Expectations of platform workers in five Ibero-american countries

Abstract

This article aimed to analyze the expectations of digital platform workers in delivery and transportation services in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, and Spain about the future of their work. Based on a mixed method, we analyse responses to an open-ended question from a questionnaire applied in 2021 to 971 platform workers in the five chosen countries. We use content analysis and statistical tests to classify and compare results. We find that workers’ expectations differ according to living and working conditions. Favorable expectations focused on the possibility of finding new job opportunities, whereas pessimistic expectations are based on uncertainties and low pay. We discuss the ambivalence in workers’ expectations and their heterogeneity between countries. We found more favorable expectations than expected based on objective contracting conditions. All countries have a common transversal element as workers conceive platforms as transitional work.