온라인 플랫폼 미세노동의 의미 유형과 요인: 청년 노동자의 일 경험을 중심으로

Online platform work has become an emerging issue due to the acceleration of digital transformation and the non-contact work caused by COVID-19 pandemic. However, our understanding of the subjective experiences and perceptions of workers performing work outside the boundaries of traditional employment is still limited. This study examines the meanings that young workers on microwork platforms give to their work experiences. To this end, we conducted in-depth interviews with 26 young microworkers, and analyzed the types of meaning of microwork and the factors that influenced their formations. The analysis shows that the meanings given to microwork by young workers were divided into ‘experiment of alternative work arrangement’, ‘experiment of new career path’, ‘productive side income’, and ‘strategic side job’ according to differences in offline labor market position and work orientation. This study theorizes how microworkers who perform fragmented work, do not have a common physical workplace and are disconnected from social relationships, make meanings of their work. In this regard, it has implications for illuminating the agency of young microworkers in the meaning-making of work and the linkage of online platform work with the offline labor market.