Driving the Extra Mile in the Gig Economy: The Motivational Foundations of Gig Worker Citizenship

The emergence of gig work (e.g., freelancing, rideshare driving, food and parcel delivery, travel nursing, virtual assistantship) and the gig economy challenges organizational researchers to consider how they should revise traditional theories of work behavior to consider the dynamics of new work arrangements. As a prime example that is central to this review, organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) is a form of job performance whereby motives stem from the quality of work relationships with direct supervisors, coworkers, and other organizational agents. However, gig workers experience very different work relationships and may perform OCB for different reasons (if at all). In this review, we address the question of how OCB theory should evolve to be relevant to gig workers. We summarize traditional motives for OCB performance and review current research describing and classifying gig work. We conclude by (a) identifying gig worker citizenship (GWC) as a form of citizenship behavior that better fits the reality of gig work and (b) offering a revised model of how OCB motives may help predict GWC performance.