Occupational Diversity in Platform Work: A Comparative Study

Pyeonghwa Kim, Steve Sawyer

Research output: Chapter in Book/Entry/PoemConference contribution

Abstract

We focus on occupational diversity in platform-mediated work. We do so to advance the conceptual and empirical understanding of how occupational structures and related work demands lead to different use cases and design needs by platform workers. Homogenizing diverse occupations into an undifferentiated group and calling them platform workers disguises the specific characteristics and challenges inherent in individual occupations. This creates the false equivalence of treating ridesharing and contract information security work into gigs. To illuminate the nature and characteristic of occupational diversity in mediating platform work experiences, we report interim findings from a comparative analysis of 71 platform workers pursuing online freelance work, classified across five distinct occupational groups. The findings reveal that platform work experiences vary based on three occupational attributes: industry, job, individual. These distinct occupational attributes shape two different platform work experiences: flexibility and skill development. These findings provide a structured means to understand occupational diversity in platform work, informing future research aimed at designing digital labor platform experiences that tailor to the diverse occupational needs and preferences of workers.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationCSCW Companion 2024 - Companion of the 2024 Computer-Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing
EditorsMichael Bernstein, Amy Bruckman, Ujwal Gadiraju, Aaron Halfaker, Xiaojuan Ma, Fabiano Pinatti, Miriam Redi, David Ribes, Saiph Savage, Amy Zhang
PublisherAssociation for Computing Machinery
Pages209-215
Number of pages7
ISBN (Electronic)9798400711145
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 13 2024
Externally publishedYes
Event27th ACM Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing, CSCW Companion 2024 - San Jose, Costa Rica
Duration: Nov 9 2024Nov 13 2024

Publication series

NameProceedings of the ACM Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work, CSCW

Conference

Conference27th ACM Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing, CSCW Companion 2024
Country/TerritoryCosta Rica
CitySan Jose
Period11/9/2411/13/24

Keywords

  • digital labor platform
  • diversity-sensitive research
  • occupation
  • occupational diversity
  • platform work

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Software
  • Computer Networks and Communications
  • Human-Computer Interaction

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