Research on the Influence of Employer Stickiness, Job Flexibility and the Social Insurance Participation Behavior of Platform Economy Workers
The number of platform economy workers in China is increasing rapidly. Studying the factors influencing their social insurance participation behavior can safeguard their basic rights and interests and promote the development of the platform economy. In order to explore the influence and mechanism of employer stickiness and job flexibility on the social insurance participation behavior of platform economy workers, this paper uses the questionnaire survey data on the social insurance related situation of platform self-employed individuals inShanghai in 2021, and applies the mediating effect model and logit model to test the relationship among the three. The research shows that employer stickiness can significantly promote the social insurance participation of platform economy workers, and job flexibility plays a mediating role in the above relationship. Employer stickiness promotes social insurance participation by reducing the job flexibility of workers. The influence of employer stickiness on social insurance is heterogeneous, and the promoting effect is more significant among workers with non-local household registration in the central and western regions aged 26-45. In view of this, the employment system in the labor market should be further improved, the employment behavior in the platform economy should be standardized, and the social insurance participation behavior of platform economy workers should be promoted more effectively.
[1] Alameddine, M., Baumann, A., Onate, K., Crea, M., Arnaout, N. E., & Deber, R. (2017). Job stickiness of young nurses in Ontario: Does the employer organization participation in the Nursing Graduate Guarantee initiative make a difference? Health Policy, 121(7), 809-815.
[2] Chai, W. & Cheng, L. (2024). Identification of labor relations under the internet platform employment model: Judicial dilemmas and path exploration in new business forms. Hebei Law Science, 42(7), 163-180.
[3] Chang, K., & Zheng, X. (2019). Employment relationship or cooperative relationship?——An analysis of the nature of employment relationship in the internet economy. Journal of Renmin University of China, 33(2), 78-88.
[4] Chen, B., Liu, T., Guo, L., & Xie, Z. (2020). The disembedded digital economy: Social protection for new economy employment in China. Social Policy & Administration, 54(7), 1246-1260.
[5] Cheng, Z., Nielsen, I., & Smyth, R. (2014). Access to social insurance in urban China: A comparative study of rural-urban and urban-urban migrants in Beijing. Habitat International, 41, 243-252.
[6] Fırat, G., Gough, J., & Moorkens, J. (2024). Translators in the platform economy: A decent work perspective. Perspectives: Studies in Translation Theory and Practice, 32(3), 422-440.
[7] Giles, J., Meng, X., Xue, S., & Zhao, G. (2021). Can information influence the social insurance participation decision of China’s rural migrants?. Journal of Development Economics, 150, 102645.
[8] Hu, L. (2020). The evolution of control over the labor process and labor subordination in the platform economy and institutional responses. Economic Review, 12(2), 36-44.
[9] Hyman, L. (2019). Humans as a service: The promise and perils of work in the gig economy. ILR Review,72(1), 255-256.
[10] Jia, H. (2021). Comparative analysis of the impact of household registration and labor contracts on the participation of floating population in social insurance——Based on the negative binomial regression model of survey data from 18 cities in 6 provinces. Jinan Journal (Philosophy and Social Sciences Edition), 43(10), 73-85.
[11] Kalleberg, L. A. (2009). Precarious work, insecure workers: Employment relations in transition. American Sociological Review, 74(1), 1-22.
[12] Katiyatiya, L. M., & Lubisi, N. (2025). The current social protection discourse, gig economy within the advent of COVID-19: Some emerging legal arguments. Labor History, 66(1), 64-76.
[13] Li, K. (2019). Research on the work-related injury insurance issues of flexible employees under the background of “Internet +”. Law Review, 37(3), 140-151.
[14] Lou, Y. (2021). Legal analysis and system construction for the protection of labor rights and interests of flexible employees in the platform economy. Journal of Fujian Normal University (Philosophy and Social Sciences Edition), 12(2), 70-81.
[15] Meng, X. (2020). Unemployment insurance for practitioners in the internet platform economy: Institutional dilemma and construction logic. Lanzhou Academic Journal, 12(11), 73-85.
