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from the work-like-a-dog-/-fingers-to-the-bone-/-nose-to-the-grindstone dept.
Mary’s story looks different to different people. Within the ghoulishly cheerful Lyft public-relations machinery, Mary is an exemplar of hard work and dedication—the latter being, perhaps, hard to come by in a company that refuses to classify its drivers as employees. Mary’s entrepreneurial spirit—taking ride requests while she was in labor!—is an “exciting” example of how seamless and flexible app-based employment can be. Look at that hustle! You can make a quick buck with Lyft anytime, even when your cervix is dilating.
[...] It does require a fairly dystopian strain of doublethink for a company to celebrate how hard and how constantly its employees must work to make a living, given that these companies are themselves setting the terms. And yet this type of faux-inspirational tale has been appearing more lately, both in corporate advertising and in the news. Fiverr, an online freelance marketplace that promotes itself as being for “the lean entrepreneur”—as its name suggests, services advertised on Fiverr can be purchased for as low as five dollars—recently attracted ire for an ad campaign called “In Doers We Trust.” One ad, prominently displayed on some New York City subway cars, features a woman staring at the camera with a look of blank determination. “You eat a coffee for lunch,” the ad proclaims. “You follow through on your follow through. Sleep deprivation is your drug of choice. You might be a doer.”
[...] At the root of this is the American obsession with self-reliance, which makes it more acceptable to applaud an individual for working himself to death than to argue that an individual working himself to death is evidence of a flawed economic system. The contrast between the gig economy’s rhetoric (everyone is always connecting, having fun, and killing it!) and the conditions that allow it to exist (a lack of dependable employment that pays a living wage) makes this kink in our thinking especially clear. Human-interest stories about the beauty of some person standing up to the punishments of late capitalism are regular features in the news, too. I’ve come to detest the local-news set piece about the man who walks ten or eleven or twelve miles to work—a story that’s been filed from Oxford, Alabama; from Detroit, Michigan; from Plano, Texas. The story is always written as a tearjerker, with praise for the person’s uncomplaining attitude; a car is usually donated to the subject in the end. Never mentioned or even implied is the shamefulness of a job that doesn’t permit a worker to afford his own commute.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 24 2017, @03:54PM (20 children)
You're an ass with a vastly over inflated sense of self worth. Seriously you're a terrible human being who, by logical extension, greatly approves of near-slave labor. Do you do a mental celebration every time you buy cheap manufactured crap? Do you not tip at restaurants cause they just carry food and write down orders? How do you actually justify people working full time jobs for less than a living wage? "My job is harder so you should barely be able to survive!"???
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Friday March 24 2017, @03:58PM (12 children)
Simple: The world, and indeed employers, owe you nothing.
Not a good wage. Not a living wage. Not even a job. If you bring almost no value to a relationship, you should be paid like it. Your needs don't, and shouldn't, make a fucking bit of difference to the pay for a job.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 24 2017, @04:05PM (3 children)
Sounds like someone has some personal problems leaking into your online politics. My guess is high employee turnover for some very specific reasons, and now you're a bitter troll trying to convince internet strangers (and secretly yourself) that you are correct and righteous. Get bent.
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Friday March 24 2017, @04:16PM (2 children)
Guess again. I've never had anyone quit a job with me who wasn't moving on to something better because of the skills they'd picked up working with me. And I don't for a second begrudge them that. If they become worth more than I'm paying, and I pay what the job is worth, then they should absolutely find something better. The unskilled labor that would normally pay chicken feed I've generally done myself because it's not worth the trouble of hiring anyone to do.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Monday March 27 2017, @01:33PM (1 child)
You presume the labor market works better than it does. I've seen it on both sides. Hard to find the job you want, and hard to find someone to hire for the job you have to fill.
It's the latter in particular that leads me to believe you're not being honest when you say you don't begrudge the employee who leaves you for a better job. You do. You have to stop doing productive work and start reading resumes and interviewing people again. As mercenary a market as this has become, that still takes time and is a pain in the ass.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Monday March 27 2017, @09:13PM
It's the latter in particular that leads me to believe you're not being honest when you say you don't begrudge the employee who leaves you for a better job. You do. You have to stop doing productive work and start reading resumes and interviewing people again. As mercenary a market as this has become, that still takes time and is a pain in the ass.
