GIG-GIG-GIGGLES

The Gig Economy Hamster Wheel

The cheap bastards are winning

Not all jobs are equal. Some jobs, like some pigs, are more equal than others.

To paraphrase W.C. Fields:

“I’ve been rich and I’ve been poor, and believe me — rich is better.”

It’s the same situation with being an employee.

I’ve had gig jobs and real jobs and believe me — real jobs with benefits and vacation are better.

In the end, only two types of jobs exist:

• Some jobs require constant toil
• Other jobs come with breaks, meetings, rests, lunches out, goofing off, and generally doing f**k-all

Guess which type of jobs gig workers have?

They can slap all the fancy labels they want, like “contract” workers, and “consultants,“ but the bottom line is all gig work is a snow job.

As the billionaire class continues to chip away at workers’ rights, fair wages, and benefits, the gig economy has gained relentless momentum.

If you drive a Lyft, you only get paid while you are working. If you step off the hamster wheel to buy a cup of coffee, you aren’t making scratch.

Lipstick on a Pig

Seasonal, temporary, and contract jobs have always existed. They have usually been low-paying, low-status affairs with no benefits. In the last two decades, however, these types of jobs have mushroomed and are bleeding into every sector.

The gig revolution has particularly affected what used to be plain-jane part-time jobs.

Writers know about gigs, because freelance writing has gobbled up staff writing jobs, and the profession is as low-paying as ever.

Gig jobs have lots of downsides, but you don’t get a fair and balanced view of them because companies market the hell out of gig work, smearing lipstick all over a pig.

Their big selling point is “flexibility” which means you can get your work done whenever you want and also means:

• You have no set schedule
• You are on-call 24/7
• Your best times to make $$ are weekends and holidays and sometimes, in the middle of the night

Jobs that used to offer regular hours, health and time-off benefits, and decent pay have been downgraded to gigdom. Take mail carriers, for example. Many routes are now outsourced, pay little more than minimum wage, and include no health insurance or paid time off. To add insult to injury, gig postal drivers sometimes use their own vehicles.

The Gig Economy is Bad for All Workers

The reason we fell in love with the gig economy is three-fold:

• They have few barriers to entry
• They make great side hustles
• They’ve been heavily promoted by greedy CEOs

For younger workers, few barriers and opportunities to hustle can be advantages, but only because wages in so many sectors have stagnated for so long. For example:

• In 1992, I made $12 an hour (with tips) delivering pizzas.
• In 2002, I made $12 an hour teaching as an adjunct professor.
• In 2012, I could make $12 an hour as a substitute teacher, a temp office worker, or a Lyft driver.
• In 2022, Walmart pays $12 an hour to start, or I can find writing work for $12 an hour.

A huge percentage of American workers don’t make enough money, and this number grows every year. They take on side hustles like door dashing or driving a Lyft. Many of these workers lack the credentials, experience, or education to get high-paying jobs, so the low barrier to entry is perfect.

This is a problem for everyone, not just “those people” who lack certificates and hard skills because a gig mentality now pervades “real jobs.”

Gig Companies Often Shift Costs and Risks onto Workers

The gig ethic has spilled over into other professions, where it’s more common to find gig-like elements in the “professional” environment of full-time work.

Companies cut costs when they don’t have to supply equipment, transportation, or supplies.

For instance: — Office workers must supply their own computer, WiFi, and other equipment for remote jobs

— Tutors and online teachers might need better lighting conditions for videos, so they purchase extra equipment out-of-pocket

— Healthcare workers are expected to supply and launder their own uniforms

Journalists who now write freelance know the costs, including paying travel expenses.

Why People Defend the Gig

I reckon some readers will argue it’s great to have options for flexible work, and the gig economy has made it easier to work multiple jobs.

We shouldn’t need to work multiple jobs.

We shouldn’t need constant side hustles.

We deserve a base income, health insurance, not to mention daycare subsidies, and paid time off for new parents.

Gigs have been marketed and promoted by the overlords who profit off a gig workforce because:

• Gig workers don’t have the right to bargain collectively or organize for improved conditions.
• They don’t get a guaranteed minimum wage.
• There is zero overtime paid, and they certainly don’t get worker’s comp if something goes wrong.
• Gig workers aren’t paying into SSDI or retirement.

Furthermore, labor laws mean employees have recourse if they are harassed or bullied at work — but gig workers may have no choice but to put with discrimination.

The rights of laborers are largely denied to gig workers, and companies (management) love this.

Maybe the worst part is how the fun and enticing term “gig” has been twisted.

You are not a bass player showing up for your gig at the jazz club. You’re a clown buying your own costume and makeup and working birthday parties for rich kids.

Benefits Matter

The lower pay and uncertain hours would matter much less if it weren’t for a niggling reality of American life in the 21st century.

If you work a gig rather than a regular job, you won’t get health insurance.

People lacking health insurance are vulnerable to early death and/or bankruptcy.

Not having health insurance leads directly to poor medical care because we tend to never get prescriptions filled, avoid preventive care, and even skimp on necessary meds, like insulin for diabetics.

Universal health insurance following a single-payer model is everyone’s right, not just Americans who have a specific — and quickly vanishing — type of job.

The reason we are so screwed is that employers had such a hard time finding workers during WWII, they started handing out generous benefits packages to new hires. This lopsided, haphazard health insurance model became legislation years later when Kaiser Permanente made a deal with the devil (Nixon) to pay workers with health insurance.

Now you can’t get health insurance without a (certain kind of) job — except we have Obamacare, thank God. Obamacare is a lifesaver, but it still costs way too much.

Many Americans don’t understand Obamacare is the same as the Affordable Care Act, or what allowed people with pre-existing conditions to get health insurance on the private market.

As wonderful as Obamacare is, you probably need a side hustle to afford your $ medical insurance premium.

Unless you are subsidized, but if you are in that particular boat you are probably working all sorts of hustles because it’s necessary to be “poor” to qualify.

The Hamster Wheel of Fortune

I’ve worked about 80 jobs. Most were gigs before we called them that. Driving a cab, cleaning houses, part-time telemarketing, retail, and temp agencies galore.

I got more education so I could get the kind of job with breaks, meetings, and cubicles, where I could show up for eight hours and put in four or five hours of real work.

The non-toiling jobs let you step off the hamster wheel.

As an aside, the worst type of job is teaching, in which you are paid a salary and get no rest at all. Free period? Ha!

The lie is this: if you get more education, you can escape the hamster wheel of fortune. Well, that dream is being systematically undercut by companies trying to save a buck.

They will hire you on the cheap, and no matter how many degrees you have, cheap is how you’ll feel.

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Jean Campbell recently started her first Substack newsletter to laser focus on getting her book, City of Lies: A Street Hustler’s Omaha Journey published.