Ageing workers in the gig economy: how older appworkers experience platform-based employment

Purpose This study aims to examine how ageing app workers, including drivers and food delivery couriers, experience app-based gig work. Design/methodology/approach This study uses a qualitative research design based on semi-structured interviews with 32 ageing individuals engaged in app-based gig work. Findings The findings indicate that participants do not perceive their engagement in appwork as constituting successful ageing. While respondents report positive outcomes in terms of social relationship formation (expansion of social connections and beneficial interactions with clients) and personal goal attainment (autonomy and financial earnings), these are offset by significant challenges. These include limited adaptability accompanied by health-related problems (physical strain, back pain and perceived discourtesy from some clients), as well as restricted occupational growth (lack of participation in decision-making and absence of training opportunities) and personal security (lack of job stability, financial bonuses and retirement-related benefits). Originality/value The study contributes to ageing and gig work literature by integrating successful ageing theory with socio-emotional selectivity theory in the context of platform-based labour. It provides novel empirical insights into how ageing individuals experience appwork, highlighting the tension between perceived autonomy and structural precarity in later-life digital employment.