Expendable to essential? Changing perceptions of gig workers on Twitter in the onset of COVID-19

While ride-hailing ridership declined in 2020 due to COVID-19 induced restrictions like stay-at-home orders, food/grocery delivery services became quasi-essential. This study investigates if and how public perceptions of gig work related to platform-based ride-hailing and food/grocery delivery services changed during the early stages of the pandemic. We collected a sample of 23,845 Twitter posts ('tweets') related to these platform-based services within two-week periods before and after the US COVID-19 emergency declaration. Sentiment analysis on tweets was conducted to investigate changes in public perception of gig work. Tweet content was analyzed by descriptively coding about 10% of the sample of tweets manually along ten different dimensions (e.g., personal experience, informative, and about driver);then we used thematic analysis to gain an understanding about the public's views towards gig work/workers. We tested supervised machine learning methods to explore their potential to classify the rest of the sample along the ten descriptive dimensions. The number of tweets increased by approximately 150% after the emergency declaration and became more positive in sentiment. Qualitative results indicate that tweets about negative personal experiences with drivers/companies decreased during COVID-19, while tweets exhibiting a sense of community (e.g., sharing information) and concern towards gig workers increased. Findings can inform policy and workforce changes regarding platform-based service companies. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Trucking in the Era of COVID-19

COVID-19 resulted in health and logistical challenges for many sectors of the American economy, including the trucking industry. This study examined how the pandemic impacted the trucking industry, focused on the pandemic?s impacts on company operations, health, and stress of trucking industry employees. Data were collected from three sources: surveys, focus groups, and social media posts. Individuals at multiple organizational levels of trucking companies (i.e., supervisors, upper-level management, and drivers) completed an online survey and participated in online focus groups. Data from focus groups were coded using a thematic analysis approach. Publicly available social media posts from Twitter were analyzed using a sentiment analysis framework to assess changes in public sentiment about the trucking industry pre- and during-COVID-19. Two themes emerged from the focus groups: (1) trucking company business strategies and adaptations and (2) truck driver experiences and workplace safety. Participants reported supply chain disruptions and new consumer buying trends as having larger industry-wide impacts. Company adaptability emerged due to freight variability, leading organizations to pivot business models and create solutions to reduce operational costs. Companies responded to COVID-19 by accommodating employees? concerns and implementing safety measures. Truck drivers noted an increase in positive public perception of truck drivers, but job quality factors worsened due to closed amenities and decreased social interaction. Social media sentiment analysis also illustrated an increase in positive public sentiment towards the trucking industry during COVID-19. The pandemic resulted in multi-level economic, health, and social impacts on the trucking industry, which included economic impacts on companies and economic, social and health impacts on employees within the industry levels. Further research can expand on this study to provide an understanding of the long-term impacts of the pandemic on the trucking industry companies within the industry and segments of the trucking industry workforce.