Explaining the decline of tipping norms in the gig economy

Abstract

Purpose Advances in information technology have enabled new ways of organizing work and led to a proliferation of what is known as the “gig economy.” While much attention has been paid to how these new organizational designs have upended traditional employee–employer relationships, there has been little consideration of how these changes have impacted the social norms and expectations that govern the relationship between workers and consumers. The purpose of this paper is to consider the social norm of tipping and propose that gig work is associated with a breakdown of tipping norms in part because of workers’ increased autonomy in terms of deciding when and whether to work. Design/methodology/approach The authors present four studies to support their hypothesis: a survey vignette experiment with workers on Amazon Mechanical Turk (Study 1), an analysis of New York City taxi data (Study 2), a field experiment with restaurant employee food delivery drivers (Study 3) and a field experiment with gig-worker food delivery drivers (Study 4). Findings In Studies 1 and 2, they find that consumers are less likely to tip when workers have autonomy in deciding whether to complete a task. In Study 3, they find that restaurant delivery employees notice upfront tips (or lack thereof) and alter their service as a result. In contrast, in Study 4, they find that gig-workers who agree to complete a delivery for a fixed amount that includes an upfront tip (or lack thereof) are not responsive to tips. Together, these findings suggest that the gig economy has not only transformed employee-employer relationships, but has also altered the norms and expectations of consumers and workers. Originality/value The authors present four different studies that consider the social norm of tipping in the context of gig work. Together, they highlight that perceptions of worker autonomy have driven the decline in tipping norms associated with gig work.

The organizational psychology of gig work: An integrative conceptual review.

“…found that gig workers tend to receive smaller tips than do standard employees. Furthermore, tips have less effect on gig service quality than they do when the service is provided by standard employees (Duhaime & Woessner, 2019). If tipping declines, of course, this could signal a significant loss in take-home pay.…”

“…In an interesting series of four studies, Duhaime and Woessner (2019) found that gig workers tend to receive smaller tips than do standard employees. Furthermore, tips have less effect on gig service quality than they do when the service is provided by standard employees (Duhaime & Woessner, 2019). If tipping declines, of course, this could signal a significant loss in take-home pay.…”

“…Tipping norms appear to be different for gig workers. In an interesting series of four studies, Duhaime and Woessner (2019) This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.…”

Gig Work in Post Pandemic Times: Does it an Agile Work Structure?

“…Further, despite the lack of experience in performing new job, the motivation and determination of the gig workers also become the additional issue that could be disputed. As the job features, the company in gig economy has low control towards the quality of services performs by the gig workers (Duhaime et al, 2019). Both sides of the gig workers and company has different expectation especially in the service-based company with temporary connection based on the availability of the job.…”

Designing technology for on‐demand delivery: The effect of customer tipping on crowdsourced driver behavior and last mile performance

“…However, tipping has been shown to increase demand by raising perceptions of superior service quality and reducing perceived expensiveness of the service (Lynn, 2019; Lynn et al, 1993; Lynn & Wang, 2013). Hence, tipping features enable technology platforms to address driver remuneration and customer perceptions (Duhaime & Woessner, 2019), which both have performance‐enhancing properties.…”