Collegial relationships and the non-monetary goods of work

Bieber, Friedemann and Unruh, Charlotte Franziska (2025) Collegial relationships and the non-monetary goods of work. Philosophers Imprint. (doi:10.3998/phimp.4828). (In Press)

Abstract

This article argues that an overlooked cost of gig work is that it gives rise to a collegiality gap: gig work diminishes the opportunity for workers to develop meaningful collegial relationships, and thus to realise important non-monetary goods of work. In setting out this argument, we first put forward a comprehensive account of collegiality. In addition to professional relationships, which can realize the goods of solidarity and recognition (Betzler and Löschke 2021), and collegial friendships, which can generate the goods of personal support and appreciation (Mlonyeni 2023), we argue there is a third type of collegial relationship: collaborative relationships, which can produce the goods of shared achievement and shared experience. We then argue that structural features common to gig work prevent workers from securing these goods: persistent competition makes it difficult to reap the benefits of professional relationships; the isolated nature of gig work makes it difficult to form collegial friendships; and task fragmentation, and the resulting seclusion, limit opportunities for collaboration, and thus for attaining shared achievements and the experience of working together. We close by briefly assessing political upshots, distinguishing an individual and a societal perspective on gig work’s threefold collegiality gap.

This record has no associated files available for download.

Contributors

Author: Charlotte Franziska Unruh

Download statistics