Current project

Platform work in Norway - an entry point or blind alley?

How do workers working for digital platforms understand their work, and how do their perspectives change over time? Is platform work something one can sustain over the long term? Does it function as a springboard to other employment — or does it become a dead end in which one remains stuck in a job with poor conditions? What conditions, if any, must be in place for platform work to serve as a route into parts of the labour market characterised by better working conditions and pay?

This project aims to examine how platform workers in Norway view their work — whether it is a job one can hold for the long term, whether platform work functions as a springboard to other employment, and under what conditions this is the case, or whether it is rather a dead end in which employees and contractors become stuck.

The research questions are as follows:

When and why does platform work become a dead end?
Under what conditions can platform work function as a stepping stone to other employment?
What attitudes do platform workers hold towards the trade union movement and social dialogue?
What perceived differences exist between employees and self-employed workers with regard to rights and working conditions, and how and why do these change over time?

The project takes a qualitative and longitudinal approach in which we follow platform workers over time. The study will make it possible to document both gradual and more sudden changes — for example in working conditions, views on unionization, or the desire for alternative forms of social dialogue. We can also capture life changes, language learning (and the role work plays in this), as well as experiences of accidents, stress, isolation or illness. This approach makes it possible to explore different types of platform workers and to describe their life situations — and how these may change over time, a perspective that has remained underexplored in previous research.