ABSTRACT
Introduction: In the past decade, China has witnessed a significant surge in the popularity of food delivery apps, with its industry now thrice the size of the U.S, employing approximately 7 million drivers navigating urban landscapes on electric bikes and scooters. Predominantly, the market is governed by two main players: Meituan Dianping (backed by Tencent) and Ele.me (supported by Alibaba). Notably, stress and absenteeism stand out as significant challenges in this service sector, with implications for occupational health that translate into considerable costs for both healthcare systems and companies. Existing research has largely overlooked how job demands affect the mental health of food delivery workers in China, and how resilience plays a role in this process. The present study addresses this gap by examining the direct impact of Workload Volume and Pace on the mental health of these workers, and by exploring how personal resilience can mediate this relationship. Furthermore, it delves into the mediating role of Resilience, a personal strength, in this relationship. Methods: Using a correlational design with 206 participants, multiple regression analysis suggested a notable variance in Mental Health Decline. Results: Subsequent bootstrapping-mediated analysis confirmed resilience's mediating role, highlighting its importance in managing stress from workload. Discussion: The results underscore the critical role of personal strengths in managing work-related stress, which can significantly impact both job performance and mental well-being.
ABSTRACT
Resumo A pandemia de covid-19 agravou as situações de renda, fome, desemprego e informalidade provocados pela Reforma Trabalhista de 2017 e pelo desmonte de políticas sociais, levando muitos trabalhadores ao ramo da entrega de comida sem direitos ou garantias de proteção. Este trabalho procurou investigar as condições de trabalho e o impacto na saúde e qualidade de vida de entregadores de comida de Curitiba/PR, de acordo com as categorias de entrega, durante a pandemia de covid-19. Foi realizada pesquisa de campo em 10 points de entrega, seguindo a lógica da saturação de discursos, com o auxílio de instrumento de pesquisa com perguntas semiestruturadas. Paradoxalmente, apesar da menção a vários aspectos negativos das condições de trabalho, a qualidade de vida foi percebida como positiva por grande parte dos entregadores, sendo associada à possiblidade de trabalho e retorno financeiro. Os aspectos negativos das condições de trabalho e seus impactos na saúde e qualidade de vida foram sentidos com mais intensidade por entregadores de aplicativo. Esses achados trazem a necessidade de aprofundamento da discussão das condições de trabalho nos novos arranjos contemporâneos e precarizados e seus impactos na saúde dos trabalhadores, a partir de diferentes contextos e categorias de trabalhadores.
Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic aggravated the scenario of low income, hunger, unemployment, and informality generated by the 2017 Labor Reform and the dismantling of social policies, leading many workers to enter the food delivery business that misses labor rights or protection. Thus, this study aimed at investigating how such working conditions impacted food delivery workers' health and quality of life in Curitiba, Brazil, during the pandemic according to delivery categories. Field research, based on saturation of discourse, was conducted in 10 delivery points using a semi-structured instrument. Despite mentioning several negative aspects regarding working conditions, most delivery workers perceived a positive quality of life, mainly associated with the possibility of work and financial return. App-based delivery workers felt more intensely the negative impacts on health and quality of life. These findings point to the need for further discussions on how these new contemporary and precarious labor arrangements impact occupational health in different contexts and categories.
Subject(s)
Quality of Life , Employment , COVID-19 , Gamification , Occupational GroupsABSTRACT
This study tries to establish a conceptual and empirical understanding of the precarity of work in the platform economy using food aggregators as illustrations and in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Internet access and smartphone facilitated the creation of platform aggregators, which emerged as a new workspace for young workers in India. However, food aggregators term these workers as 'delivery partners'; this changes the employer-employee relations and allows companies to avoid liabilities and reduce costs. This has led to systematic exploitation and dismal working conditions for food delivery workers. Further, Workers at platforms suffer from low wages (and benefit), absence (or lack) of welfare measures, and discriminatory practices. The COVID-19 pandemic and resultant lockdown have further aggravated the precarity of on-demand work and workers. Pandemic has shown that with loss of livelihood and income, the notion of autonomy and flexibility at work is meant for the privileged few. This precarious situation of food delivery workers calls for affirmative action in terms of regulations, social security, and protection.
