This study examines the management of affective labor on E-Pal, a US-based gaming freelancer platform where gig workers provide companionship and intimacy to clients during gaming. Based on interviews with 27 workers, the research reveals that E-Pal prioritizes emotional connection over gaming skills. The platform uses authenticity expectations, performance evaluations, and gamification to regulate workers’ emotional interactions with customers. The findings also highlight how E-Pal’s algorithmic visibility disproportionately favors Asian and Latina female workers, reinforcing gender and racial stereotypes for economic gain. A tiered governance system rewards high-performing workers with greater agency and financial benefits, while lower-tier workers often experience precarity. This study also illustrates the toll of constant emotional availability, particularly for minority groups and non-US workers who face physical and mental health challenges without adequate institutional support.

中文翻译：

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情感的平台化：在平台介导的游戏工作中管理情感劳动

本研究考察了 E-Pal 上的情感劳动管理，E-Pal 是一个总部位于美国的游戏自由职业者平台，零工在游戏期间为客户提供陪伴和亲密关系。根据对 27 名员工的采访，研究显示 E-Pal 优先考虑情感联系而不是游戏技能。该平台使用真实性期望、绩效评估和游戏化来规范员工与客户的情感互动。研究结果还强调了 E-Pal 的算法可见性如何不成比例地偏爱亚裔和拉丁裔女性工人，从而强化性别和种族刻板印象以获取经济利益。分层治理系统以更大的代理和财务利益奖励高绩效员工，而低级别员工通常会经历不稳定。这项研究还说明了持续的情感可用性的代价，特别是对于少数族裔和非美国工人来说，他们在没有足够的机构支持的情况下面临身心健康挑战。