You are not alone: access to collective representation buffers the harmful impact of customer sexual harassment on gig workers

Abstract

Abstract Amid the rapid growth of the gig economy, gig workers can be particularly vulnerable to customer sexual harassment (CSH), facing unique challenges due to the “one-off” nature of their interactions with customers, insufficient protections, and the absence of bystanders who could potentially intervene. As one of the first attempts to connect the gig work and sexual harassment literatures, this research draws from conservation of resources theory to understand how CSH impacts gig workers’ subsequent behaviors and what protective factors can buffer such detrimental effects. With a five-day diary study (373 daily observations from 99 individuals) and a three-wave, time-separated survey study ( N = 377) on gig workers in the USA, we found that they experienced higher psychological distress and perceived greater self-threat after CSH exposure and, in turn, showed increased deviance in production and interpersonal interaction with customers. Importantly, the indirect detrimental effects of CSH on production deviance and interpersonal deviance, through psychological distress and self-threat, respectively, were weaker for gig workers who had access to collective representation than those who lacked such access. Theoretical and practical implications are further discussed in the paper.