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Businesses operate within complex networks of stakeholders, regulations, and societal expectations. Upholding ethical standards is essential not only for maintaining trust and credibility but also for fostering long-term sustainability and social responsibility. Ethics serve as the compass that guides organizations through challenging dilemmas, ensuring that profit does not come at the expense of people or the planet.

This Padlet explores a significant business ethics issue through the lens of the journal article titled "Uber Structure’s Managerial Algorithmic Communication and Drivers’ Health Issues: Sensemaking of Work Strategic Resistance", which examines a rich and timely business ethics issue that sits at the intersection of technology, labor rights, and corporate responsibility. The analysis will be framed in relation to the UN SDG 8, highlighting how ethical business practices contribute to achieving global development targets. Major elements to be discussed include a brief overview of the article and how it relates to the SDG, identification of the relevant theories and an explanation of how they are related to the ethics issue, journal article, and SDG, and outline how the ethics issue and journal article might be a factor in, of concern for, or have an impact on the practical implementation of UN SDG 8.

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El Bourkadi (2023) explores how Uber’s algorithmic management system affects driver autonomy, health, and strategic resistance. Her study reveals that Uber’s digital infrastructure functions as a form of managerial communication, shaping driver behavior through automated instructions and performance metrics. The ethical issue centers on:

• Lack of transparency and human oversight in

managerial decisions made by algorithms.

• Erosion of driver autonomy, where workers feel

disempowered and unable to negotiate

or influence their working conditions.

• Health consequences stemming from stress, overwork,

and the pressure to meet algorithm-driven performance

metrics.

• Strategic resistance, where drivers organize individually

and collectively to push back against these systems in

defense of their well-being.

This aligns with findings from UNSW BusinessThink, which show that Uber’s algorithms often leave drivers feeling powerless and confused about how decisions are made—especially regarding ride assignments and ratings (UNSW BusinessThink, 2022). These opaque systems challenge Kantian ethics, which emphasize respect for individuals as rational agents.

Moreover, El Bourkadi (2023) highlights how drivers engage in strategic resistance, such as manipulating location data or selectively accepting rides. This mirrors global patterns of gig worker pushback, as discussed in FasterCapital’s case study on Uber’s ethical quandaries, which notes that such resistance stems from a lack of transparency and fairness in platform governance (FasterCapital, 2023).

This raises broader questions about corporate accountability in the gig economy, especially when digital platforms blur the lines between employer and contractor while avoiding traditional labor protections.

This issue connects well with ethical principles like respect for persons, fairness, and corporate social responsibility. It also connects to Sustainable Development Goals like SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth, which advocates for safe working environments and fair labor practices.

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Based on the journal article, two (2) foundational ethical theories discussed in the unit textbook can be used to analyze the issue: Kantian Ethics and Virtue Ethics. Each offers a distinct lens to evaluate Uber’s algorithmic management and its impact on driver well-being, especially in relation to SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth.

1. Kantian Ethics

Key Idea: People must be treated as ends in themselves, not merely as means to an end.

Application:

Uber’s algorithmic communication treats drivers as data points to be managed, rather than autonomous individuals.

The lack of transparency and inability to negotiate working conditions violates the Kantian principle of respect for persons.

Drivers resisting the system are asserting their moral agency, which Kantian ethics would support.

SDG Connection:

SDG 8 emphasizes productive employment and dignity. Kantian ethics reinforces the need for platforms like Uber to respect workers’ autonomy and humanity.

2. Virtue Ethics

Key Idea: Ethics is about cultivating moral character and virtues like fairness, empathy, and integrity.

Application:

Uber’s reliance on impersonal algorithms may lack the virtue of compassion, ignoring the human experience of drivers.

Ethical leadership would involve listening to driver concerns, fostering trust, and promoting well-being.

Drivers’ strategic resistance can be seen as an expression of courage and justice, virtues necessary for ethical reform.

SDG Connection:

Virtue ethics aligns with SDG 8’s call for inclusive and sustainable economic growth, which requires businesses to act with integrity and care toward all workers.

Together, these theories highlight the ethical shortcomings of Uber’s algorithmic management and offer pathways for improvement.

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🌐 SDG 8 Overview

Goal 8 aims to promote:

Inclusive and sustainable economic growth

Full and productive employment

Decent work for all

This includes ensuring safe working conditions, fair wages, social protections, and respect for labor rights.

