The present and future of precarious work for app-based workers

Abstract: In the struggle for survival, millions of people submit to deregulated and informal work. Taking advantage of this, app-based companies have attracted growing numbers of workers under the fallacy of entrepreneurship. The current study aimed to describe the biosocial profile of these workers, the work process, and forms of company control, besides analyzing the principal and emerging aspects in the respective participants. This is a scoping study in which data collection was oriented by the question, “What has been produced in the scientific literature on the profile and risks of app-based work?” from 2014 to 2020. Content analysis revealed thematic dimensions: the growth of apps in Brazil and worker relations; the profile of app-based workers; and their work exposure and demands for working conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic. The professional dynamic of app-based workers is marked by subordination, domination, and exhaustion. The fact that their employment relationship is not acknowledged does not deprive them of rights, dignity, and quality of life in the workplace. Spontaneous organization without trade union intermediation in this category of workers, backing a common agenda of demands to be discussed with other representatives of society, denotes the high degree of exploitation and precariousness and could suggest the path for app companies to adopt the principles of dignified, decent work.摘要：在生存博弈中，数百万劳动者被迫接受无监管、非正规的工作形式。借此契机，应用平台企业（app-based companies）以创业的虚假光环为诱饵，吸引了越来越多的劳动者加入。本研究旨在描述这类劳动者的生物社会特征、工作流程以及平台企业的管控形式，同时分析受访研究对象身上体现出的核心与新兴特征。本研究属于范围综述（scoping study），数据收集以2014至2020年间“针对应用平台工作的特征与风险，现有科学文献已产出哪些研究成果？”这一问题为导向。通过内容分析，本研究梳理出三大主题维度：巴西应用平台的发展与劳动者劳动关系、应用平台劳动者的群体特征、以及新型冠状病毒肺炎（COVID-19）疫情期间这类劳动者的职业暴露状况与工作条件诉求。应用平台劳动者的职业生态以从属地位、支配性管控与身心耗竭为核心特征。即便其劳动关系未获官方承认，这也并未剥夺他们在工作场所应享有的权利、尊严与生活品质。这类劳动者未借助工会中介自发组织起来，共同提出需与社会其他代表协商的诉求议程，这一现象既凸显了极高程度的剥削与工作不稳定性，也为应用平台企业践行体面劳动、尊重劳动者尊严的原则指明了方向。