Meta-analysis on labor self-exploitation: trends and patterns in contemporary precarious work: Meta-analysis on labor self-exploitation: trends and patterns in contemporary precarious work

Genny Torcoroma Navarro Claro; Jose Andrés Bayona Soto

Autores/as

Genny Torcoroma Navarro Claro Universidad Francisco de Paula Santander Ocaña https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3225-9028
Jose Andrés Bayona Soto Universidad Francisco de Paula Santander Ocaña https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2952-3871

Palabras clave:

Labor self-exploitation, Precarious work, Meta-analysis, Digital platforms, Burnout, Informal employment

Resumen

This study presents a meta-analysis on labor self-exploitation, based on twenty empirical studies systematically reviewed between 2010 and 2024. The objective was to identify common patterns, measurable effects, and methodological gaps in the literature on precarious work in contemporary contexts. The analyzed studies were conducted in sectors such as digital platforms, informal labor, higher education, and the creative economy, mainly involving freelancers, caregivers, migrants, and self-employed workers. The analysis combined qualitative and quantitative methods. Ten studies provided comparable statistical data, allowing for the estimation of effect sizes (d = 0.30–0.75) and the identification of moderate heterogeneity (I² = 58.3%). Additionally, recurrent configurations of self-exploitation were observed, associated with symbolic pressure, forced flexibility, and simulated autonomy. A thematic classification was also developed based on the qualitative studies, highlighting macrosocial, subjective, and intersectional factors. The findings suggest that self-exploitation is an internalized form of labor precariousness that operates as a structural mechanism in 21st-century work. The study proposes guidelines for future transdisciplinary research, including the development of comparable scales and interpretative frameworks sensitive to the symbolic, affective, and structural dimensions of labor.

Citas

Achilli, L. (2024). Caught in the Crossfire: Unravelling the complex interplay of exploitation and agency in children associated with Boko Haram. Anti-Trafficking Review, 22, 12–33. https://doi.org/10.14197/atr.201224222

Aguirre, P. (1994). How the very poor survive -the impact of hyper-inflationary crisis on low-income urban households in Buenos Aires/Argentina. GeoJournal, 34(3), 295–304. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00813933

Amelina, A. (2011). An Intersectional Approach to the Complexity of Social Support Within German–Ukrainian Transnational Space (pp. 211–231). https://doi.org/10.1108/S1529-2126(2011)0000015015

Armano, & Murgia. (2013). The precariousnesses of young knowledge workers: a subject-oriented approach. Global Discourse, 3(3), 486–501. https://doi.org/10.1080/23269995.2013.865313

Armstrong, V. (2013). Women’s Musical Lives: Self-Managing a Freelance Career. Women: A Cultural Review, 24(4), 298–314. https://doi.org/10.1080/09574042.2013.850598

Atzeni, M., & Ghigliani, P. (2007). Labour process and decision-making in factories under workers’ self-management: empirical evidence from Argentina. Work, Employment and Society, 21(4), 653–671. https://doi.org/10.1177/0950017007082875

Baines, D. (2015). Neoliberalism and the convergence of nonprofit care work in Canada. Competition & Change, 19(3), 194–209. https://doi.org/10.1177/1024529415580258

Banks, M., & Hesmondhalgh, D. (2009). Looking for work in creative industries policy. International Journal of Cultural Policy, 15(4), 415–430. https://doi.org/10.1080/10286630902923323

Billings, D., & Blee, K. (2004). Social origins of Appalachian poverty: markets, cultural strategies, and the state in an Appalachian Kentucky community, 1804–1940. Rethinking Marxism, 16(1), 19–36. https://doi.org/10.1080/0893569042000193380

Brienza, C. (2016). Degrees of (Self‐)Exploitation: Learning to Labour in the Neoliberal University. Journal of Historical Sociology, 29(1), 92–111. https://doi.org/10.1111/johs.12119

Butcher, T., James, E. P., & Bloom, P. (2023). Extreme wellness at work: Whose body counts in the rise of exceptionalist organisational fitness cultures. Organization, 30(3), 453–472. https://doi.org/10.1177/13505084221131633

Choe, Y. U. (2017). Korean Protestantism in the Age of “Surplus of Positivity:”: A Socio-cultural Analysis of Church Defaults in South Korea*. Seoul Journal of Korean Studies, 30(2), 217–238. https://doi.org/10.1353/seo.2017.0010

Corrigan, T. (2015). Media and Cultural Industries Internships: A Thematic Review and Digital Labor Parallels. TripleC: Communication, Capitalism & Critique. Open Access Journal for a Global Sustainable Information Society, 13(2), 336–350. https://doi.org/10.31269/triplec.v13i2.608

