This talk is two individual presentations on related topics.

PhD Candidate Benta Mbare: Global digital platforms shaping psycho-social health:  Case of food couriers in Finland

 The rise of platform work in Finland has provided labour market and income opportunities to platform workers. However, the work environment of food couriers portrays a deficit in decent work which exposes them to psychosocial risks thus detrimental to their occupational mental health. I will discuss how food delivery platform work associates with the psychosocial wellbeing of couriers in Finland. The results derive from a total of 30 in-depth interviews with food couriers in Helsinki and Tampere. 

Dr. Mikko Perkiö: How do platform companies smuggle working life norms of the global South onto the Nordics.

The digital economy is largely based on working life norms commonly found in the global South, a stark contrast to those characteristic to the Nordic welfare model. Central to the digital platform economy is the power imbalance between business partners (company and worker), which replaces employment granting rights to employee. Precarious, gig-based self-employment is accompanied with an increase in informal work. Self-employment sets occupational safety and health as the individual worker’s responsibility. Unionization of platform workers remains low, even in a region of strong labour unions. Platform companies capitalise on  the labour of international students and migrants, particularly ones with weak residency and limited access to social security. These regulatory and solidarity gaps of platform work need to be addressed.

Additional educational resources

• Muntaner, Carles (2018). Digital Platforms, Gig Economy, Precarious Employment, and the Invisible Hand of Social Class. International Journal of Health Services. 2018;48(4):597-600. doi:10.1177/0020731418801413
• Perkiö, Mikko; Mbare, Benta; Svynarenko, Arseniy; Kokkinen, Lauri; Koivusalo, Meri (2023) Occupational Safety and Health Risks amongst Food Delivery Workers at https://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-03-2926-6 Pages 71-79.
• Mbare, Benta (2023). Psychosocial work environment and mental wellbeing of food delivery platform workers in Helsinki, Finland: A qualitative study. International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-being 18:1. DOI: 10.1080/17482631.2023.2173336

About Nordic Global Health Talks

Nordic Global Health Talks is a monthly webinar series about global health research at Nordic universities, hosted by the Nordic Network on Global Health. It is free and open to everyone interested in knowing more about Nordic global health research, education and collaborative projects.

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