More than a transaction: Workplace dignity and psychological contract in platform-based food delivery work

This article examines platform-based food delivery workers (couriers) in an East Asian context and explores three key questions concerning workplace dignity: how couriers define it, whether and how it has been undermined, and how they expect companies to maintain it. Couriers’ definition of workplace dignity aligns with the concepts of either inherent or earned dignity, both of which have been compromised by various sources and mechanisms. Platform companies challenge workplace dignity in an intersectional way, demonstrating that their management practices undermine both the inherent and earned dignity of couriers. Couriers develop transactional and relational contracts with platform companies, expecting fair pay, protection, voice mechanisms, and skill development opportunities, all of which they view as essential to preserving or enhancing workplace dignity.