Delfino, G. F., & van der Kolk, B. (2021). Remote working, management control changes and employee responses during the COVID-19 crisis. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 34(6), 1376–1387. https://doi.org/10.1108/AAAJ-06-2020-4657

Denham, D. (2024). Self-exploiting for survival in the urban global South: insights of agrarian political economy for urban theory. Urban Geography, 45(4), 671–690. https://doi.org/10.1080/02723638.2023.2226986

Dinardi, C. (2019). Creativity, informality and cultural work in Rio de Janeiro’s favelas. International Journal of Cultural Studies, 22(2), 248–263. https://doi.org/10.1177/1367877918821232

Fong, S. Y. (2024). ‘They don’t need us’: Affective precarity and critique in transnational media work from the margins of ‘Cultural China.’ Media, Culture & Society, 46(7), 1327–1343. https://doi.org/10.1177/01634437221140478

Fourie, D. (2023). The individual in the gig society: is the gig economy exploitative of the informal economy, or a means of empowerment? Acta Academica: Critical Views on Society, Culture and Politics, 55(2), 154–169. https://doi.org/10.38140/aa.v55i2.7725

Gómez Nicolau, E., & Marco Arocas, E. (2020). Desafiando las reglas: articulaciones políticas del activismo menstrual. Revista Española de Sociología, 29(3-Sup1), 155–170. https://doi.org/10.22325/fes/res.2020.62

Gross, R. (2012). Angst, Depression und die Verleugnung von Abhängigkeit. Österreichische Zeitschrift Für Soziologie, 37(4), 439–453. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11614-012-0066-y

Hadar, D. (2023). Teachers as workers and the creative work ethic in education research. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 55(2), 227–236. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131857.2022.2094240

Halvorsen, L. J., & Bjerke, P. (2019). All Seats Taken? Hyperlocal Online Media in Strong Print Newspaper Surroundings. Nordicom Review, 40(s2), 115–128. https://doi.org/10.2478/nor-2019-0030

Heeris Christensen, A.-B., Gyrd-Jones, R., & Beverland, M. B. (2024). Dialectical Emotional Labour in Digital Person-branding: The case of digital influencers. Organization Studies, 45(4), 571–591. https://doi.org/10.1177/01708406231208370

Jackelén, A. (2021). Technology, theology, and spirituality in the digital age. Zygon®, 56(1), 6–18. https://doi.org/10.1111/zygo.12682

Kukreja, R. (2021). Recouping masculinity: Understanding the links between macho masculinity and self-exploitation among undocumented South Asian male migrants in Greece. Geoforum, 122, 164–173. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2021.04.009

Ladyga, Z. (2022). Acedia and David Foster Wallace’s The Pale King1. European Journal of American Studies, 17(4). https://doi.org/10.4000/ejas.19013

Lavie, N., & Jamal, A. (2022). ‘We are merely furniture’: Palestinian actors and actresses react to rationalization and racialization processes in the Israeli TV market. European Journal of Cultural Studies, 25(4), 1099–1117. https://doi.org/10.1177/13675494211062621

Lee, M. (2017). Decoding the neoliberal subjectivity in self-helping adult learners. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 36(1–2), 145–163. https://doi.org/10.1080/02601370.2017.1272917

Lever, J., & Milbourne, P. (2017). The Structural Invisibility of Outsiders: The Role of Migrant Labour in the Meat-Processing Industry. Sociology, 51(2), 306–322. https://doi.org/10.1177/0038038515616354

Loriol, M. (2017). The collective regulation of smac workers’ passion and involvement. Sociologia Del Lavoro, 145, 168–183. https://doi.org/10.3280/SL2017-145010

Mann, S. A., & Dickinson, J. M. (1978). Obstacles to the development of a capitalist agriculture. The Journal of Peasant Studies, 5(4), 466–481. https://doi.org/10.1080/03066157808438058

Maria Norkus, Cristina Besio, & Nina Baur. (2016). Effects of project-based research work on the career paths of young academics. Work Organisation, Labour and Globalisation, 10(2). https://doi.org/10.13169/workorgalaboglob.10.2.0009

Marín Ossa, D. L. (2024). Auto-hackear la mirada de Narcis@ en las cavernas mediáticas y digitales: autopoiesis, automedialidad y relato audiovisual autobiográfico. Palabra Clave, 27(1), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.5294/pacla.2024.27.1.7

Mitchell, R. (2014). Seen but not heard: an embodied account of the (student) actor’s aesthetic labour. Theatre, Dance and Performance Training, 5(1), 59–73. https://doi.org/10.1080/19443927.2013.868367

Morris, J., Islam, G., & Davies, J. (2024). The search for meaningful work under neo-bureaucracy: Work precarity in freelance TV. Organization. https://doi.org/10.1177/13505084241236454

