I totally get the negative consequences of gig jobs: no benefits, security and so forth. But whenever I take an Uber or Lyft (maybe 100 in the US and UK) I ask the driver how they feel about the job. Almost all of them are happy with it - some gripe about the pay but they like the flexibility. It's possible they aren't thinking far enough ahead - and I'm talking to the self selected group who didn't get a disabling injury or illness and fall into poverty.
I know of no one who drives for Uber/Lyft who doesn't think they are doing well. Seriously, where did this meme come about where they are all slaves to Uber? Between what two bring in each week and their mileage deductions they are tempting me at times.
the real tripe in the gig economy is all the pontificating coming down from top how they all care about rights of people, except it only is Western people they care about while those in China and other countries get run over by their governments.
The simple fact is, no employer has to make the job solve all your financial needs. It is up to you to find the job that fulfills your requirements and you can perform safely and well. if that takes more than one job then so be it, many of us have been there before and did it. you don't get anywhere waiting for someone else to fix your life
A lot of the conversation here is based on anecdata (interactions with uber drivers or cabs) or people projecting what its like to be a driver on uber and they are unwittingly being exploited.
I worked at a company that provided products to uber, lyft and doordash drivers, and personally interviewed well over 200 drivers, (along with having access to detailed data on a much larger dataset). The vast majority of drivers we talked to did not feel like they were being 'exploited' and generally liked the flexibility of the gig economy. Most workers were part time, working to supplement income from other jobs or in between other gigs, in fact when i was there, most drivers worked less than 6 months before stopping. I would say these people have a much better sense of whether they are being exploited than people who are not in their shoes.
There was a small but important minority (we called them 'professionals') for whom driving had become their full time profession (most were not cab drivers before) who were perpetually annoyed by uber and their main gripes tended to be the changing promotions systems, and algorithmic changes that reduced/limited profitable rides (like airport pickups) and just general loss of control.
Why would anyone take a crap gig job if they can get a steady paycheck? There are people that like the flexibility
I think you're underestimating how important that flexibility is to a large contingent of people. I have talked a lot of Uber/Lyft drivers and have heard a ton of stories about how valuable that flexibility is. It's huge for students who are in school, for people who already work another job but want supplemental income, people who are mostly retired (or never worked) but have some new expense come up (one lady I spoke to recently started driving for Uber just to help pay for her daughter's upcoming wedding), people who are pursuing careers in music or other artistic endeavors, entrepreneurs who need a way to pay the rent while getting their business bootstrapped, etc.
For a lot of people in those situations, the control over their time really is a crucial aspect of what makes Uber/Lyft desirable.
Granted, that's just one aspect of the gig economy, but it seems to be a big one.
One of the interesting aspects of the gig economy (speaking mostly about ride-sharing) is sure the pay may be bad and the hours may be bad for certain regions/areas/drivers. But Uber and Lyft don't impose any sort of requirements. You can work exactly when and how much you want to work. That in and of itself is a huge win for workers. Part of the problem is Uber and Lyft also don't limit how many drivers drive at any given time, which results in some inefficiencies (which are mostly just felt by the drivers). If there are too many drivers on the road, fares go down which is good for everyone but the drivers: Uber will keep taking it's cut; riders get cheap fares quickly.
I think the fact that people can drive 15 hrs a week if that fits their childcare schedule or drive 60 hrs of week to pay for a vacation is incredibly valuable.
I wasn't aware that people working in Uber/Lyft advocate for not being employees? Do you have a source for that?
Are people engaging in gig work because it has several advantages over "every other available option"? What other options do people who drive for Lyft/Uber as a day job have? And what are the advantages Uber/Lyft & working as a contractor offer?
Maybe zoning effects should be part of a discussion on the cost of living in California, exploitation of immigrants is deplorable and awareness should be raised and actions taken, but does that make Uber/Lyft exploiting workers a non-issue?
I'm not from the US and am not aware of the specifics in California, but being from a country which has faced severe economic crises I've seen people "choosing" a shitty option despite every other shitty option.
I can't say I understand where you're going with most of what you're saying, or how informed you are of gig workers situation.
I saw a pretty good movie by Ken Loach: _Sorry We Missed You_, that thought was really spot on on the issues of gig work:
In my experience, gig workers are being exploited as they do not take into account their expenses. Most see uber as decent pay until their car starts having issues.
If you focus on a single aspect and ignore all the other issues, sure, there's no problems whatsoever. But when gig economy jobs are the only jobs available for a certain person, it's hard to argue that they're entering those fully voluntarily. The only alternative to them is starving or getting assistance. In the case of Uber, they can cause long-term issues for workers who gamble on buying a car for the job. Additionally, they cause the higher paying versions of the job to disappear, cause taxes to go away, and force employees into not being able to plan for the future. As much as I enjoy having a single mini-cucumber delivered to my door in 10 minutes for a few euros (thanks, Gorillas), there are some extremely negative things that come with those jobs having replaced other better paying jobs.
