Uncertainty, Isolation, and the Erosion of Safety Nets: The Structural Impact of the Gig Economy on Worker Mental Health
Keywords:
gig economy, mental health, precarious work, social isolation, social protection, algorithmic management, psychological distressAbstract
The gig economy, defined by short term, platform mediated work, is reshaping employment relations and working conditions. This literature review examines its impact on worker mental health through three structural features: income instability, social isolation, and the absence of formal social protection. The analysis shows that chronic earnings volatility and algorithmic management produce psychological insecurity, undermine perceived control, and heighten anxiety. These pressures are intensified by limited access to benefits such as health insurance and paid leave, exposing workers to significant financial risk. At the same time, the dispersed and digitally mediated nature of gig work weakens workplace communities. Workers often lack peer support, shared identity, and informal mechanisms that buffer stress. The combined effect of persistent stressors and missing protective factors creates a high risk environment for burnout, loneliness, and depressive symptoms. Mental health problems in the gig economy are therefore structural outcomes of its organizational design. Effective responses require policy reform, platform redesign, and public health strategies that directly address these underlying conditions.
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