Sounds like Buzz has successfully impedance matched his expectations to reality. Perhaps you could give that a try sometime.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 24 2017, @04:11PM (7 children)
Sure, outline further how you're a complete dick with no empathy. Know what happens when your shitty philosophy gets to run things? Slavery and eventually revolt. So you cause horrors, then those horrors revolt and your types get hammered by a lot of angry people. It would be better if we skipped the whole massive human suffering in the first place. But then what would you do with your bootstraps???
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Friday March 24 2017, @04:19PM (6 children)
Fuck empathy. Empathy has no place in business. Only value does. Thank you for highlighting the greed that is the basis of socialism and their economy of perceived need though.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 24 2017, @04:45PM (3 children)
Yes, but if you don't pay people what they need to survive then you're a shortsighted psychopath.
If you need work fine badly enough to pay somebody for it, then you need it don't badly enough to pay a wage that at least covers room, board, medical care and a minimal vacation time. That's the bare minimum compensation for employees.
That's what happens in every other developed country. Including places where businesses are doing well. They just don't expect to get rich off virtual slave labor.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Zz9zZ on Friday March 24 2017, @05:45PM
Did you not hear him? "Fuck empathy". His mindset is 100% the reason the US is failing, and I'm sure he can't see past his own nose but it is why corporations globalized and are bringing in H1Bs. If we all boil down to a spreadsheet then why stop at just one human rights violation? He is only capable of seeing his own narrow world view where hard work lets anyone be successful, and there are zero barriers to entry aside from "know what you're doing".
TNMB: The Narrow Minded Buzzard
~Tilting at windmills~
(Score: 1) by khallow on Sunday March 26 2017, @10:43AM (1 child)
Yes, but if you don't pay people what they need to survive then you're a shortsighted psychopath.
Welcome to the real world, where unicorns and pixie dust is not always the optimal solution.
If you need work fine badly enough to pay somebody for it, then you need it don't badly enough to pay a wage that at least covers room, board, medical care and a minimal vacation time. That's the bare minimum compensation for employees.
Ah yes, the ugly "we didn't need those jobs anyway" approach. If someone is desperate enough to work for so little, then we're going to kick them out of a job and starve 'em. That'll show everyone how much we CARE.
Who again is the psychopath?
That's what happens in every other developed country. Including places where businesses are doing well. They just don't expect to get rich off virtual slave labor.
Boy, I hope not. Else they won't stay civilized for long!
And heh, "including places where businesses are doing well".
(Score: 1) by khallow on Monday March 27 2017, @09:59AM
If you need work fine badly enough to pay somebody for it, then you need it don't badly enough to pay a wage that at least covers room, board, medical care and a minimal vacation time. That's the bare minimum compensation for employees.
Ah yes, the ugly "we didn't need those jobs anyway" approach. If someone is desperate enough to work for so little, then we're going to kick them out of a job and starve 'em. That'll show everyone how much we CARE.
I got a little ahead of myself. First would come the argument that Boss Buzz would easily be able to afford whatever costs you feel like throwing on top of the "bare minimum compensation". We can't trust Boss Buzz to do even the slightest thing right - except cover the costs of your fantasies. That's a remarkably skewed trust there.
Then of course, when someone points out Boss Buzz probably can't afford your fantasies, despite your breezy assertions that he's good for it, then comes the "we didn't want those jobs anyway" argument.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 24 2017, @05:40PM
Remember well the words you say.
(Score: 2) by sjames on Friday March 24 2017, @10:04PM
Spoken like a true psychopath. There is literally a hole in your mind.
(Score: 2) by jmorris on Friday March 24 2017, @05:37PM (6 children)
How do you actually justify people working full time jobs for less than a living wage?
So much fallacy in so few words. What do you define to be a 'living wage' is the first failure. I promise you that somebody can 'live' on a lot less than you think.
But before that lets question the premise itself, where is it graven on stone tablets that anyone who works forty hours -must- get a 'living wage' however defined? You minimum wage morons refuse to notice you are outlawing a LOT of the jobs people learn how to work at, earn spending money as teens working at, used to work while going to college, the elderly working as a door greeter at Walmart because sitting at home was f*cking boring after a year or two of retirement, etc. None of those workers need earn enough to support themselves, they just want to work a few hours a week and make a little money.
