Purpose: This study aims to investigate how app drivers are giving meaning to their work, taking as a theoretical assumption the model proposed by Rosso, Dekas, & Wrzesniewski (2010). Originality/value: Internationally, the volume of empirical research involving digital labor markets is considered to be low. Nationally, research in the context of Sharing Economy rarely focuses on the labor perspective. Despite being a growing phenomenon, no studies were found on the production of meanings and meaningfulness of work by app drivers. Design/methodology/approach: This qualitative and exploratory research was carried out with 37 app drivers between May and September 2017, in Porto Alegre (RS, Brazil). Randomly selected, respondents were called to a work route by the transport application. The interviews’ content was categorized and analyzed according to the framework of Rosso et al. (2010). Findings: Elements that refer to all the model quadrants were found: “self-connection”, “individuation”, “contribution”, and “unification”. The predominant meaning, however, is desire, seeking and valuing by the agency, in the mechanisms of self-efficacy and self-management, especially in the financial, autonomy and flexibility perspectives. This research contributes to the intersection of the study of the labor world transformations and the construction of meanings and meaningfulness, using a framework little used in Brazilian research. It also collaborates to broaden the understanding of digital labor markets, especially their impact on workers.

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Resumo É inegável a importância econômica e social do trabalho informal como característica histórica do mercado de trabalho brasileiro. Neste ensaio, ao articular os eixos da informalidade e dos mercados laborais digitais, típicos da gig economy, defende-se a tese do “empresariamento da informalidade”, em que grandes empresas passam a mediar relações por meio de plataformas on-line, utilizando o trabalho informal. Esse fenômeno reorganiza e amplifica a informalidade, criando um novo estatuto laboral em que são mescladas características de atividade formal, como controle, avaliação de desempenho e incentivos financeiros, e informal, pela natureza autônoma e pela falta de vínculos trabalhistas. No Brasil, meios de alocação de mão de obra mediados por aplicativos têm crescido substancialmente, reforçando a necessidade de investigação teórica e empírica do fenômeno.