The whole business model of companies like Uber and Lyft relies on drivers not realizing how little they are getting out of the deal. The ones who do realize - often after some accident that leaves them injured or their cars too damaged to repair - will simply stop working and regret the past.
Gig work usually looks very good when you're starting out and everything is going smoothly. With Uber and Lyft also investing massively in propaganda to ensure their drivers believe AB5 would cause numerous catastophes for their work, it's really not that surprising that most who are actually driving would be against it.
Gig working started with Uber as an extension of cab driving. Cab drivers do not get 401k and health insurance. So it makes no sense at all that gig working would only exist because companies didn't want to pay benefits. Your pizza delivery guy wasn't getting benefits either. Neither your waiter, or bartender.
However, Uber and other companies did start right after the dot-com recession, when people needed to both save money, and make extra money. It turns out a lot of people needed to do both. Sure, there were advantages over the previous incumbents (cabs suck), but that's not why there are so many drivers.
Ask your Uber or Lyft drivers sometime how often they work. Many of them, since the early years, told me they work as many hours as they can, for as many companies as they can, just to make ends meet. Of course they're paying for their car and all that themselves, too, so it's not like they're getting ahead. And they definitely would rather not be driving for 14 hours a day.
These companies exploit people in an unequal system in order to make profits.
According to an Uber survey in October, 20%, of uber drivers are unsatisfied working for the company [1]. If you want to work for Uber, and you can work any time you'd like, why would you be dissatisfied with working there? The reason people work for Uber is that it's available as an opportunity, with a fairly low bar of entry, in a way that a lot of other employment opportunities are not.
The "gig economy" is a legal hack by corporations to pay workers less than minimum wage [2]. We can talk a lot about problems with government (there are a lot of issue there), but the fact that the government has issues does not act as a free pass to allow private institutions to pay workers less.
Lyft and Uber work great for what they are: gig jobs. The problem is people trying to turn them into something completely different. If these companies don't offer the terms you want, maybe seek employment elsewhere?
One wonders if driving for Uber could compete with basic income.
The Internet keeps telling me that all Uber drivers are unhappy. I use Uber from time to time, and about 90% of the time, the driver seems super happy to be driving for Uber. They seem happy with their compensation. Maybe all the drivers are new, this is their first week, and it all sounds good on paper. But maybe they actually like the job. I don't know.
"Uber and Lyft say drivers prefer the flexibility of working as freelancers, while labor unions and elected officials contend this deprives them of traditional benefits like health insurance and workers’ compensation."
I was curious about what drivers think. I guess they're not happy [1] but want to be independent contractors still [2].
A lot of the conversation here is based on anecdata (interactions with uber drivers or cabs) or people projecting what its like to be a driver on uber and they are unwittingly being exploited.
I worked at a company that provided products to uber, lyft and doordash drivers, and personally interviewed well over 200 drivers, (along with having access to detailed data on a much larger dataset). The vast majority of drivers we talked to did not feel like they were being 'exploited' and generally liked the flexibility of the gig economy. Most workers were part time, working to supplement income from other jobs or in between other gigs, in fact when i was there, most drivers worked less than 6 months before stopping. I would say these people have a much better sense of whether they are being exploited than people who are not in their shoes.
There was a small but important minority (we called them 'professionals') for whom driving had become their full time profession (most were not cab drivers before) who were perpetually annoyed by uber and their main gripes tended to be the changing promotions systems, and algorithmic changes that reduced/limited profitable rides (like airport pickups) and just general loss of control.
There are significant safety risks for many other occupations -- truck drivers, construction workers, security guards, even fast food workers. These are not as controversial because the pay is time-based not output-based, and it's easier to unionize and access some level of benefits. All of these occupations are reasonable and available options for nearly any gig worker, and they should be, especially if those aspects are important to someone.
Gig working is an alternative to any of these occupations which have existed for decades -- one that is arguably less dangerous and, more importantly, enables output-based compensation and completely flexible work hours. It's a mostly-unprecedented career option, and it's net new (i.e. there's no evidence that other job opportunities, other than being a taxi driver, of course, have decreased), so no one is forced to pursue it. For those that do, there is major upside, but there are also a few risks. Most notably, the risk of "performing poorly", choosing poor hours/locations and not making enough money, and the very low risk of a safety incident like this unfortunate carjacking.
Uber was generous to cover Morrow's costs in full, it can't be expected to go beyond that for any incident that happens. Those are the risks of the job. And Uber is absolutely well within its rights to ask for an NDA and non-disparagement in exchange. This is standard, whether you accept severance from a job, are raped in an Airbnb, etc. And it's certainly a hell of a lot better than you'd get as a taxi driver.
How are they getting screwed? Drivers do it by choice, and many of them do have a full-time job or other commitment and like Uber for the flexibility. They specifically don't want a full-time driving job.
Would you be better off if the rideshare jobs didn't exist?
Is a bad gig job worse for you than no job at all? (If it is, then why are you doing it?)
These are serious questions, because rideshare jobs would not exist if you were compensated as a full-time employee with benefits. Uber and Lyft have never made a profit as it is, and increasing their costs would make the business simply impossible to sustain.
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