How does the volatile nature of Gig work affect workaholic state and work-related behaviors?

In the emerging gig economy, platform workers’ pay is volatile and fluctuating as they work on a real-time basis. This paper examines how specific types of pay-pay volatility and daily income goal achievement ratio—shape individual workaholic impulses on a daily basis, and how this workaholic state leads to important work-related behaviors. Drawing on the motivational approach to addiction (Köpetz et al., 2013), we examine how daily income achievement ratio and pay volatility jointly shape individual workaholic states—uncontrollable inner compulsion or pressure to work beyond what is expected despite its negative consequences. Specifically, we argue that on days platform workers gain higher income than they have expected, these workers are more likely to feel higher workaholic impulse and that this relationship becomes stronger for those with higher volatility in terms of daily income. In addition, we go on to argue that these workaholic impulses lead to enhanced daily goal progress, but also higher deviance. In sum, we develop a theoretical model that suggests an interaction effect of pay volatility and daily income goal achievement ratio on workaholic state, which, in turn, leads to important work-related behaviors.