A hidden consequence of the gig economy is that workers keep asking customers for sex or dates

L4sBot@lemmy.worldmod to Technology@lemmy.world – 184 points – A hidden consequence of the gig economy is that workers keep asking customers for sex or dates
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A hidden consequence of the gig economy is that workers keep asking customers for sex or dates::"People have the right to order a pizza ... without then being asked for sex or a date."

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"People have the right to order a pizza … without then being asked for sex or a date.”

I've seen plenty of documentary footage showing that arriving with a pizza often ends in an invitation to personally deliver the sausage.

The sausage is always whole though. And awkwardly placed vertically on the pizza.

I’m confident it’s not 1 in 3 customers, rather “most customers who are also young women”. You should be able to order a pizza without being hit on, especially as they now have your contact details

Considering it's limited in scope to Brits between the ages of 18 and 34, one in three is actually conservative seeing as it's less than the half of the population you would expect to be women by default.

That makes sense to me.

Everyone has a type, even sleazeballs that hit on people they're delivering food to. They're bound to find some women that don't appeal to them.

You should also be able to deliver a pizza without being hit on. I’m a dad side-hustling to take care of my family. I don’t need women answering the door topless and making “do I get extra sausage” jokes. And I also don’t need old ladies hitting on me when I bring their heavy groceries to the door for a Safeway delivery.

Whether someone is the deliverer or the deliveree, just get the transaction done and move on with your day. No harassment needed.

Agreed - though does the topless thing happen a lot in Oregon? Just asking for a friend

90% of my deliveries are “leave at door”. 5-6% of the “hand it to me” orders are normal and friendly encounters. The other “hand it to me” orders are always weirdos. “Want some weed”, “come in and drink with us”, topless women (who are usually drunk or high themselves), hoarder houses with cats spilling out the door… It’s not weekly, but it’s more than once a month that someone comes to the door in less than a fully clothed state.

If I wanted to put on pants I wouldn't have ordered delivery.

It’s cool. Just ask me to leave it at the door. Everyone is entitled to Donald Duck it in their own home.

Would it be any different with normal delivery drivers? The issue here is lack of reporting or enforcement. There are good reasons to bash the gig economy, but this one's just riding the wave for the clicks

If an employee delivering pizza harassed me, they would be fired. They couldn't be hired at that same pizza place again - they'd have a blacklisted ssn.

If a gig work worker harassed me, they could easily resign up using someone else's info. In fact, that's a common method for harassing women - they sign up with a fake woman's profile so you let your guard down.

Isn't that pretty much the definition of lack of enforcement? Any customer could report if the driver is using a different ID, then it's up to the platform to kill the account.

That's one of the big issues with all these Gig companies. There's little to no oversight. They offload as much responsibility as they can by lying that "this is not really our employee but a self-employed contractor"

There doesn't seem to be any data that they based this conclusion on, but I certainly find it somewhat plausible. High turnover and a disconnect between employer and employee may drive the lack of reporting and enforcement you point out. It may also reduce the perceived risk, like your colleagues finding out you are a creep, or being fired.

Leave it at the door is the default option for all my services I use. Have literally never spoken to the a gig worker before, during or after delivering something for me.

I love the "leave it at the door" option. But you can't do that with an uber.

What is “asking for sex?” I know it sounds dumb but is this a thing people really do? How do they say it? “Hey any chance I could have some sex?” “Spare any sex?” “Here’s your food want to fuck?”

And does anyone ever say yes????

"Oh dear! I seem to have misplaced my wallet. Is there... Some other way I could pay?"

Only it's a weird and creepy (possibly ugly even) dude saying it to a young woman who just wants to pay her rent and is delivering for DoorDash on the side.

if you're a girl, you'll get freaks approach you eventually if you see enough people who will passively say awful things to you, ask for sex, get stalked,etc

I’m a man so I have no idea. But I have heard some stories. It must be gross.

What words do people use to “ask for sex?” I have some idea what flirting is. I have some idea what hitting on someone is. I don’t know what it actually looks like to “ask for sex.”

This is the best summary I could come up with:

Almost 1 in 3 Brits between 18 and 34 years old have received unwanted contact from delivery drivers or other workers asking them out on dates or for sex, the UK's data watchdog has warned.

