Managing occupational balance in platform and remote work
Project Lead(s)
Team Members
Marshia Akbar, Samantha Jackson (external link) , Hari KC, Anna Triandafyllidou
It is important to understand how workers, and immigrant workers in particular, are framed within discourses on the platform economy, given their potentially marginalized position within Canadian society generally and gig work more specifically.
Objective
This project seeks to examine discourses about gig work and explore the experiences of immigrants working in different facets of the platform economy, as well as those employed in remote work.
The project will focus on the everyday occupational experiences of immigrant platform workers to understand how they perceive and navigate their employment and daily routines when engaged in ‘non-traditional’ forms of work, with the aim to understand these in relation to contemporary and dominant discourses on gig work.
Research question(s)
- What are the discourses shaping the platform economy?
- What contextual factors shape the occupational experiences of immigrant workers within the platform economy?
- How does engaging in platform and/or remote work reconfigure traditional borders and boundaries in immigrants' lives?
- In what ways do platform and/or remote workers nagivate "occupational balance" among the differeent revenue-generating occupations they engage in?
Methodology
This project will conduct a critical discourse analysis to identify dominant themes and subjectivities constructed through relevant texts. Next, a series of interviews will be conducted with immigrant platform/remote workers from across Canada.
Status
The project has started and is currently is progress.
Expected completion date: September 2026
Key words
Gig economy; immigrant work; occupational balance; platform economy; remote work
