CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2022
| Author | Nagy, Klara |
|---|---|
| Title | Freedom within Frames. The Perception of Paradoxical Freedom among Workers of the Food Delivery Sector in Budapest |
| Summary | The food delivery industry is one of the most visible sectors of the platform economy, which has contracted thousands of people in the past years in Budapest. The thesis explains the inner paradox of criticizing but still participating and appreciating food delivery work by the delivery workers. Therefore, this research explores how Budapest's bike delivery workers accept, normalize, and justify the precarious working conditions emerging in the ethos of freedom and flexibility and how the hegemonic discourse of labor market flexibilization and the platform companies' promulgated imaginary of this work supports this normalization. This research draws on the empirical evidence from participant observation, discourse analysis of the workers' Facebook group, and semi-structured interviews with bike couriers and a manager of a delivery company. Food delivery workers appreciate the flexible work schedule, which helps them organize their wage labor around their reproductive work, additional jobs, and leisure. The extent of overseeing their schedule depends on the workers' social and economic background and dependency on the platform. The ethos of entrepreneurship and bicycle subculture supports the workers to accept, justify, and normalize the precarious working conditions. Additionally, bike couriers compare their job to the other available options in the Hungarian labor market, where delivery work appears to be relative freedom and less tangible exploitation. In addition, couriers normalize and justify the precarious and dangerous working conditions as a sports activity. The riders embrace the idea that they get paid to train their bodies, which is an otherwise expensive and tiring hobby. Workers use their knowledge of nutrition and pain management from previous sporting activities to increase their workload. Food delivery companies and journalists frame bike delivery as a challenging cardio activity. The painful and dangerous body experiences reveal the cleavage between platform labor and idealized entrepreneurship. |
| Supervisor | Sopranzetti, Claudio, Zentai, Violetta |
| Department | Sociology MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2022/nagy_klara02.pdf |
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