ArticleBMC psychology2025
Perceived algorithmic control and gig workers' work engagement: assessing the mediating role of psychological empowerment and the moderating effect of deep acting.
Article in BMC psychology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed.
- Review
- The Impact of Perceived Algorithmic Control on Gig Workers' Turnover Intention: Mediating Roles of Perceived Usefulness and Psychological Contract Breach.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Responsible workplace data governance and organizational performance: evidence from Chinese listed firms.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Article
- The algorithmic management paradox: a structured integrative review of perceived autonomy on performance in digital workplaces.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Review
- Algorithmic management and employee innovation: unveiling the mediating mechanisms of perceived fit, perceived control and job crafting.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Voice in the algorithmic era: how perceived algorithmic control influences gig workers' voice behavior.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Article
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundOnline labor platforms rely on algorithmic control to manage gig work, but its impact on work engagement remains contested. Existing research predominantly adopts technological determinism perspectives, neglecting gig workers' agency, and lacking systematic exploration of motivational mechanisms and emotional resources. Based on Self-Determination Theory, this study examines how perceived algorithmic control influences work engagement through psychological empowerment, with deep acting as a moderator.
methodsData were collected from Chinese gig workers (delivery riders/ride-hailing drivers, N = 392) through snowball and convenience sampling. Established scales measured core variables. Common method bias was tested using SPSS and AMOS, while PLS-SEM analyzed reliability, validity, and hypothesized pathways.
resultsPerceived algorithmic control positively affects work engagement. Three psychological empowerment sub-dimensions-meaning, influence, and competence-partially mediate relationships between perceived algorithmic control sub-dimensions and work engagement respectively. Deep acting strengthens the positive effect of perceptual algorithm tracking evaluation on influence, and shows highest importance for work engagement but suboptimal performance. Among psychological empowerment sub-dimensions, meaning exhibits the most prominent importance and requires priority optimization.
conclusionsThis study transcends technological determinism and validates the positive pathway through which algorithmic control enhances work engagement via psychological empowerment. It reveals meaning construction's central role and deep acting's differentiated moderating effects. Online labor platforms should optimize algorithm design, strengthen meaning perception, reduce ineffective monitoring, implement psychological empowerment incentive mechanisms, provide emotional resource support, and guide deep acting strategies.
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