Collaborating across borders or competing in precarity? Migrant labour in europe’s digital transition

Abstract

This study investigates how migrant workers in Europe experience and respond to the ongoing digital transformation of labor, focusing on their strategies for navigating uncertainty and pressure within platform-based employment systems. Given the growing dependence of the digital economy on migrant labor, often situated in precarious and legally unprotected roles, this issue demands critical attention. A qualitative approach grounded in phenomenological inquiry is employed to explore the subjective meanings and adaptive responses shaped by migrants amid evolving digital labor structures. Data were collected through a systematic review of peer-reviewed literature published between 2020 and 2025, and analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings reveal three key themes: the emergence of new forms of insecurity driven by algorithmic control; limited yet active agency through tactics such as multi-platform work and community solidarity; and the ambivalence of transnational collaboration, where digital connectivity fosters both cooperation and competition. These insights demonstrate that digitalization does not always equate to progress, and may, in fact, reinforce exclusion and inequality within global labor markets. This research offers theoretical contributions to discussions on platform labor and digital migration, while also highlighting the urgent need for socially grounded, cross-border labor regulations. Future research is encouraged to incorporate field-based data to better capture localized and intersectional dynamics.