Between control and consent. From Braverman to Burawoy in platform capitalism. Work for Uber in Spain

Abstract

The article suggests the possibility of improving the understanding of the influence of algorithms embedded in platform work. For this purpose, a complementary view is applied, taking as a reference the classic works of Braverman and Burawoy. In a context of "platform capitalism" a series of technologies applied on work emerge, of which Uber would be one of its maximum representatives, characterized by "algorithmic management" and "information asymmetry". Employing the results of extensive research, with more than 40 interviews with platform workers in Spain, together with prolonged fieldwork, characteristic aspects of Uber's implementation in Spain are described. Specifically, processes of modification of the sector's own workshop culture are shown in an attempt to exert some kind of resistance to algorithmic logic.