Abstract
Work exchange has quicky become widespread in Taiwan over the past decade. It combines work and travel experiences in which helpers work a few hours per day in exchange of free accommodation and meals from hosts. Both helpers and hosts seem to reach their needs through this arrangement. However, some participants pointed out that work exchange has been misused and become exploitative. In order to understand how the reciprocal relationship could be exploitative when both sides willingly enter the arrangement, this study focuses on the process of work exchange by observing what seems valuable to participants and how they respond to flexible value. Results show that even if helpers and hosts agree with the benefit of work exchange, they value different things. Internet platforms play an important role in matching helpers and hosts and some participants post vague messages on the Internet to gain more profit, causing the exchange experience to be inconsistent with what has been advertised. When situation like this happens, hosts have more power to control exchange benefits than helpers because of their older age and ownership of the space where exchanges take place. Nevertheless, helpers might regard extra work as a learning experience due to their younger age and lack of local knowledge. The study not only shows the asymmetrical power relation in work exchange but also reflects how actors’ social positions influence the way they make value judgement.