Becoming a Pirate: Independence as an Alternative to Exit in the Gig Economy | CIRHR Research Seminar with Michael Maffie

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How and why do platform workers “quit”? Using data from more than 330 ride-hail drivers, the author finds that platform companies use information asymmetries to downplay the costs of working these jobs, leading workers to underestimate the true cost of working a “gig.” Once workers realize these costs, some exit, yet others cannot because they have come to rely on gig income to meet their short-term needs. In response, the author finds these workers begin their own “pirate” (illegal) taxi operations to decrease their reliance on platform companies. This article develops both a new category of conflict and response for marketized employment relationships.