The Everyday HCI of Uber Drivers in India : A Developing Country perspective

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Uber drivers in India are witnessing an early emergence of everyday work formalization predominantlythrough their engagement with the Uber platform. If a vast segment of the informal employment sector ina country resembles gig work, can companies like Uber bring organisational ability and wage regularity toemployment? Despite Uber’s economic model being challenged on several labour fronts under the criticalscholarship of the global North, we argue everyday interactions with the Uber platform are ushering organisedwork practices, improved financial stability for drivers who formerly hailed from the informal employmentsector in India. The everyday of driving for Uber is filtered through a conceptual and practical work modeldrivers gain with due experience of Uber’s platform features. Our ethnographic investigation uncovered therelationship between the controlling demands of the Uber platform and ensuing driver work adaptations. Wepresent findings from a qualitative investigation of Uber ride hailing services impacting drivers to 1. optimizeearnings, 2. Link work effort to wages 3. converge towards platform compliance. We highlight engaged andpersistent interactions with the Uber platform promoting compliance and bringing structure to the professionof driving for Indian Uber drivers