Year: 2025
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Purpose This study examines how French microtaskers construct their career within the context of an online labor platform (OLP). Design/methodology/approach A mixed-methods approach combining a survey of 1,853 microtaskers with qualitative platform analysis tests Schein’s career anchors model in the gig economy context. Findings Schein’s career anchors inadequately capture microtaskers' career orientations. These workers exhibit motivational structures aligning with boundaryless and protean career concepts. We propose an integrated theoretical framework incorporating Barley’s career scripts to explain how microtaskers develop careers at the intersection of individual agency and platform constraints. Originality/value This study advances digital labor literature by challenging traditional career models' applicability to platform-mediated work and introduces a framework accounting for the socio-technical dynamics of OLPs.
Source: Career Development International
Institutions: University of Greenwich, University of Liège
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W4415557613