Improving Microwork = Improving the Labour Market. Outlining the Patterns of Dualisation in Microwork.

Microwork, a sub-type of platform labour, which encompasses the completion of online short, fragmented tasks via microworking platforms is notably absent from the discourse or the attempts to regulate the platform economy. Resembling the Marxist piece-wage model of employment, microwork pays per completed task, is fragmentary, removed from the bigger context, and location-independent. These conditions create difficulties in mobilising workers to fight for their rights and fall outside of the false self-employment regulatory focus. Following the institutional theory of dualisation, this paper argues that the precarious conditions experienced by microworkers can be attributed to the inequalities in the labour market as a whole. A thematic analysis of 45 interviews with microworkers from Germany, Portugal, and Spain showcases there are qualitative differences within the variety of microtasks available, and that on the level of the national economy, labour market outsiders tend to engage in qualitatively inferior tasks that offer lower pay and less secure working terms. Moreover, the insiders engaging in microwork are less vulnerable to experiencing the negative consequences of its risks. These results imply the need to address job insecurity and employment difficulties experienced in the secondary labour market sector, as well as the necessity of improving the quality of microwork in general.