Promises and Perils of Platform Work’s Availability and Flexibility: A Case Study of Delivery Riders and ‘Taxi’ Drivers in Poland

Platforms such as Uber, Bolt, Wolt, or Glovo, are often depicted as villains – the employers disguised as intermediaries who aim to exploit their workers. Even when researchers admit that platform workers often view platform work positively, they interpret these views as study participants’ failure to recognize their objective interests. The article presents a mixed-method study conducted among migrant and non-migrant couriers and drivers working with platforms in Poland. Not assuming platforms’ negative impact, we focus on employment flexibility and availability, and how these translate into platform work’s role as: 1) labor market entry points, 2) work of last resort, 3) precarious employment, and 4) opportunity for transitory or flexible income. We find that workers’ migratory status is crucial to their experience of platform work. However, it appears that platform workers’ situation is less about the platforms themselves and more about the broader legal and economic environment that offers few alternatives to platform work.