Psychosocial demands of subordinate work in delivery platform companies: Control procedures and effects on the health of delivery workers.

This article analyzes the management of delivery workers (DW) by delivery platform companies (DPC) in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, focusing on how algorithmic control mechanisms intensify work and limit worker autonomy, with repercussions for health and safety. It identifies two main employment modalities—Cloud, with flexible hours but unstable order supply, and Logistics Operator (LO), with scheduled shifts but similar lack of protections—and highlights low remuneration, extended unpaid waiting times, and frequent changes in work rules that increase psychosocial and physical risks. The study finds that DPC use scoring systems, automatic order acceptance, and punitive measures to enforce high productivity, compelling DW to accept deliveries even in unsafe conditions, while workers develop limited regulation strategies to cope with these demands. The findings suggest that expanding DW autonomy and eliminating intensification mechanisms are necessary to prevent occupational accidents and illness, emphasizing the need for fair remuneration and negotiation channels within platform labor.