How Covid-19 has affected thepsychosocial work environmentfor gig-workers in the fooddelivery sector : A qualitative interview study

Sammanfattning: The topic of gig-work has been widely debated in the western world for its laborrights and work environment issues. Whereas companies operating within thegig-economy boast the freedom and flexibility of gig-work as perks for workers,unions highlight the precarious nature and poor working conditions of gig-workas exploitative of workers and push for unionizing gig-workers and getting themcovered by collective bargaining agreements. However, due to the novelty of thephenomenon, not much scholarly work has been done on the subject and its longterm implications for the labor markets of developed capitalist countries.In Sweden, conditions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic led to an influx ofworkers in the food-delivery sector due to increased demands for services andhigh unemployment as gig-work was regarded as a means to sustain one’slivelihood during a time of economic uncertainty. As these food-delivery couriershad to work outside the home, where the chance of contracting the virus was high,while also having jobs where they were not regarded as employees, the aim ofthis thesis project was to investigate how the Covid-19 pandemic has affectedfood-delivery couriers’ perceived exposure to psychosocial stressors and risksthrough a qualitative interview study. The findings were generated throughinductive reasoning from analyzing conducted six interviews and discussedthrough the lens of the Human, Technology and Organization (HTO)-model andthe Job-Demands-Control-Support (JDCS)-model.