Impacts of Perceived Behavior Control and Emotional Labor on Gig Workers

Abstract

Gig economy workers enjoy flexibility in choosing certain aspects of their work. Nonetheless, platform companies still need to control workers’ behaviors to scale their business and ensure customers quality service. Mechanisms of control have been widely studied in traditional organizations; however, work in the gig economy differs from traditional organizations in that the role of a human supervisor is replaced with digital systems. Thus, there is reason to suspect that our traditional theories of control may not hold for new forms of work in the gig economy. To address these concerns, this study examines how gig economy workers, specifically Uber drivers, perceive behavior control and its effect on their job satisfaction. Our results suggest that emotional labor mediates the relationship between perceived behavior control and job satisfaction.