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Platform work between promises and suffering: management, working hours, and pay of drivers and couriers

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DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5216/sec.v28.83012

Abstract

Just over a decade ago, we witnessed the growth of platformized labor. We understand this movement as the intensification of flexible accumulation, a process underway since the 1970s, which, in its platformized stage, expands the precariousness of labor under a strong neoliberal campaign that valorizes its attributes. In this article, we analyze three characteristics advertised as advantages of this type of labor, using quantitative and qualitative data found in closed and open questionnaire questions and semi- structured interviews, both stages carried out with drivers and delivery workers operating in the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre, in Rio Grande do Sul. Based on historical materialism and the psychodynamics of work theory, we discuss the management model, working hours, and salaries, and their impacts on the mental health and experiences of suffering of those who labor, exploring the contradictions between the apologetic discourse and the real labor.

Keywords: platformization; suffering; mental health; delivery workers;
drivers.

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Author Biographies

Marlon Campos, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil, marlonfjp@gmail.com

Professor da Universidade Federal de Pelotas. Doutor em Psicologia Social e Institucional pela Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul. 

Jaqueline Tittoni, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil, jatittoni@gmail.com

Professora e doutora em Sociologia pela Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul.

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Published

2025-09-15

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How to Cite

CAMPOS, Marlon; TITTONI, Jaqueline. Platform work between promises and suffering: management, working hours, and pay of drivers and couriers. Sociedade e Cultura, Goiânia, v. 28, 2025. DOI: 10.5216/sec.v28.83012. Disponível em: https://revistas.ufg.br/fcs/article/view/83012. Acesso em: 5 dec. 2025.

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Vol. 28 (2025)

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Free Articles

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