Now lets attack 'living wage'. Google will tell you how many billions of people manage to live on what fraction of what you are likely defining as 'living wage.' Again, show us the stone tablets in God's own handwriting saying that being born in His Promised land of America assures one of a standard of living high enough to live in a home/apartment of one's own, drive a car / hail Uber at will, watch cable tv or Netflix and carry an iPhone. Some unfortunate people might have to live like illegals, six to an apartment, working their asses off to pay the bills and still make time to take some night classes to better themselves so they can get out of that situation and into one where women might find them attractive.
Do you not tip at restaurants cause they just carry food and write down orders?
Of course not! Tips are pure capitalism and I celebrate it by instantly rewarding above average service and punishing failure. Enough people do likewise that wait staff learn the lesson well, those who suck do not stay in it long while those who are competent can make a fair living at it.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 24 2017, @09:57PM (1 child)
Sweet jesus take your circle jerk sessions somewhere else! I know you and your buddies love to troll through these things and pat each other on the back for such keen observations as "None of those workers need earn enough to support themselves, they just want to work a few hours a week and make a little money." You are beyond delusional! Most of those employees DO need the work and it is not about some extra spending money. Comparing livable wages in China to the US? Idiot.
"Some unfortunate people might have to live like illegals, six to an apartment, working their asses off to pay the bills and still make time to take some night classes to better themselves so they can get out of that situation and into one where women might find them attractive."
So it is totally fine to have shitty living conditions because... reasons? Did you just miss the last ten thousand years of human progress?
"I celebrate it by instantly rewarding above average service and punishing failure"
Yup, sociopath. Delighting in the near-meaningless opportunity to wield some petty power and judgment over someone else. You've got serious issues bud, part of which is ignoring reality. Lots of servers get less than minimum wage because their bosses can play tricks due to expected tips. your favorite website I'm sure [motherjones.com]
You are a clueless moron promoting horrible cultural values. Maybe you should try using your obviously functional brain to learn some more about the issues beyond your circle-jerked "logic".
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday March 25 2017, @01:43AM
Yeah, it really burns me up inside that restaurant owners are legally allowed to balance their own books on the backs of their under paid staff. How they can live with themselves after doing that is beyond me. Which is why I now typically leave cash as a tip. That way, the server can decide for themselves whether or not they want to give the boss a cut of their tip. If they decide they would rather not, I'm completely OK with that.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Friday March 24 2017, @10:13PM
And you call this capitalism, eh?
I tell you what I'd do: I'd sue the restaurant for deceptive practices, for advertising (in the menu) lower prices that those actually charged by including the tip. it is a break of (adhesion) contract to ask me to tip your waiters.
Fortunately, I live in a country where one doesn't need to tip to receive good services.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 1) by Chrontius on Saturday March 25 2017, @09:49PM (2 children)
Don't forget that living like an illegal is, itself, illegal in many places. What's this? Only two unrelated families can share an address? Bollucks. Combined with zoning laws setting minimum dwelling sizes puts a floor on cost of living before we get out of "somewhere to sleep".
(Score: 1) by khallow on Monday March 27 2017, @10:04AM (1 child)
Don't forget that living like an illegal is, itself, illegal in many places. What's this? Only two unrelated families can share an address? Bollucks. Combined with zoning laws setting minimum dwelling sizes puts a floor on cost of living before we get out of "somewhere to sleep".
There are plenty of examples of people living outside the rules, illegal immigrants, gangs, Uber and the "gig economy", etc. Perhaps, we should start looking at the rules and how those rules are stifling us. When working outside the rules pays off so well, it's often a sign that the rules need reforming badly.
(Score: 1) by Chrontius on Wednesday April 05 2017, @12:14AM
My point exactly! Many of those rules are there because someone did something stupid, though, and are there because we don't want to see something bad happen again. 'Course, some of them are protectionist bullshit designed to keep "those people" from living in certain regions - blacks, millennials, poor, whatever. Illegals? Because they're willing to live like illegals because of low standards or desperation, or drive. They're easy to take advantage of, sadly, and their drive is rarely really rewarded. Gangs? Business is always more lucrative if you're willing to engage in violence and murder, I guess, but that's probably something that should stay illegal. Uber? It's easy to get into, it's flexible, but doesn't pay well enough to sustain a lifestyle on it, and if you don't have a vehicle you can't get into it. It's a decent trampoline for someone who's taken a knock that could have pushed them out of the middle class, I guess, but America can do better by our citizens, I think.
But you're right, we need to re-examine the rules we live by when they demonstrably don't work right.