2/ In turn, this emotion is redirected at the company, when in fact we all need to get smarter about what’s going on in our economy. There are 80 million hourly workers, who don’t have benefits and income security. Their jobs turn over 100%+ annually. They have zero savings.
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3/ Let’s start with the stat on 80 million hourly workers. Important to note this is the majority of the working adults in the US. There are some great books, like “Nickel and Dimed” on how hard it is to get by. Here’s some stats on this segment:https://www.cbsnews.com/news/most-americans-are-hourly-workers/ …
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3/ Many of the service industries in which these hourly workers derive their income turn over their workers 100%+ per year. A lot of this work is seasonal, like hospitality, and some of it is just really hard. Stats on the turnover rates here:https://business.dailypay.com/blog/employee-retention-rate …
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4/ As a result of all of this, it’s hard to save. 40% of Americans aren’t able to $400 emergency expense without selling something or borrowing money. This is from the Federal Reserve Board. More on the stats here: https://money.cnn.com/2018/05/22/pf/emergency-expenses-household-finances/index.html …
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5/ Not surprisingly, it’s hard to save money. It’s easier to borrow. And so the average American has $38k of debt (not even counting mortgages!).https://www.cnbc.com/2018/08/20/how-much-debt-americans-have-at-every-age.html …
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6/ Uber facilitates an interaction where riders often talk to their drivers, and you learn how hard it is for many folks to get by. But when’s the last time you had a long, authentic convo with the people who prepared food at dinner? Or the workers who clean your office?
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7/ When I led the driver acquisition programs at Uber, we didn’t talk much about churn though we all knew it was a problem. But the focus was always on new drivers because it was assumed - rightly or wrongly - that this was a segment of the economy where turnover is high
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8/ The argument was, hospitality, fast food, and other service sectors often have high turnover. Uber’s driver retention was actually much, much better. And offered flexibility, without signing for shifts. And without a “boss” to deal with — you could just drive on your own terms
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9/ At the same time, we have to all acknowledge that this type of work — in the “gig economy” or other kinds of hourly work — are not great. It’s best used as something to bridge between two jobs, or in the summers for school. No wonder most drivers are part-time.
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10/ It’s something we have to figure out, because the majority of the economy actually looks like this, not just Uber. And as many of you know, automation, robotics, and technology will just accelerate this even further. This is something that needs to get figured out
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11/ The conversations you’re having in your Uber cars — that’s just the medium. The message is deeper, and more profound: 80 million hourly workers without benefits. $38k in debt. Can’t cover $400 in expenses. 100%+ turnover in their work. Think about that.
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12/ I know I’m thinking about it. After a few years working at Uber, this has been one of the most important lessons from my time there.
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PS. A couple folks have pointed out -
@sarthakgh@adamdangelo - that the $400 savings stat is widely publicized but things probably aren’t as bad as quoted there. Different thread here that tries to find the source material:https://twitter.com/p_millerd/status/1118071142311288838?s=21 …
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