Crowdworkers, Social Affirmation and Work Identity: Rethinking dominant assumptions of crowdwork

This qualitative study examines crowdworkers’ work identity in a non-Western context. It finds that, in the absence of organisational, occupational and professional referents, workers rely on social affirmation and construct identities that cross the boundaries between themselves, their digital work and their wider social environment.

Crowdworkers rely on social affirmation to build work identities, and those identities shape how they conduct crowdwork and relate to platforms and employers. Workers also negotiate the ethics of their work and use entrepreneurial activity to support income stability.