[16] Que, Z. (2021). Judicial determination of labor relations under the background of flexible employment of takeaway ordering platform. China Journal of Applied Jurisprudence, (4), 62-75.
[17] Razak, S. S. A., & Shukor, S. F. A. (2025). Reforming social security protection for platform workers in Malaysia’s digital labour platforms. IIUM Law Journal, 33(1), 35-64.
[18] Razak, S. S. A., Wahab, H. A., Jusoh, A., & Ramli, N. (2023). Young workers on digital platform work: A review of rights and protection in Malaysia. In International Conference on Business and Technology (pp. 480-489). Springer.
[19] Sun, Z. (2021). Research on occupational injury protection of employers on internet platform. Lanzhou Academic Journal, (9), 83-102.
[20] Wang, B., & Peng, S. (2023). Research on labor remuneration disputes from the perspective of big data. Journal of Southwest University (Social Sciences Edition), 49(6), 79-92.
[21] Wang, J. (2024). Gender income gap in the urban labor market: An explanation based on occupational mobility. Chinese Journal of Population Science, 38(3), 18-33.
[22] Wang, L., & Tu, Y. (2022). On the improvement of the social security system for flexible employees. Guangdong Social Sciences, 6(6), 248-257 + 283.
[23] Wang, Q., & Wang, Q. (2018). Identifying labor relationship involving “workers hired through internet” and protection of their interests. Law Science, (4), 57-72.
[24] Wang, X., & Zhu, Q. (2021). Family rearing burden, willingness to participate in endowment insurance and behavior: An analysis based on the “sandwich class” of the floating population. Insurance Studies, 12(8), 83-96.
[25] Wei, Z. (2013). Analysis of regional differences in the social insurance participation status of the floating population——Based on the questionnaire survey of the floating population in 32 provincial-level units across the country in 2011. Population Journal,35(2), 81-89.
[26] Wood, A. J., Graham, M., Lehdonvirta, V., & Hjorth, I. (2019). Good gig, bad gig: Autonomy and algorithmic control in the global gig economy. Work, Employment and Society,33(1), 56-75
[27] Wu, Y., & Xiao, H. (2018). Social insurance participation among rural migrants in reform era China. Asian and Pacific Migration Journal, 27(4), 383-403.
[28] Xu, X. (2022). Innovation and development path of e-commerce model under the platform economy. Macroeconomic Management, 12(5), 85-90.
[29] Yan, N., Li, T., Zhou, Y., Li, M., & Wang, S. (2020). Analysis of the social insurance system for practitioners in the platform economy under the new employment forms. Macroeconomic Management, 12(12), 69-76 + 84.
[30] Yu, S. (2021). The jurisprudential logic and path selection for the protection of platform economy workers. Academic Frontiers, 25(20), 44-54.
[31] Zhang, B. (2021). Identification of labor relations and protection of rights and interests in internet platform employment. Employment and Security, (21), 194-196.
[32] Zhang, Y. (2022). International experience in social insurance for flexible employees. China Social Security, 12(4), 38-39.
[33] Zhao, Q. (2024). Social insurance participation choices and their influencing factors of practitioners in new business forms: A survey based on the groups of delivery riders and couriers. Social Security Review, 8(3), 57-74.
[34] Zhao, Q. (2021). The dilemma of social security and the path of system optimization for the flexible employment group on internet platforms. Academic Journal of Zhongzhou, 12(7), 96-102.
[35] Zhao, Y., & Gu, H. (2023). Occupational stability and intergenerational differences: A retrospective survey based on the occupational experiences of Shanghai residents. Population and Development, 29(6), 111-121.
[36] Zhu, B. (2022). Stabilization and structuring——Changes in China’s labor market from the perspective of new institutionalism (2006-2017). Sociological Studies, 37(2), 1-22 + 226.
[37] Zhu, X. (2021). Discussion on the occupational injury protection system for practitioners in new business forms — Based on the research of leading enterprises in the platform economy. Journal of Huazhong University of Science and Technology (Social Sciences Edition), 35(2), 32-40.