Informal employment: Problems of work-life balance

The study analyzes the impact of flexible work schedules on the job satisfaction and behavioral strategies of platform workers with minor children, aiming to identify the advantages and risks of this form of employment for achieving a work-personal/family life balance. The relevance of the research is driven by shifts in employment structures associated with the development of the digital economy and the growing popularity of platform work. The central idea posits that while flexible schedules can facilitate a better balance, they also carry risks of self-exploitation and the systematic blurring of boundaries between work and personal life. The research is based on qualitative in-depth interviews with platform workers who have children, conducted using video conferencing software. The empirical data reveal a paradox of flexibility inherent in this employment form. A flexible schedule allows workers to autonomously regulate their workload; however, according to boundary theory, this very autonomy leads to a systematic breakdown in the segmentation of life domains. The constant pressure stemming from the need to monitor orders and maintain reputational capital fosters self-exploitation, manifested in working non-standard hours (late evenings, weekends) and even while ill, which in turn provokes family conflicts and the "always on" phenomenon. Gender differentiation in approaches to organizing an optimal work schedule is identified, reflecting the gender contract: women use flexibility to reduce paid working hours in favor of domestic responsibilities, whereas men, bearing financial responsibility, intensify their labor. From the standpoint of rational choice theory, workers prefer a high degree of autonomy (the ability to independently regulate time and adapt it to family needs) over the institutional stability of traditional employment, perceiving a standard schedule as "slavery". Possible strategies to mitigate risks and improve working conditions for platform workers are proposed.