Qualitative study reveals gamified algorithmic controls drive extended working hours among rural migrant delivery riders, highlighting how platform mechanisms manufacture labor compliance.
Key Points
Examine the motivations behind rural migrant delivery riders working very long hours in China and assess the algorithmic management practices deployed by their digital platforms.
Conducted participant observation and qualitative interviews with rural migrant delivery riders in Shanghai, China.
Analyzed workforce experiences across China's two largest on-demand food delivery platforms.
Algorithmic controls incentivize prolonged work hours through three distinct game types: everyday performance evaluation, platform negotiation, and peer-to-peer competition.
Consent for extended work regimes is structured by temporal fragmentation, severe informational asymmetry, and hyper-individualization linked to sectoral datafication.