Exploring the factors shaping the mental well-being of Gig workers: a systematic literature review

Abstract

The gig economy has revolutionized the present global job market, with the boost of gig working trends. Despite offering the major positive perk of work flexibility, gig work also creates felt challenges towards the mental well-being of gig-workers. In such a setting, this review of literature was conducted with the aim of synthesizing the factors affecting the mental well-being of gig workers as per the global scholarly discourse. The review includes 35 peer-reviewed articles published between 2015 to 2025 analyzed in par with PRISMA 2020 guidelines. In terms of review outcomes, several key factors such as job safety concerns, variability of periodic income and algorithmic control were identified as most influential stressors of gig workers. Interestingly, results also revealed that technostress and social isolation are further contributors hindering the gig worker’s mental well-being. Even though literature reveals mechanisms such as peer support networks and flexibility of job schedules as mental well-being facilitators, such aspects are reported inconsistently across different contexts. The review sheds light on interesting yet underexplored areas such as platform design and demographic variabilities influencing gig-worker’s mental well-being, as possible avenues for future research. In this manner, this review synthesizes fragmented literature and subsequently presents a comprehensive framework that captures triple aspects of economic, technological and social stressors, which collectively contribute towards the mental-wellbeing outcomes of gig-workers. By embedding local evidence together with global studies, the results further provide valuable implications for target stakeholders regarding shared as well as region-specific challenges. In this manner, this review of literature contributes towards the advancement of understanding psychological realities of gig-work and further paves way towards future research whilst calling for policy reforms aimed at creating sustainable and supportive gig economies.