Identity in the Gig Economy: Deidentification, Aspiration, and Collective Solidarity Among Platform Couriers

• In Event: 20402 - Worker Resistance in New Fields of Activism

Abstract

The gig economy has transformed the demographics and cultural dynamics of courier work, shifting it from a tight-knit, low-income bohemian subculture to a diverse workforce that includes middle- and upper-class individuals from varied racial and ethnic backgrounds. While traditional service work has been well-studied in terms of collective identity formation, little is known about how these processes unfold among platform workers in digitally mediated labor. This study explores whether gig couriers can develop a collective identity and occupational culture, challenging critical accounts that argue the gig economy inherently atomizes workers. Drawing on interviews and surveys, I identify three primary identity strategies: deidentification, aspirational identification, and collective identification. Deidentification involves distancing oneself from the gig worker label, often used by supplemental earners seeking to maintain higher-status identities. Aspirational identification frames gig work as a temporary step toward future goals, allowing workers to share experiences while avoiding permanent association with low-status service work. Collective identification, rooted in shared grievances like low pay and unfair practices, emerges primarily through digital platforms like Facebook and Reddit, rather than face-to-face interactions. While these findings suggest that gig platforms are not inherently antithetical to collective identity formation, the prevalence of deidentification and aspirational identities among two-thirds of participants highlights the challenges of building solidarity in a fragmented workforce. These dynamics are further complicated by classism and status anxiety, as many workers seek to avoid symbolic contamination—what Barbara Ehrenreich termed the "fear of falling."

Author

• Will Charles, Miami University-Ohio