Introduction: Digital platforms have reshaped labour markets worldwide, increasing gig work opportunities. Platform-based motorbike delivery riders have become an increasingly visible and vital part of the urban labour force. Yet, they often lack employment protection, and while it offers income-opportunities, the precariousness of their work stand in contrast with the International Labour Organisation's decent work principles.
Purpose: Against the backdrop of the Psychology of Working Theory (PWT), which foregrounds how structural constraints affect access to decent work and its psychological impact, this study explores how motorbike delivery work promote and/or undermine the basic psychological needs of competence, relatedness and autonomy for such riders (i.e., the Self-Determination Theory embedded within the PWT).
Method: Within a constructivist paradigm, this study adopted a qualitative descriptive design, with 10 motorbike delivery riders in South Africa, each being interviewed twice. Data were analysed through hybrid thematic analysis.
Results: Findings show how platform-based motorbike delivery work both promoted and undermined riders' basic psychological needs, influenced by structural and socio-economic constraints. Amidst high unemployment and limited job opportunities in South Africa, platform-based motorbike delivery work could satisfy riders' psychological needs, particularly through interactions with customers and co-workers, fostering relatedness. As independent contractors, riders enjoyed more labour market flexibility, and often earned more than in previous jobs. However, challenges like limited training, social stigmatisation, and procedural injustice often restricted their needs for competence, relatedness and autonomy. As such, while certain aspects of their work offered partial fulfilment of needs, the realities of precarious employment often limit these experiences.
Conclusion: This study extends the PWT by explaining how structural constraints not only limited access to decent work, but also impact the quality and sustainability of psychological need fulfilment in precarious labour contexts. Therefore, precarious workers, facing limited choice due to economic constraints and marginalisation, experience restricted need satisfaction.