Be Careful What You Wish For
If you have a choice, why on earth would you want to work for someone else when you can work for yourself?
These days it is so easy to make money for yourself as an independent contractor. Not only is there
Uber.com
,
Airbnb.com
,
Upwork.com
, and
Taskrabbit.com
,
there are around 300 other companies that bring together workers and people who need something done. A recent survey found that 31% of US workers work in what's called the "gig" or "on-demand economy." This
number is only going to grow because in the future you're probably not going to go to an office from 9 to 5 anymore.
A couple weeks ago, a judge in California granted class action status to Uber drivers who are claiming they should be considered employees, and not independent contractors. Obviously, these drivers should be treated fairly, however, they (and their lawyers) are solidly on the wrong side of the future.
So what will the Uber drivers win if they win their lawsuit? They get bosses, set schedules, and maybe Uber uniforms. That doesn't sound like fun. Hopefully, for their own good, they lose.
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