Dangers of the Gig Economy (and What to Do about It)

Many business experts are talking about the inherent dangers workers face in the gig economy. Many gig economy workers are already well-acquainted with some of these issues—low pay, difficult customers, bad hours and the list goes on.

Pay Difficulties

One article on the dangers of the gig economy explained that gig workers tend to work harder or longer for less. Some do it because they have no choice. Some do it because for them, the flexibility of the gig economy seems worth it.

Many gig economy workers have found out that it’s easy for them to end up not even making minimum wage—and that’s before expenses like car maintenance and gasoline.

However, couriers can make competitive pay on the various platforms—it just takes a little more creativity. For example, there are tricks that can increase your tips, which can contribute significantly to your income. There’s also strategy to which orders you accept, where you work, and which platform(s) you use.

Risk for Workers

If you’ve worked on any of the various platforms for very long, you know that dealing with difficult customers is basically a job requirement. Uber has made headlines for most of the year with horror stories of assaults on or by drivers. These reports have managed to scare drivers and riders alike.

Even if there are no horror stories, it can be demoralizing to keep trying to deliver great customer service only to find yourself trampled on. However, savvy gig economy workers have learned that even dealing with difficult passengers can be profitable.

In addition, there are a number of best practice steps couriers can take to ensure their personal safety. These include using the tracking feature (if available through your platform) and installing a dash cam.

Worker Investment Requirements

When a traditional employee accepts a job, the employer provides a number of things for that employee. Aside from a workspace and any required equipment, a company may provide health insurance, retirement benefits, life insurance, vacation time, sick leave and many other benefits that give the employee a sense of security. That security shows up when the employee gets sick and has to miss work (but still gets paid). It also shows up when the employee has an expensive doctor bill that they don’t have to cover on their own.

However, the gig economy normally doesn’t provide such benefits, which means gig economy workers can be out of luck for things like health insurance. Luckily, a few gig economy platforms (like Uber) are beginning to offer health insurance options. For everyone else, there are several companies that offer straightforward, self-purchased health insurance. You can read more here.