Health and safety risk perceptions and needs of app‐based drivers during COVID‐19

Abstract

Background: App-based drivers face work disruptions and infection risk during a pandemic due to the nature of their work, interactions with the public, and lack of workplace protections. Limited occupational health research has focused on their experiences.Methods: We surveyed 100 app-based drivers in Seattle, WA to assess risk perceptions, supports, and controls received from the company that employs them, sources of trust, stress, job satisfaction, COVID-19 infection status, and how the pandemic had changed their work hours. Data were summarized descriptively and with simple regression models. We complemented this with qualitative interviews to better understand controls and policies enacted during COVID-19, and barriers and facilitators to their implementation.Results: Drivers expressed very high levels of concern for exposure and infection (86%-97% were "very concerned" for all scenarios). Only 31% of drivers reported receiving an appropriate mask from the company for which they drive. Stress (assessed via PSS-4) was significantly higher in drivers who reported having had COVID-19, and also significantly higher in respondents with lower reported job satisfaction. Informants frequently identified supports such as unemployment benefits and peer outreach among the driver community as ways to ensure that drivers could access available benefits during COVID-19.Conclusions: App-based drivers received few protections from the company that employed them, and had high fear of exposure and infection at work. There is increased need for health-supportive policies and protections for app-based drivers.The most effective occupational and public health regulations would cover employees who may not have a traditional employer-employee relationship.

Perceived COVID‐19 health and job risks faced by digital platform drivers and measures in place to protect them: A qualitative study

“…By engaging in in‐depth interviews with platform workers and managers, we were able to gain a grounded understanding of the COVID‐19‐related conditions of driver's work as well as their motivations and rationales for their actions related to COVID‐19 risk‐taking and protection. This study extends the limited literature on platform work and COVID‐19 risks faced by digital platform drivers 35 . We also provide recommendations on occupational health interventions for this sector.…”

“…It is surprising, given the technological sophistication of platform companies, that this innovation was not already in place. Finally, in a context where our study and others 19,35 have found that personal protective equipment was not always easily available, platform companies could provide more easily accessible personal protective equipment to workers, while also ensuring that it is of high quality.…”

“…Blundell et al 1 found that 78% of United Kingdom platform workers felt their health to be at risk while working but they continued to work due to economic insecurity. Similarly, Beckman et al 35 found that Seattle, USA, drivers were very concerned about COVID‐19 exposure, and experiencing high stress. Only one‐third of the workers surveyed had been provided with free masks or hand sanitizer.…”

Determinants of Stress, Depression, Quality of Life, and Intent to Leave in Washington State Emergency Medical Technicians During COVID-19

“…9 This can not only contribute to turnover 10 but also negatively impact well-being. 11 A recent survey of both EMTs and paramedics before the COVID-19 pandemic showed that 57% indicated a dependence on overtime, and 56% depended on working multiple jobs. 12 Dependence on extra work has been shown to increase the odds of job dissatisfaction and intent to leave EMS within 1 year.…”

Agility and Sustainability: A Qualitative Evaluation of COVID-19 Non-pharmaceutical Interventions in the UK Logistics Sector

“…We recognize that their views could differ significantly from the frontline workers' perspective. For example, surveys among app-based drivers reported concerns of infection risks from interactions with the public and insufficient workplace protections such as access to personal protective equipment (PPE) ( 31 , 46 ). Delivery workers in the French gig economy also expressed concerns of financial precarity and lack of union support ( 1 ).…”