
About this blog
With picking a film or an image, this blog literally illustrates the vast sphere of work, employment & education in an open collection of academic, artistic and also anecdotal findings.
About us
Konrad Wakolbinger makes documentary films about work and life. Jörg Markowitsch does research on education and work. We both work in Vienna. Information on guest authors can be found in their respective articles.
More about
Interested in more? Find recommendations on relevant festivals, film collections and literature here.