Working time patterns on digital platforms
A new article in the Nordic Journal of Working Life Studies sheds light on who performs tasks on digital food delivery platforms and how many hours they work. The study is based on six years of data from Wolt and examines the couriers' working time patterns. Based on this, three segments can be identified: Dabblers, temporaries and regulars.
A new Danish study of the food delivery platform Wolt shows that working hours patterns among couriers can be divided into three groups: 'Dabblers' with short-term and sporadic activity, 'Temporaries' with part-time work for a limited period of time, and 'Regulars' who work more or less full-time for up to two years. The majority of the couriers fall into the first two categories, while the last group increasingly performs the majority of the tasks. In 2022, 'Regulars' accounted for as much as 60 % of the total working hours, despite the fact that they only make up just under 10 % of the couriers.
The study indicates that these full-time couriers often have a migrant background and more often are registered as self-employed compared to the other two groups. At the same time, their working conditions are increasingly reminiscent of regular employment. New regulatory initiatives – including the EU's directive on platform work and a Danish ruling classifying couriers as employees for tax purposes – challenge the platform's model of independent couriers. Thus, the platform may be forced to adapt to collective agreements and introduce employee status for the couriers in the long term.
Read the full article 'Segmentation of Working Time in the Gig Economy — A Panel Data Study' by Christian Haldrup, Anna Ilsøe, Trine Pernille Larsen, Jonas Hulgård Kristiansen and Jakob Johan Demant. Published in the Nordic Journal of Working Life Studies, August 2025.