⚠️ Ethical Issue: Algorithmic Management & Driver Health

The article highlights how Uber’s use of algorithmic systems to manage drivers:

Limits their autonomy and ability to negotiate work conditions

Creates psychological stress and health risks due to opaque performance metrics and constant surveillance

Encourages strategic resistance as drivers seek to reclaim control over their labor experience

📌 Impact on SDG 8 Implementation

Here’s how this issue affects the practical realization of SDG 8:

1. Undermines Decent Work Standards

Algorithmic control can reduce job quality by treating workers as data points rather than human beings.

Drivers face unpredictable schedules, income instability, and lack of access to traditional labor protections.

2. Challenges Fair Employment Practices

The gig economy often blurs the line between employee and contractor, making it difficult to enforce fair wages, benefits, or workplace safety.

Uber’s model may sidestep responsibilities typically required of employers under SDG 8.

3. Obstructs Worker Empowerment

Lack of transparency and feedback mechanisms prevents drivers from participating meaningfully in decisions that affect their work.

Strategic resistance, as discussed in the article, reflects a breakdown in ethical communication and trust.

4. Limits Sustainable Economic Growth

While Uber contributes to economic activity, the long-term sustainability of growth is threatened if workers are exploited or burned out.

Ethical labor practices are essential for building resilient, inclusive economies.

🧭 Why This Matters

To truly implement SDG 8, businesses must go beyond profit-driven models and embrace ethical responsibility. The journal article serves as a case study in how technological innovation without ethical oversight can erode the very foundations of decent work.

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For more information on the sources used and further readings, here are some reliable, research-based sources that can deepen your understanding of the ethical issue surrounding Uber’s algorithmic management, its impact on workers, and how it connects to SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth and broader ethical theory.

1. UNSW BusinessThink. (2022). How Uber drivers revolt against algorithmic management. https://businessthink.unsw.edu.au/articles/uber-algorithmic-management

Why it matters: Offers a broader academic perspective on algorithmic management and worker resistance.

Link to SDG 8: Emphasizes the need for ethical governance in gig platforms to ensure sustainable employment.

Ethics connection: Supports Utilitarian concerns about overall well-being and Kantian critiques of dehumanized labor.

2. FasterCapital. (2023). Business ethics case study: Uber’s ethical quandaries. https://fastercapital.com/content/Business-ethics-case-study--Uber-s-Ethical-Quandaries--From-Harassment-Claims-to-Data-Privacy.html

Why it matters: Provides a comprehensive overview of Uber’s ethical challenges, including labor rights, corporate culture, and data privacy.

Link to SDG 8: Shows how ethical lapses can obstruct inclusive and sustainable economic growth.

Ethics connection: Reinforces the need for Virtue Ethics in leadership and Kantian respect for worker dignity.

3. Adams-Prassl, A., Adams-Prassl, J., and Coyle, D. (2021). “Uber and Beyond: Policy Implications for the UK,” in The Productivity Institute Productivity Insight Paper. Available online at: https://www.productivity.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/ 04/Uber-and-Beyond-with-cover-sheet-PDF.pdf

Why it matters: Highlights the human impact and underscores the real-world consequences of this policy gap such as financial precarity, unpredictable incomes, and a lack of social safety nets for workers.

Link to SDG 8: It argues that much platform work shows the failure to meet the definition of "decent work."

Ethics connection: Implicitly questions the fairness of a business model that relies on a workforce that bears all the risk while the platform controls key aspects of the work.

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To conclude, this analysis centers on the ethical implications of algorithmic management in the gig economy, as explored in the journal article The article highlights how digital platforms like Uber use automated systems to manage workers, often at the expense of transparency, autonomy, and well-being. These concerns are examined through the lens of two ethical theories: Kantian Ethics and Virtue Ethics and are framed within the context of UN Sustainable Development Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth.

In China, where the gig economy is expanding rapidly through platforms like Didi, Meituan, and Ele.me, the ethical concerns raised in this analysis are highly relevant. Millions of workers rely on app-based jobs, yet face similar challenges: algorithmic surveillance, income instability, and limited labor protections. The issue is not just technological but also deeply human.

Globally, this case underscores a critical tension between innovation and ethics. As digital platforms reshape labor markets, there is an urgent need for ethical governance, worker-centered design, and policy reform that ensures technology serves, not exploits human dignity.

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El Bourkadi, S. (2023). Uber structure’s managerial algorithmic communication and drivers’ health issues: Sensemaking of work strategic resistance. Frontiers in Communication, 8, Article 1213679. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2023.1213679

Shaw, W. H., Barry, V., Muntean, D., Issa, T., Ilott, G., & Catley, B. (2021). Moral issues in business (4th Asia-Pacific ed.). Cengage Learning Australia.