Job Crafting in The Era of Algorithmic Management

Companies increasingly rely on algorithmic management (AM) to efficiently control and coordinate workers, especially in the quick commerce sector, where workers are required to work particularly fast. AM often implies that workers face cognitive demands, such as behavioral constraints imposed by a tight management regime, or significant physical demands, such as a high work pace. Against this backdrop, we interviewed 18 food delivery couriers about how they try to cope with these demands. We find that, despite AM-induced behavioral constraints, workers engage in job crafting to better cope with demanding work conditions, to enrich work roles, and to add or extend resources, thereby increasing their job satisfaction and the perceived meaningfulness of their work. In contrast to previous studies where job crafting is strategically enacted by workers for long-term benefits, our study finds that jobs can also be successfully crafted short-term in an ad hoc manner.