Disrupting ‘Business as Usual’: Covid-19 and Platform Labor

Disrupting ‘Business as Usual’: Covid-19 and Platform Labor
Niels van Doorn
Disrupting ‘Business as Usual’: Covid-19 and Platform Labor
Eva Mos
Disrupting ‘Business as Usual’: Covid-19 and Platform Labor
Jelke Bosma
2020-07-13
Futures of Work

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This article evaluates the impacts of Covid-19 on platform-based gig work. It notes a shift in the service market towards on-demand delivery at the expense of ride hailing and domestic cleaning. Moreover, the public-private partnerships that platform companies have entered into with the public administration in NYC and other contexts indicate that platforms are becoming essential infrastructure, not just for service provision, but also for safeguarding the social reproduction of vulnerable groups. The consolidation of platform companies' business interests and social stature hides from view the struggles of the workforce that shoulders massive risk with little social protection.