An Autonomy Paradox- Scale Development and Validation

Abstract

As the expansion of digital technology has uprised, the ability for engagement in digital labor platforms has grown. This significant increase of gig economies, along with a rise in the number of individuals participating, leads to the potential of gig work. Although there are evident advantages, the drawbacks associated with Digital Labour Platforms have given rise to what is known as the autonomy paradox, particularly under the influence of algorithmic management regarding workers. This occurrence necessitates the creation and validation of a measurement instrument designed to assess the impacts of Digital Labour platform employment on workers' flexibility and transparency while handling through the intricacies of algorithmic management, which is defined by an automated and invisible managerial supervision. This instrument underwent validation with both exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), demonstrating that workers are, in fact, influenced by these unseen managers throughout the four phases of the work cycle, which include matching control, work control, evaluation and ratings control, and invisible manager.