PRECARIOUS WORK, OCCUPATIONAL STRESS AND PSYCHOSOCIAL WELL-BEING AMONG PLATFORM-BASED DELIVERY WORKERS IN INDIA

An Analysis of Employment Insecurity, Workplace Challenges, Mental Health and Socio-Economic Conditions in the Gig Economy.

Abstract

Anyone who has ordered groceries in an Indian city recently has seen how quickly platform-based delivery has grown. Food delivery apps were followed by quick-commerce services that now promise orders within ten or twenty minutes. The riders who make this possible are usually treated as independent "partners" rather than employees, and many of them work without a fixed income, social security or a clear employer. This narrative review draws on research published between 2020 and 2026 to understand how insecure work, occupational stress and psychosocial well-being are linked among platform-based delivery workers, with a focus on India.

Studies were located through Google Scholar, PubMed and major publisher databases and were analysed thematically. Seven themes emerged: precarious employment and economic insecurity; work intensity and time pressure; algorithmic management; occupational hazards and physical health; mental health and psychosocial well-being; work-life balance and social relationships; and social protection and protective resources. Across settings, income dependence, long hours, tight delivery deadlines and algorithmic control were repeatedly associated with stress, burnout, anxiety, depression and fatigue. Road accidents, musculoskeletal pain and heat exposure added to this strain. Social support, a sense of meaning in the work, psychological capital and active coping appeared to protect workers.

Indian research is still limited to food delivery in a handful of cities, and quick-commerce partners have barely been studied. The review proposes a framework that combines labour precarity with the Job Demands-Resources model and sets out implications for policy, social work practice and future research.