Expressions, conflict and virtual organization of platform drivers

Data collection strategies in Mexico City during the declaration of isolation by COVID-19

Abstract

This article details the methodological strategy used in collecting information to understand the perception of work management of application drivers in Mexico City based on the case study of the Uber platform. The conditions of the research were adapted to the context of the restrictions derived from the declaration of isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic in the City starting in March 2020. Due to the limitations imposed by the Mexican State, it was necessary to rethink and adapt the research methodology to guarantee the objectives: identify the subjects' perception of work management, as well as the actions of resistance and organization against it. Given that, by nature, driving work is individualized and the conditions of the pandemic required isolation, this redesign considered the research questions: Are there spaces for socialization? What are these spaces? And how do the drivers interact with them? Therefore, the design of the data collection strategy included four approaches. First, the detailed recording of digital application workers' interactions on social networks. Second, the careful monitoring of conflicts on these platforms through news published on the internet. Third, participation in driver forums and chats to establish connections and facilitate subsequent online interviews, and finally, registration as a partner-driver of the application. As a result, different actions of individual resistance were identified, as well as four types of collective organization whose virtuality was the starting point.