Invisible Control, Visible Struggles

In recent years, the COVID-19 pandemic, technological advancements and consumer habits have significantly increased the popularity of online food ordering services. The individuals who have to fulfil this growing demand are food delivery workers, referred to as partners by platforms. However, in reality, the relationship between workers and them contradicts this label, with platforms holding significant power and control over workers. The food delivery sector is mainly studied in major markets in East Asia with smaller countries remaining comparatively underexplored. Therefore, this study focuses on Lithuania and investigates food delivery platforms such as Wolt, Bolt Food and LastMile, which are all based in the country. Since these workers are not employees, they cannot be managed in traditional ways. As a result, platforms seek to control without direct intervention and rely on more sophisticated methods, such as using algorithms to monitor, evaluate and manage workers. However, the technology does not exist without human intervention. This leads the discussion to workplace surveillance. The research works to answer two main concerns: (1) How do food delivery workers in Lithuania perceive and experience workplace surveillance? and (2) What tactics do workers use to navigate or resist it? This study draws on 12 semi-structured interviews: ten with food delivery workers from Wolt, Bolt Food, and LastMile, and two with journalists who, through their investigations, offer expert insight into the online food delivery industry. The findings are analysed through the theoretical lenses of the gig economy and surveillance, with a focus on the Panopticism, and de Certeau's concept of tactics. The study reveals that most food delivery workers do not directly perceive themselves as being surveilled, their behaviours and understandings of platform logic are inherently shaped by the platforms' power. Workers tend to self-regulate and adapt their behaviour in the platform's favour, mostly without explicit recognition of such actions. That being said, they are not passive recipients of this power and look for ways to 'game' the system. Resistance is small and embedded in everyday practices. The findings highlight a gap between platforms' discourses and reality where food delivery workers operate under conditions resembling a Panopticon. This study contributes to ongoing scholarly debates on online food delivery services and offers insights from the Lithuanian context.