For rideshare drivers, delivery workers and others earning money through gig apps, an uncomfortable encounter with a customer may not end when the job is finished.
A new study involving researchers from Rice University, George Mason University and Texas A&M University found that sexual harassment by customers is associated with psychological distress and changes in how gig workers perform their jobs, including how they interact with people who had nothing to do with the harassment.
The research, published Oct. 3 in the Journal of Business and Psychology, examined how harassment affects workers in an industry where customer interactions are often brief, anonymous and conducted without coworkers or supervisors nearby.
Researchers also identified a potential protective factor: access to unions or other worker organizations.
Unlike employees in traditional workplaces, gig workers often interact with customers alone, sometimes inside a vehicle or at a stranger’s home.
Those encounters can involve unwanted sexual remarks, inappropriate propositions, offensive comments about gender or unwanted physical contact.
The researchers identified several characteristics of gig work that may make these experiences particularly difficult to navigate.
For one, customer interactions are often temporary. A rideshare passenger or delivery customer may never see the same worker again, potentially reducing the perceived consequences of inappropriate behavior.
Workers also frequently use their personal vehicles, phones and other belongings to complete assignments. That can blur the boundaries between their professional and personal lives, particularly when customers have access to information about their identity or location.
Another complication is the influence customers can have over a worker’s income.
The study notes that ratings and reviews can affect future job opportunities on gig platforms, creating a power imbalance in which customers have considerable influence despite not being traditional employers.
Meanwhile, workers classified as independent contractors may not have access to the same workplace protections or reporting procedures available to traditional employees.
Researchers examined two psychological responses to sexual harassment and how each was associated with changes in workplace behavior.
The first, psychological distress, involves feelings such as fear, anxiety and emotional exhaustion.
Workers experiencing this distress were more likely to report what researchers call “production deviance,” a term describing intentional reductions in work effort or performance.
That could mean deliberately slowing down, completing tasks less carefully or putting less effort into assignments.
The second response, called “self-threat,” occurs when harassment undermines a person’s sense of dignity, competence or control.
Researchers found that this response was associated with “interpersonal deviance,” or negative behavior toward customers.
Examples measured in the study included making fun of customers or directing profanity toward them.
The distinction matters because the negative behavior does not necessarily target the person responsible for the harassment. Researchers suggest that workers who feel humiliated or powerless may respond defensively in later interactions.
The findings do not mean everyone who experiences harassment will behave this way. Rather, the research identified statistical relationships between harassment, psychological responses and subsequent workplace behavior.
The research involved two separate studies of gig workers in the United States.
The first followed 99 workers over five days, collecting 373 daily observations about their experiences with customer sexual harassment and their psychological responses.
The second involved 377 in-person gig workers who reported experiencing customer sexual harassment within the previous three months.
Participants completed surveys at three different points over approximately three weeks, allowing researchers to examine their experiences, psychological responses and subsequent workplace behaviors.
Of the 377 participants in the second study:
Researchers asked participants to recall their most recent harassment incident and describe how they felt afterward. Subsequent questions examined their behavior at work following that experience.
The study found that workers reporting greater exposure to customer sexual harassment also reported higher psychological distress and stronger feelings of self-threat.
Those responses were, in turn, associated with different types of negative workplace behavior.
However, the researchers acknowledged limitations, including the reliance on self-reported experiences and the difficulty of measuring harassment over short periods. The study also does not establish that harassment directly caused the reported behavior.
Because the second study specifically recruited workers who had experienced harassment, its findings cannot be used to determine how common sexual harassment is among all gig workers.
While the study examined workers across the country, previous KPRC 2 reporting has documented safety concerns involving gig workers in the Houston area.
In May 2025, KPRC 2 reported that a female DoorDash driver encountered a man who allegedly answered his apartment door completely naked while she was delivering an order in north Houston. The man was subsequently wanted on an indecent exposure charge.
Another incident highlighted the potential dangers of working alone with customers.
In February 2024, a Houston-area Lyft driver told KPRC 2 that a passenger used a seatbelt to strangle him while he was driving along the Northwest Freeway.
Although the Lyft incident involved physical violence rather than sexual harassment, both cases illustrate safety concerns associated with customer-facing work performed in isolation.
Neither incident was part of the new research.
One of the study’s central findings involved the potential benefits of collective representation.
Researchers found that the harmful indirect relationships between harassment and subsequent workplace behavior were weaker among workers who reported having access to unions or union-like organizations.
These organizations can provide opportunities for workers to share experiences, seek advice and advocate for changes to their working conditions.
The researchers suggested that even informal worker associations may offer psychological benefits by reducing feelings of isolation and providing a sense of collective support.
However, the study measured whether workers reported access to collective representation, not how actively they participated or how effective those organizations were.
The researchers also acknowledged that additional research is needed to determine whether stronger or more established organizations provide greater protection.
The study’s authors identified several steps gig platforms could take to better protect workers from harassment.
Among their recommendations are allowing workers to rate and review customers, providing access to customer ratings before accepting assignments and permanently banning customers found to have engaged in sexual harassment.
Researchers also suggested safeguards to prevent banned customers from creating new accounts.
Some platforms have already expanded safety-related features. In September 2024, KPRC 2 reported that Uber was expanding its verification features for riders and drivers as part of broader safety initiatives.
However, the new research raises questions about whether existing protections adequately address harassment and the psychological consequences workers may experience afterward.
In a news release published by Rice University, study co-author Tianjun Sun, an assistant professor of psychological sciences at Rice, emphasized the challenges faced by workers operating without traditional workplace support.
“In many cases, they are confronting these situations largely on their own,” Sun said.
The study’s authors argue that addressing harassment is not only a matter of protecting workers during individual encounters. Their findings suggest the consequences can extend into future assignments, affecting both workers and the customers they serve.
