Exploring People’s Intention to Become Platform-based Gig Workers : An Empirical Qualitative Study

Abstract

Although threatened by uncertainty jobs and salary, gig workers enjoy to do projects anytime and anywhere using platforms. This contradiction are more interesting because gig worker is trending work scheme in many countries. To explore and clarify it, this study demonstrates empirical qualitative study to explore people's intention to become gig workers. Theory of Planned Behavior, motivation, and social influence are synthesized considering their relationship with concept of intention, then delivering detail questions. By in-depth interviews, factual experiences are gathered and inducted to produce meaningful insight. Gig workers admit there are many factors activate their intention: competence, interest, need to success, need to independence, economic motivation, and social influence. Among them, factor `need to independent' unveils flexibility and freedom to work as basic reason for people to become gig workers. Another factor, economic motivation notices gig workers' decision to set gig worker as sidekick occupation only because of its uncertainty.