Factors Affecting the Quality of Work Life Among Gig Workers: A Bibliometric Analysis and Literature Review
Keywords:
gig economy quality of work life (QWL) digital labor indonesia systematic literature reviewAbstract
This study aims to identify, review, and analyze scientific publication trends on the quality of work life (QWL) among gig workers. It examines how digital labor platforms and employment structures influence workers’ well-being, autonomy, and inclusion within the evolving digital economy. Specifically, this research explores how internal–subjective factors, such as flexibility, self-efficacy, resilience, and technological competence, interact with external–structural factors, including algorithmic management, income insecurity, and limited social protection. The study adopts a systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis using the VOSviewer software to map relevant publications indexed in Scopus between 2015 and 2025. Through co-occurrence analysis and full-text review of twelve eligible peer-reviewed articles, this study identifies dominant research themes, conceptual linkages, and knowledge gaps in the existing literature on gig workers’ QWL. The results show that while gig work offers autonomy, flexibility, and income opportunities, it simultaneously generates new forms of precarity due to weak institutional safeguards, opaque algorithmic governance, and the absence of collective representation. The findings suggest the importance of formulating inclusive digital labor policies that ensure fair compensation, algorithmic transparency, and access to social protection. This study provides valuable insights for policymakers, researchers, and platform companies to strengthen institutional arrangements and promote a more equitable and sustainable digital labor ecosystem in Indonesia. It also contributes to the global discourse on decent digital work by emphasizing the need to balance technological innovation with workers’ well-being and social justice.
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