Author of 'Side Hustle Safety Net'

Annie Noah: Your interest in this topic is somewhat personal. Earlier, you said you were a „super-agent.” what is that?

Alexandria Ravenelle: I did my Ph.D. Before going back to school to get, before I started teaching at UNC, I was an adjunct at a lot of schools. It's not unusual for someone to be in four or five places at once, driving from school to school.

Answer: When did the gig economy begin?

AR: The gig economy comes from the sharing economy, and the sharing economy predates the Great Depression. We had high unemployment and people wanted to do it. Instead of going out and buying a drill to assemble your Ikea furniture, borrow a neighbor's. But very quickly, that sharing economy becomes less about saving money and more about making money. A friend gives you a ride because it's cheaper than a taxi, how many workers can we drive and how much money can we make?

AN: What are some reasons why people are increasingly multi-tasking?

AR: There are various reasons. Part of that is student loans; This generation has more student loan debt than previous generations. We also see employers intentionally trying to keep someone at 18, 24 or 27 hours a week because once they hit 30 hours a week, they're on the hook for health insurance.

AN: How has the pandemic changed the lives of gig workers?

AR: Gig workers can get unemployment benefits for the first time in early Covid era. It was good for workers and it shows what happens when workers get this money. Often, they use it to change their lives and actually end up in a better place.

A college-educated worker who initially thought it would be a short-term affair ended up running Uber for four years. She was able to use her unemployment benefits to stop ride-sharing, and actually became a Community Habitat specialist. Now she helps people with developmental disabilities become more involved in society.

AN: How can people plan for their future or try to work toward financial goals?

AR: Working gigs and saving money is very difficult. Often times, people think they've saved some money, then they get their IRS bill and realize they didn't really save anything. They have to pay their taxes, then the employer's share of Social Security and Medicare.

AN: What is preventing workers from leaving the gig economy?

AR: A lot of workers I've interviewed believe they're going to be working gigs for a while. But I've followed people who have been doing it for 10 years.

Workers are trapped.

After someone has been doing that for six months, employers look at them and say, 'What have you been doing? How do you mean you're going to use your college degree in the office now?' So it's very difficult for people to move beyond gig work. I've talked to elite gig workers who've been doing it for three or four years and they say they can't get job interviews anywhere.

AN: It feels like the gig economy and side hustles can actually be romanticized as a way for workers to have more freedom and flexibility. What is wrong with this?

AR: For years, the sites have marketed themselves as a solution to stagnant wages and for those in need of extra cash. In fact, the work is never there.

When you're making money, it looks like you're making a good amount, but you're not factoring in the payroll taxes that the W-2 employer withholds or pays on your behalf. You don't factor in things like your time or delays while waiting for food to be delivered.

You get a ping and then another delivery takes 40 minutes. Platforms are a waste of time that doesn't pay you. They rely on this kind of reserve labor force that is ready to stand by and wait for work. It's quite something Upton Sinclair, „The Jungle,” In addition to people waiting outside the slaughterhouse doors, people wait outside McDonald's hoping to get a ping.

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