Parental well-being in the context of platform employment: Taxi drivers' case

Purpose: to assess parental well-being among taxi drivers in the context of platform employment compared to parents working in other forms of employment.

Methods: the empirical basis of the study was formed using the method of a personal structured survey. To assess the impact of platform working conditions on parental well-being, a method for comparing the average level of parental well-being both in digital and non-digital types of employment was used. The analysis of quantitative data was carried out using methods of mathematical statistics, including oneway analysis of variance.

Results: the working conditions of taxi drivers with platform employment are characterized. High job satisfaction in this field was also found, confirmed by the fact that the majority of respondents consider self-employment as the optimal legal status for combining professional activity with parental commitments. Respondents' self-assessment of their well-being regarding combining work and parenting does not depend on the level of income; in the group of taxi workers, it is lower than in other employment formats. The main reason for the increased number of female taxi drivers is the inability to work full-time due to motherhood and the need for additional earnings.

Conclusions and Relevance: despite the high workload and income instability, parental well-being among taxi drivers working on a platform is higher than among those working in other forms of employment. The main determinant of parental well-being is flexible working conditions. A significant number of parent-taxi drivers consciously forgo social security and income stability in favour of flexible working hours. The study's findings highlight the importance of developing flexible work arrangements in the context of demographically diverse corporate support for parent-employees.

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