ZPP Newsletter
Warsaw, 5 May 2022
ZPP survey: 95% of “platform workers” are satisfied with the cooperation with the platforms. Most of them are against compulsory employment contracts.
The survey was conducted in early 2022. The quantitative part was carried out using the CATI method, while the qualitative part in turn was developed on the basis of individual in-depth interviews. The survey included “platform workers” representing the following sectors:
– food delivery,
– passenger transport,
– repairs and small services,
– childcare,
– parcel delivery,
– IT services
ADVANTAGES OF PLATFORM WORK ACCORDING TO EMPLOYEES
According to the survey, one of the main factors encouraging people to work with platforms is the possibility of easier and faster access to customers or a low entry threshold, i.e. the ability to start work easily.
A high level of flexibility is also important for “platform workers”. The fact that these expectations are realized in cooperation with platforms is evidenced by the fact that the same factors were indicated by the interviewees as key advantages of cooperation with platforms. As a result, 95% of respondents say they are satisfied with working with the platform.
Respondents assess the terms of cooperation with platforms as understandable (98%) and fair (96%). The level of satisfaction with the cooperation, as well as a positive assessment of its conditions, also translates into an assessment of their own financial situation. 93% of “platform workers” assess their financial situation well, and almost every third respondent earns an income of more than 5 thousand PLN net from orders received through the platform.
The high level of satisfaction with the cooperation with the platforms and the conditions they offer is reflected in the professional plans of the respondents. More than 80% of them plan to work in this type of job for longer, either as the only (42%) or additional (41%) source of income. For only 17% of respondents, “platform work” is temporary and temporary in nature.
Significantly, but also very consistent with the responses to the question about the greatest advantages of “platform work,” the majority (61%) of platform collaborators surveyed would not want to see a law enacted that would make it necessary for the platform to hire them on a full-time basis, with 24% strongly opposing such an idea. At the same time, more than 40% would be willing to give up some of the pay or flexibility of the collaboration to gain the rights granted by the labor law.
Thus, it should be considered that “platform workers” are in favor of freedom in shaping the relationship between themselves and the platforms. The vast majority of platform workers are self-employed, but 14% work under an employment contract. This suggests that there are different models of cooperation between platform workers and platforms.
It seems important that almost ¾ of the respondents (and most of the respondents have more than two years of experience working with platforms) have never encountered inconveniences when working with platforms. One in five respondents stated that they occasionally noted such inconveniences, generally in the nature of technical problems or application crashes. In the qualitative interviews, “platform workers” highlighted their perceived weaknesses in working with platforms. As a rule, they were related to specific rules resulting from the regulations of the platform, e.g. relating to commissions charged or settlement rules.
