A study on Malaysia’s gig workers in food delivery services

Ling, Teck Ping (2023) A study on Malaysia’s gig workers in food delivery services. Master dissertation/thesis, UTAR.

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Abstract

Globally, food delivery has become increasingly popular in recent years, thanks to the rise of online ordering and user-friendly mobile apps that make it easy for consumers to order food one click away through smartphones or websites. Without exception, food delivery industry in Malaysia has seen significant growth in recent years due to the same reason particularly after COVID-19 which further increased the adaption of such technology by majority of the consumers. As a result, there is a significant increase in the demand for food delivery services in Malaysia, which in turn has led to an increase in the number of food delivery riders in the country. On the bright side, the food delivery industry has provided job opportunities to many individuals who lost their job during the pandemic or to those who wish to earn extra income with freedom and flexibility. Despite the benefits, food riders were said to have experienced job dissatisfaction due to high workload, income instability, pressure from customers, personal safety and health implications. Hence, this study aims to propose an exploratory study to understand the motivators and stressors among the Malaysian food delivery riders in terms of job satisfaction, benefits, level of autonomy and work flexibility. This study has conducted semi-structured in-depth interviews using open-ended questions as the main instrument to collect richer and descriptive data of each respondent's experiences. Furthermore, this study has adopted an inductive approach to thematic analysis to draw better interpretation on the collected data. Subsequently, JD-R theory will be employed as the theoretical framework for this study to explain the findings. As the study is closely related to current social problems, this study is valuable in revealing practical implications to address possible practical measures and initiatives to the private sectors as well as government interventions. Last but not least, limitations and recommendations for future studies will be drawn for the sake of future works in general.

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