Invisible burdens of platform work: a qualitative study of food-delivery riders' lived experiences in urban India.

Food delivery riders experienced significant physical challenges working under difficult climatic conditions and persistent physical pain.

• Participants described working under difficult climatic conditions as a core aspect of their daily work experience
• Persistent physical pain was reported as reflecting the precarious nature of platform-based delivery work
• The theme 'embodied exhaustion' emerged as one of five key themes from reflexive thematic analysis
• Study involved in-depth interviews with 10 food delivery riders from an urban district in South India

Riders were required to maintain constant politeness with customers while being monitored through algorithmic surveillance.

• The theme 'emotional discipline under surveillance' emerged as one of five key themes
• Participants struggled to maintain constant politeness with customers while being monitored
• Algorithmic surveillance was identified as a mechanism shaping emotional labor demands
• The study frames this within the concept of emotional labor as a psychosocial burden

Riders experienced internalized struggles including self-blame and internalization of blame as part of their psychosocial burden.

• 'Internalized struggles' emerged as one of the five key themes from reflexive thematic analysis
• Internalization of blame was identified as a significant psychosocial burden
• The study critically examines how symbolic violence shapes riders' well-being
• Economic insecurity was reported alongside internalized blame as compounding psychosocial stressors

Riders reported social withdrawal, experience of disrespect, and fragmented routines as key dimensions of their lived experience.

• 'Fragmented routines' emerged as one of the five key themes
• Social withdrawal and experience of disrespect were identified as significant psychosocial burdens
• The theme 'surviving precision' also emerged, suggesting high demands for accuracy and timing in delivery work
• Symbolic exclusion was identified as profoundly shaping health and well-being

Five key themes emerged from reflexive thematic analysis of food delivery riders' lived experiences: surviving precision, embodied exhaustion, emotional discipline under surveillance, internalized struggles, and fragmented routines.

• A qualitative phenomenological design was employed
• In-depth interviews were conducted with 10 food delivery riders who participated anonymously
• Participants were recruited from an urban district in South India
• Data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis
• The study critically examined precarity, emotional labor, and symbolic violence as structural forces shaping well-being

Platform work was found to reinforce structural precarity, emotional suppression, and symbolic exclusion among food delivery riders.

• Precarity was identified as a central mechanism embedded in daily platform work
• Emotional fatigue and emotional suppression were identified as outcomes of emotional labor demands
• Symbolic exclusion was identified as a dimension of symbolic violence experienced by riders
• The findings highlight the need for 'psychosocially sensitive governance of digital labor platforms'
• The study advocates for policy reforms to protect gig workers' mental health, dignity, and social inclusion