From anchors to scripts: reframing career theory for the microtasking era

Purpose This study examines how French microtaskers construct their career within the context of an online labor platform (OLP). Design/methodology/approach A mixed-methods approach combining a survey of 1,853 microtaskers with qualitative platform analysis tests Schein’s career anchors model in the gig economy context. Findings Schein’s career anchors inadequately capture microtaskers' career orientations. These workers exhibit motivational structures aligning with boundaryless and protean career concepts. We propose an integrated theoretical framework incorporating Barley’s career scripts to explain how microtaskers develop careers at the intersection of individual agency and platform constraints. Originality/value This study advances digital labor literature by challenging traditional career models' applicability to platform-mediated work and introduces a framework accounting for the socio-technical dynamics of OLPs.