Not Just in it for the Money : A Qualitative Investigation of Workers' Perceived Benefits of Micro-task Crowdsourcing

Micro-task crowd sourcing fosters a labor relation in which large volumes of small, simple tasks are completed at low cost by self-selected online workers. The growth of micro-task crowd sourcing, characterized by apparently low remuneration, begs the question how individual participants perceive the benefits of such micro work. In response we conducted a survey on Amazon's Mechanical Turk, a premier micro-task crowd sourcing platform. The sample included workers in the US and India. Through open-ended questions we inquired about perceived benefits of participants' work. A thematic analysis of responses revealed many benefits: monetary compensation, self-improvement, time management, emotional rewards, and benefits related to the characteristics of micro-tasking. Workers compartmentalized money earned from micro work into different non-fungible mental accounts for different purposes. American and Indian workers differed in non-monetary benefit perceptions. Indian workers valued self-improvement benefits, whereas American workers valued emotional benefits. Our results suggest that workers' recognize a diverse portfolio of benefits through micro work.