Invisible burdens of platform work: a qualitative study of food-delivery riders’ lived experiences in urban India

Purpose: This study explored the lived experiences of food delivery riders in India’s platform economy, focusing on psychosocial, physical, and emotional challenges embedded in their daily work. It critically examines how precarity, emotional labor, and symbolic violence shape riders’ well-being. Methods: This study employed a qualitative phenomenological design. In-depth interviews were conducted with 10 food delivery riders from an urban district in South India, who participated anonymously. The data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. Results: Surviving precision, embodied exhaustion, emotional discipline under surveillance, internalized struggles, and fragmented routines emerged as key themes. Participants described working under difficult climatic conditions and persistent physical pain, reflecting the precarious nature of platform-based delivery work. They also struggled to maintain constant politeness with customers while being monitored through algorithmic surveillance. This findings reveal significant psychosocial burdens, including physical strain, emotional fatigue, social withdrawal, experience of disrespect, internalization of blame, and economic insecurity. Conclusions: Platform work reinforces structural precarity, emotional suppression, and symbolic exclusion, profoundly shaping the health and well-being of food delivery workers. These findings highlight the need for policy reforms to protect gig workers’ mental health, dignity, and social inclusion, and advocating for the psychosocially sensitive governance of digital labor platforms.