Browsing by Author "Woodcock, Jamie"

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    On Algorithmic Management: The Importance of Debate on Future Research
    (Weizenbaum Institute, 2024-07-24) Woodcock, Jamie
    A surge of research interest in platform work and the gig economy has seen debates around worker resistance and algorithmic management frequently come to the forefront. Many researchers will now be accustomed to reviewing journal submissions and taking in conference papers that cover these issues. The breadth of the emerging literature means that it builds upon various starting points, theoretical approaches, and histories. Pleasingly, research on work over the past decade has transformed from a relatively marginal pursuit to a highly popular focus across many disciplines, deepening and extending our collective understanding of the topic. This has the potential to introduce fresh ideas and new approaches. However, it does risk research failing to relate to and build upon historical debates in the field. This short article first presents some of the key arguments that have emerged in the research on algorithmic management and considers how knowledge has developed in relation to platform work. It examines some of the strengths and weaknesses of the literature in this area, especially the lack of theoretical debate in an exponentially expanding body of literature. The article finishes by suggesting some key areas in which future research needs to be directed, particularly interrogating the production, practice, and limits of algorithmic management.
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    The Fairwork Foundation. Strategies for Improving Platform Work
    (Weizenbaum Institute, 2019) Graham, Mark; Woodcock, Jamie; Heeks, Richard; Fredman, Sandra; Du Toit, Darcy; Van Belle, Jean-Paul; Mungai, Paul; Osiki, Abigail
    This paper introduces the Fairwork Foundation, a research initiative that is also developing an intervention around the quality of work on digital labour platforms. Lacking the ability to collectively bargain, many of these workers have little ability to negotiate wages or working conditions with their employers who are often on the other side of the world. As a result of this new global market for work, many workers have jobs characterized by long and irregular hours, low income, and high stress. Across India and South Africa, there are challenges for workers across a range of issues, including: pay, conditions, contracts, management, and representation. The results of the fieldwork are being used to rank and compare platforms as part of the ongoing ‘work in progress’ of the Fairwork project, a research initiative that is developing an intervention to improve the quality of work on digital platforms.