Technostress and Worker Well-Being in the Platform Economy: An Integrative Literature Review
TL;DR
This integrative literature review examines the relationship between technostress and worker well-being in the platform economy, with particular attention to algorithmic management, and proposes an integrated multilevel framework linking these elements.
Abstract
The rapid expansion of digital platform work has transformed how labour is organized, evaluated, and compensated, deepening workers' dependence on technology-mediated systems. This integrative literature review examines the relationship between technostress and worker well-being in the platform economy, with particular attention to algorithmic management. Drawing on 29 peer-reviewed sources identified through a structured search of academic databases and search engines, the review synthesizes evidence on techno-overload, techno-complexity, techno-insecurity, and techno-uncertainty alongside algorithmic monitoring, performance evaluation, scheduling, and compensation. Technology-related demands are consistently associated with emotional exhaustion, poorer well-being, work–life conflict, burnout, impaired productivity, reduced engagement, and intentions to discontinue platform work. These relationships are not uniform: worker appraisal, self-efficacy, personality, autonomy, transparency, fairness, and human influence shape how technological demands are experienced, while economic dependence and financial insecurity can intensify the consequences of algorithmic control by limiting workers' ability to reject undesirable conditions or exit platforms. The review conceptualizes platform worker well-being as a sociotechnical outcome arising from the interaction of digital demands, algorithmic governance, individual resources, and structural conditions, and proposes an integrated multilevel framework linking these elements. Gaps concerning longitudinal evidence, cross-platform comparison, measurement integration, geographic diversity, and platform-level interventions are identified, and a corresponding research agenda is outlined. The review contributes by connecting technostress theory with algorithmic-management and platform-dependence perspectives, and by arguing that improving platform worker well-being requires attention to platform design and governance rather than individual coping alone.