Abuse on online labour markets: targets’ coping, powerand control

Abstract

Purpose–The purpose of this paper is to report a study of targets’ experiences of cyber bullying on online labour markets (OLMs). In addition to highlighting the link between targets’ coping and power and control,the paper compares conventional and digital workplaces.Design/methodology/approach–The method of critical hermeneutic phenomenology is used in the inquiry,bringing political and applied dimensions into the study. Targets’ lived experiences, developed as case studies,were explored via conversational interviews. Thematic analysis was undertaken ideo graphically, followed by ideology-critique at a nomothetic level. Adopting the psychological/behavioural lens of coping theory, ideology-critique identified micro-level schemas and macro-level ideologies that perpetuate target disenfranchisement.Critical hermeneutic phenomenology illuminates the mutuality between individual and social processes, opening new doors to address power inequities through emancipation.Findings–Hermeneutic phenomenology uncovered the core theme of“pursuing holistic and long-term well-being”, capturing targets ’attempts at working through their experiences of bullying withoutjeopardising their position on the OLM. Ideology-critique went beyond highlighting problem-focussed andemotion-focussed coping strategies that empowered targets to indicate how participants’ mindsets, anchoredin ongoing circumstantial discourses and long-standing social cognitions, inhibited them from questioning the status quo and exploring alternative coping strategies like legislation and collectivisation, there bycurbing their agency. The findings were theorised in terms of power and controlvis-à-visthe unique attributes of workplace cyber bullying, comparing and contrasting conventional and virtual workplaces.Research limitations/implications–The inquiry is limited to the Upwork platform. Including other OLMs will enhance theoretical generalisability.Practical implications–The study feeds into praxis by alerting digital workers in general and targets inparticular about their circumstances, setting the stage for mobilisation.Originality/value–The study makes several pioneering contributions. First, it reports the first empirical inquiry examining bullying in digital workplaces, importantly, also extending knowledge on cyber bullying across conventional versus digital workplaces. Moreover, OLM research on abuse and harassment has not been undertaken so far. Second, methodologically, the inquiry illustrates the combination of hermeneutic phenomenology with ideology-critique, taking the rare steps of joining ontological perspectives conventionally viewed as divergent and of incorporating a largely neglected micro-level focus in to ideology-critique. Third, it furthers theoretical insights into power and control in workplace bullying while drawing links with coping.