Navigating precarity and promise: a push pull thematic analysis of platform based three wheel drivers in Sri Lanka

Abstract

This study investigates the socio-economic motivations of Sri Lankan three wheeler drivers who engage in platform-based gig work (e.g., PickMe, Uber), applying Push Pull Theory to examine how structural pressures and perceived opportunities shape transitions into digital labor. Using a qualitative, phenomenological design, we conducted in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 16 drivers from urban and semi urban areas and carried out thematic analysis in MAXQDA. Five themes emerged: economic precarity; urban migration and livelihood transition; platform promises and flexibility; aspirational work narratives; and daily struggles, showing how constraints such as rural underemployment and rising living costs intersect with pull factors like autonomy and income flexibility, producing a dual reality of empowerment and precarity. Situated in a Global South context, the study offers rare qualitative insight into a marginalized segment of platform workers and addresses gaps in population, geography, theory, and methodology, underscoring the need for deeper socio-theoretical engagement with digital labor transitions.