From traditional informality to digital informality. Transformations in work and pending occupational health

María Adriana Cecilia Cruz Flores

doi:10.15406/mojph.2026.15.00518

MOJ

eISSN: 2379-6383

Public Health

Research Article Volume 15 Issue 2

From traditional informality to digital informality. Transformations in work and pending occupational health

María Adriana Cecilia Cruz Flores

Received: April 22, 2026 | Published: May 21, 2026

Citation: Flores MACC. From traditional informality to digital informality. Transformations in work and pending occupational health. MOJ Public Health. 2026;15(2):90-93. DOI: 10.15406/mojph.2026.15.00518

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Abstract

In recent decades, we have witnessed transformations in the world of work resulting from the implementation and expansion of digital platforms that operate through algorithms. These platforms have become an immediate alternative for entering the workforce for a large segment of the working population that lacks access to formal employment. However, far from reducing informal employment, these new forms of work organization have contributed to reproducing and deepening the precarious conditions prevalent in the informal sector, directly impacting working conditions, job security, and the health of working populations. In this context, the objective of this document is to understand, through a literature review of empirical articles and grey literature published in the last five years, how digital platforms and automation processes are reshaping working conditions, the mechanisms for controlling and monitoring the workforce, and the unequal distribution of risks and harms among the working population. Specifically, it seeks to analyze how this type of work constitutes an extension of informal employment, where conditions such as job insecurity, lack of social protection, and the transfer of risks to workers persist, such that digital platforms reproduce and perpetuate the labor inequalities that persist in the current world of work.

Keywords: digital platforms, informal employment, psychosocial risks, health damage