Study Suggests: Working via Digital Platforms Fosters Illusion of Autonomy

Around 1.5 million people worked through application platforms, such as Ifood and Uber, in 2022, according to a survey carried out by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). The research is part of an unprecedented module: Teleworking and Work through Digital Platforms of the Continuous National Household Sample Survey (Continuous PNAD). 

The data reveals the Brazilian scenario regarding platformized work and its implications for the economy and working conditions. One example is the proportion of these workers who contribute to Social Security, just 35.7%. In the view of Flávio Roberto Batista, professor at the Faculty of Law (FD) at USP, the social security issue highlights an alarming picture of precarious work. 

From an economic point of view, Arnaldo Mazzei Nogueira, researcher and professor at the Faculty of Economics, Administration, Accounting and Actuarial Science (FEA) at USP, states that the sector moves income, consumption and, consequently, the Brazilian economy and reveals a labor trend on demand. However, he also highlights that informal occupations go against the norms and rules regarding decent work , determined by the International Labor Organization (ILO). 

Labor conditions in Brazil  

Work platformed by applications promotes a distancing from labor obligations, based on the denial of a relationship under the justification of employee autonomy. However, Batista explains that, historically, Labor Law is based on the so-called “primacy of reality”, in which what happens in practice is privileged regardless of what was agreed between the sides. 

Based on this principle, what can be seen in the relationship between workers mediated by applications is a false idea of ​​autonomy, since the employment relationship still presents subordination, even if outside traditional standards. “What has been said in the most recent research on this is the so-called algorithmic subordination, the elements of this service provision are defined outside the control of the worker, through a computer program that is popularly known as an algorithm” points out Batista. 

IBGE data also reveals that this form of work largely affects the portion of the population without complete higher education. “This huge contingent of people is the ideal target for these companies, because they need to survive and this is how companies get buy-in so that they accept any type of working condition”, he highlights. The Law professor also draws attention to the lack of investment by the State to improve the qualifications of the workforce. 

Masks of precariousness 

The precariousness of work, with the reduction or absence of rights, has been masked behind the wave of celebration of informality in the form of entrepreneurship, according to Batista. Considering that the form of work will not influence the demand for these jobs, he highlights the need to change the form of distribution between worker remuneration and profits. 

“That’s why the propaganda is so strong for this activity to remain informal, the more informal this work is, the more favorable the company’s profit will be this distribution of income generated by application work”, considers Batista. The topic, however, presents many aspects still under discussion in the Brazilian Legislature and Judiciary.

Worker protection

Social Security is one of the main areas affected by this precariousness of work. When considered autonomous and not subordinate to Social Security, the individual becomes responsible for their own contributions and, in the precarious financial conditions in which these people live, this leads to evasion. 

Professor Nogueira considers that the biggest impact of not contributing this portion to Social Security affects the social conditions of the population and not public planning, since it makes up a very small relative contingent. “I’m not worried about public planning, I’m worried about the social tragedy that this means for Brazilian society, which will not have the right to Social Security”, he highlights. 

Even though work platformed by applications presents positive points – such as the possibility of an above-average income in some cases – Nogueira draws attention to greater State responsibility for promoting public policies aimed at work. Social Security reveals, for example, the need to reflect on the need to reduce income concentration. 

Nogueira comments on public policies aimed at labor issues, such as reducing working hours and, as a result, the employment of more people. “The trend in recent years is the opposite, we are reducing the number of people and increasing working hours above what the labor law provides for 40 hours per week, sometimes reaching 48 to 50”, he warns. Furthermore, with greater investment in qualified education, both at the basic and technical levels, the researcher foresees insertion into the job market with greater dignity.