Does platform cooperativism represent a future for work? The case of a French cooperative of bike couriers

Abstract

The delivery sector has undergone profound changes in the way work is organised, particularly under the influence of platform capitalism and its algorithmic management. This phenomenon exacerbates processes of work precarisation that have been underway for decades. Alternatives have started to emerge, known as platform cooperativism, which aim to rethink the organisation of work. Despite their long socio-economic history, cooperatives have not been extensively researched from a physical and mental health perspective. The results of our investigation into the psychodynamics of work among couriers in a French cargo bicycle delivery cooperative show that health-related aspects – inseparable from the subjective relationship to work – shed light on individuals’ choices to embark on an alternative ‘entrepreneurial adventure’. We suggest that this way of working could signal an alternative to the model proposed by neoliberal economics, with their deleterious effects on health, on the collective, and more globally on politics.