Platform Labor and Algorithmic Management: Wellbeing, Unions, and Regulation

Sarah Sachar

Humanities Education Kampala International University Uganda

Email sarah.achar@studmc.kiu.ac.ug

                                                                                         ABSTRACT
Platform labor, mediated through digital platforms and governed by algorithmic management, has transformed contemporary work arrangements, offering both flexibility and precarity. This paper examines the multifacetednature of platform work, highlighting the diverse tasks, work structures, and algorithmic oversight shaping worker experiences. Empirical evidence suggests ambivalent effects on worker well-being, influenced by platform governance, regulation, task allocation, and individual skill levels. Collective representation, including unions and cooperative platforms, remains challenged by uncertain employment status and dispersed labor structures. Regulatory approaches at national, supranational, and transnational levels attempt to address algorithmic management risks, with policy implications for worker protection, equitable remuneration, and digital labor rights. Methodological considerations and case studies across transportation, cleaning, and generalist task platforms underscore both the social and economic significance of platform labor. Finally, gaps in knowledge highlight the need for interdisciplinary research on algorithmic management, worker well-being, and effective regulatory frameworks to guide the evolving platform economy.

Keywords: Platform Labor, Algorithmic Management, Worker Well-Being, Labor Regulation, and Collective
Representation.

CITE AS: Sarah Sachar (2026). Platform Labor and Algorithmic Management: Wellbeing, Unions, and Regulation. NEWPORT INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CURRENT RESEARCH IN HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES, 6(1):29-33. https://doi.org/10.59298/NIJCRHSS/2025/61.2933