Between Freedom and Uncertainty

The expansion of the digital economy has transformed employment structures across societies, with the gig economy emerging as a common form of work, especially in emerging economies. While platform-based work offers flexibility and autonomy, it also exposes workers to ongoing uncertainty and limited access to social protection. This study examines how work engagement and flexible work arrangements shape gig workers’ well-being, with job insecurity considered as a mediating condition. Using the Job Demands–Resources framework, engagement and flexibility are understood as supportive resources, while job insecurity reflects a structural condition embedded in digital labor platforms. Survey data were collected from 451 gig workers across various sectors in Indonesia, a context that reflects broader Global South labor conditions characterized by informality and platform dependence. Data were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling. The findings show that work engagement and flexibility are associated with higher well-being, while simultaneously increasing perceptions of job insecurity. Job insecurity partially mediates these relationships, revealing a paradox in which flexibility supports well-being while reinforcing vulnerability. This study contributes to interdisciplinary social and community research by highlighting how digital labor arrangements reshape worker well-being, social protection, and adaptive responses in the global gig economy.