Mychajluk, L. (2024). Learning sustainability through enterprise work in ecovillages. Studies in Continuing Education, 46(2), 246–265. https://doi.org/10.1080/0158037X.2023.2222072

Navarro Claro, G. T., & Naranjo Africano, G. (2023). Cultura de calidad: Una revisión bibliométrica sobre su impacto en las organizaciones. Revista De Ciencias Sociales, 29, 346-361. https://doi.org/10.31876/rcs.v29i.40958

Nichols, D. C., Janssen, D. B., Beamer, C., & Ferring, C. (2022). Pivoting is exhausting: A critical analysis of local food system resilience. Journal of Rural Studies, 96, 180–189. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2022.10.024

Nyantakyi-Frimpong, H., & Bezner Kerr, R. (2017). Land grabbing, social differentiation, intensified migration and food security in northern Ghana. The Journal of Peasant Studies, 44(2), 421–444. https://doi.org/10.1080/03066150.2016.1228629

Ozimek, A. M. (2019). Outsourcing Digital Game Production: The Case of Polish Testers. Television & New Media, 20(8), 824–835. https://doi.org/10.1177/1527476419851088

Rojas-García, G., & Toledo González, M. P. (2018). Paid Domestic Work: Gender and the Informal Economy in Mexico. Latin American Perspectives, 45(1), 146–162. https://doi.org/10.1177/0094582X17734545

Saburova, D. (2019). Pour une analyse des idéologies du travail : le marxisme face à la psychodynamique du travail. Travailler, n° 42(2), 169–191. https://doi.org/10.3917/trav.042.0169

Shah, M. (2024). The desire for employability and self-exploitation: concretizing Lacan’s psychoanalysis on employability. Evidence-Based HRM: A Global Forum for Empirical Scholarship, 12(1), 130–151. https://doi.org/10.1108/EBHRM-06-2022-0151

Soriano Cortés, D. (2021). Las cooperativas de trabajo asociado: una alternativa de trabajo digno, sostenible e inclusivo. CIRIEC-España, Revista Jurídica de Economía Social y Cooperativa, 38, 11. https://doi.org/10.7203/CIRIEC-JUR.38.20864

Strebkov, D. O., & Shevchuk, A. V. (2019). Lovushka gibkoy zanyatosti: Kak nestandartnyy grafik raboty vliyaet na balans mezhdu rabotoy i zhiznyu frilanserov [The flexible employment trap: How irregular work schedules affect the work–life balance of freelancers]. The Monitoring of Public Opinion: Economic and Social Changes, (3). https://doi.org/10.14515/monitoring.2019.3.06

Tenor, C. (2019). Logic of an Effectuating Hyperlocal. Nordicom Review, 40(s2), 129–145. https://doi.org/10.2478/nor-2019-0031

Thompson, L., & Donaghue, N. (2014). The confidence trick: Competing constructions of confidence and self-esteem in young Australian women’s discussions of the sexualisation of culture. Women’s Studies International Forum, 47, 23–35. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wsif.2014.07.007

Tsing, A. (2009). Supply Chains and the Human Condition. Rethinking Marxism, 21(2), 148–176. https://doi.org/10.1080/08935690902743088

Turrini, M., & Chicchi, F. (2013). Precarious subjectivities are not for sale: the loss of the measurability of labour for performing arts workers. Global Discourse, 3(3–4), 507–521. https://doi.org/10.1080/23269995.2014.885167

Van Parijs, P. (2015). Social justice and the future of the social economy. Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, 86(2), 191–197. https://doi.org/10.1111/apce.12082

Vieira, T. (2023). Platform couriers’ self‐exploitation: The case study of Glovo. New Technology, Work and Employment, 38(3), 493–512. https://doi.org/10.1111/ntwe.12272

Wright, A. (2015). It’s all about games: enterprise and entrepreneurialism in digital games. New Technology, Work and Employment, 30(1), 32–46. https://doi.org/10.1111/ntwe.12042

Young, C. J. (2024). Desirable work: Creative autonomy and the everyday turn in game production. New Media & Society, 26(10), 5983–5998. https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448221146480

Yrigoy, I., Morell, M., & Müller, N. (2022). Why Do Middle‐Class Positions Matter? The Alignment of Short‐Term Rental Suppliers to the Interests of Capital. Antipode, 54(3), 959–978. https://doi.org/10.1111/anti.12798

Zumbansen, P. (2023). Runaway train? Decentralised finance and the myth of the private platform economy. Transnational Legal Theory, 14(4), 413–452. https://doi.org/10.1080/20414005.2023.2299156

Wei. (2015). Rural China, 12(2), 264–288. https://doi.org/10.1163/22136746-01202004

Meta-analysis on labor self-exploitation: trends and patterns in contemporary precarious work