Having the liberty to decide on their working hours makes Uber drivers and most of the gig economy workforce love their job.
Drivers can have the flexibility to choose their schedule without having to meet hourly requirements per week or have a boss tell them when they have to be on the clock, especially when you have to consider family matters.
"I basically worked second shift...I keep my days open to deal with the in-laws and their situations or the potential of having to deal with them," David, an Uber full-time driver from Miami, Florida said. David wishes to keep his last name private, as he is also a Lyft driver and does private driving. "So, yeah, I usually start about anywhere from two to four in the afternoon and go till about midnight on weeknights and Fridays and Saturdays."
App-based work helps David understand which time of the day or the week income would be better.
"Fridays and Saturdays, when I'm out, it usually goes to about one or two in the morning," David continued. "And the later it gets, the busier it gets and the more of those people you're going to be seeing in those later hours. But it's busier during those times and people are more, they show their gratitude more so when they've had a few and they realize, Oh, I really need a safe ride home. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, there's just a lot more tips from that crowd than picking people up from getting off work at the local Wal-Mart or supermarket chain or fast food place. You know, those people are trying to rub their nickels together to, you know, make sure they have enough to get home. They don't have a lot left over for them. So there's more money later in the night and that's when you get the intoxicated people."
Gen Z is also appreciating the "flexible economy" as it allows them to arrange their own hours.
“As work-life balance becomes more of a priority, and Gen Z have had the opportunity to experience flexible working, it’s not surprising that we’re seeing this shift in the way they view work," according to Airtasker.
A 2018 Gallop poll also revealed that "independent gig workers (such as online platform workers and independent contractors) experience high levels of work-life balance, flexibility, autonomy, meaningful feedback and creative freedom. In fact, they score much higher on all these factors compared with traditional workers and other types of gig workers."
A 2019 study of the independent workforce commissioned by Upwork and Freelancers Union presented that 79% of full-time and 73% of part-time freelance workers joined the flexible workforce environment due to having a flexible schedule in working what days and hours of their choosing. The "Freelancing in America: 2019" surveyed 6,000 U.S. workers.
Edelman Intelligence, who did the 2019 study, fielded a new 2020 survey that revealed that "more than half of new freelancers began freelancing due to major life events such as finishing their education or being laid off."