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The “cold-start” problem: online employment platforms are misaligned with skilled late-career workers, study finds

cam.ac.uk · 9h · first reportShare

The “cold-start” problem: online employment platforms are misaligned with skilled late-career workers, study finds Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 09/16/2026 - 14:52 Many skilled older workers seek to transition from full-time stressful jobs to more flexible work, but freelance employment platforms don’t adequately recognise their credentials so there is a mismatch, finds a new study published in the journal Administrative Science Quarterly . Internet technology and the advent of the gig economy have given hope to many highly skilled workers that their reputations built up over many years can help them transition from a traditional office-based job (with associated pressures) to freelancing work in which they provide clients with similar services but gain more control over their lives. Yet when it comes to such transition by older workers late in their careers, there is “reputation system misalignment” between the historic system they relied upon to evaluate their value and the way that