Platform work during the COVID-19 pandemic: a case study of Glovo couriers in Poland

ABSTRACT

The SARS-COV-2 virus has changed all spheres of life as we know it. This article considers the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the gig economy sector, in particular on the work of bicycle couriers in Poland. The main research question is whether in this case the impact is positive (it is a ‘good’ occupation during the pandemic) or negative (gig economy has suffered the consequences of the lockdown just like all other sectors). In order to answer this question, I conducted 20 semi-structured online interviews with Glovo couriers in March and April 2020 and analysed 1300 posts on their internet forum. The analysis of the research material makes it possible to conclude that in the period of the pandemic and the lockdown of the Polish economy, working as a courier was at least a partial ‘remedy’ for the problems on the labour market. The couriers themselves generally did not feel the negative impact of the coronavirus on their occupational situation.

KEYWORDS:

• COVID-19
• platform work
• gig economy
• Glovo
• Poland

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 https://glovoapp.com/pl (available 20.04.2020).

2 https://www.biznes.gov.pl/pl/firma/sprawy-urzedowe/chce-przestrzegac-przepisow-szczegolnych/cztery-etapy-odmrazania-gospodarki (available 20.06.2020).

3 https://www.gov.pl/web/koronawirus/ograniczenia-dzialalnosci-gastronomicznej-rozrywkowej-oraz-funkcjonowania-galerii-handlowych (available 30.08.2020).

4 R – informant number

5 https://biznes.wprost.pl/gospodarka/10326610/uber-znowu-zwalnia-zamowienia-na-przejazdy-spadly-o-80-proc.html (available 20.06.2020).

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Dominika Polkowska

Dominika Polkowska, PhD, sociologist, assistant professor at Maria Curie-Skłodowska University (UMCS) in Lublin, Poland. Deputy Director of the Institute of Sociology UMCS. Her research interests focus on platform work, pracariat and precarity (especially in relation to migrants) and industrial relations.