App-work presents a relatively new form of work where tasks that were traditionally carried out by managers are performed by algorithms. Algorithmic management is associated with increased organizational control and little autonomy for app-workers. We study how one form of app-workers, food-delivery riders, engage with algorithmic management through identity work. Building on in-depth interviews, we identify four forms of identity work that are influenced by social interactions with other riders: Aligning, reframing, crafting and distancing. These are portrayed as an escalation process that evolves with riders’ perceived incongruence between the self-concept and work as well as over the time working as a rider. The process model highlights identity work as self-reflexive and relational. Additionally, we use the concept of sociomateriality to show how the identified forms of identity work are subject to power structures and agency.
