It made perfect sense to me when Uber announced that it would limit drivers to 12-hour shifts. The drivers who will be affected by this are already working 60+ hours per week. It doesn’t get talked about, but I know from experience that the people who are most successful and happiest with their gigs work either 20 hours per week or 60+ hours per week. There are no 40-hour workweeks in the gig economy. Why?
Gig startups exist to serve the outside-of-work needs of 9-to-5+ professionals. This means gig workers are effectively limited to the same hours as a personal trainer, bartender, or real estate agent. If you want to succeed under these conditions, you have two choices. You can work in short bursts after or before your clients go to their full-time jobs, or on the weekends: 20 hours per week. Or, you can “work a double” most days, stretching your time around the duration of your clients’ workdays: 60 hours per week. A traditional 40-hour workweek is impossible when your customers only need your services outside of those 40 hours.
Liz Welsh 