"People have the right to order a pizza, or give their email for a receipt, or have shopping delivered, without then being asked for sex or a date a little while later," said Emily Keaney, a deputy commissioner at the ICO.

In June, a female Etihad Airways passenger told The Guardian how she felt unsafe after a worker contracted by the airline found her phone number in the company system then sent her unsolicited text messages.

A growing number of firms, particularly in delivery, transport, or logistics, rely on gig economy or contract workers.

Its survey found that two-thirds of the UK public believe it isn't morally right to use personal details given for business purposes for romantic or sexual propositions.

The regulator said it's cracking down on such occurrences, asking victims to come forward, and reaching out to companies to remind them of their data protection responsibilities.

The original article contains 391 words, the summary contains 183 words. Saved 53%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!

This has nothing to do with "gig economy"

Gig economy means a bunch of randos get your contact information instead of long term employees who receive proper training and management.

8 more...

Anyone have a non pay walled link?

Lol, do you even need it? The headline speaks volumes.🤣

Almost 1 in 3 Brits between 18 and 34 years old have received unwanted contact from delivery drivers or other workers asking them out on dates or for sex, the UK's data watchdog has warned.

The survey of over 2,000 British adults carried out for the Information Commissioner's Office found that, in total, 17% of people have had their personal information used for a romantic or sexual proposition after handing it over to a business.

That figure rises to 33% in London, where such incidents are most common.

"People have the right to order a pizza, or give their email for a receipt, or have shopping delivered, without then being asked for sex or a date a little while later," said Emily Keaney, a deputy commissioner at the ICO.

"Our research today shows a disturbingly high number of people, particularly young people, are falling prey to these text pests," she added.

In June, a female Etihad Airways passenger told The Guardian how she felt unsafe after a worker contracted by the airline found her phone number in the company system then sent her unsolicited text messages.

"There may be, amongst some, an outdated notion that to use someone's personal details given to you in a business context to ask them out is romantic or charming," Keaney said. "Put quite simply, it is not – it is against the law."

A growing number of firms, particularly in delivery, transport, or logistics, rely on gig economy or contract workers. These workers are not entitled to the same employment rights as full-time workers, the jobs can be precarious and badly paid, and turnover is often high. One consequence is that sensitive customer information, such as phone numbers and addresses, is accessible to casual workers.

The ICO did not explicitly name any companies, but pointed to "major businesses" operating in food and parcel delivery.

Its survey found that two-thirds of the UK public believe it isn't morally right to use personal details given for business purposes for romantic or sexual propositions.

The regulator said it's cracking down on such occurrences, asking victims to come forward, and reaching out to companies to remind them of their data protection responsibilities.

If a company is found not to be following data-protection laws, it can be fined up to £17.5 million ($22.1 million) or 4% of its global turnover

Not just sitting on them for text pests, have you experienced their scooter riding lately. I nearly clapped one today cutting in front of me on a roundabout...

I think the last thing anyone wants is some broke ass gig worker hitting on them.

Well that's pleasant and shows how spoiled you are.

Literally could be a college student working and studying, or an immigrant that came through a fucked up jorney just so he could send money back home.

I can say that they aren't as spoiled little s like you

It's not spoiled to not want to be harassed by someone you're paying for a service. It is however spoiled to expect it's ok to treat a job as a dating service.

Shut tf up dude. I agree to that and did not say otherwise, I answered to his gold-digger bullshit

Well that's pleasant and shows how spoiled you are

Literally could be a college student working and studying, or an immigrant that came through a fucked up jorney just so he could send money back home.

I can say that they aren't as spoiled little s like you

You should re-read what you wrote, because literally nowhere does it say that you agree that gig workers shouldn't be hitting on or propositioning their customers.

But he didn't disagree with that point, so to assume he meant to disagree is a quite the jump in logic. All I see from his reply was to criticise the blanket calling of all gig workers as broke, which is an elitist point of view towards workers of that industry.

Hmm, that's fair, I guess my interpretation of what he said was colored by how he said it.

Yeah I don't know about that, boss. I've been working since I was 16. Needed to support myself because my parents sure wouldn't.

But I also made an attempt to take union jobs that give me benefits like health insurance and retirement.

Gig workers are fucked. They don't get benefits. They don't even get treated like employees. They don't have a union. The only real money they're earning is mostly from tips. It's a shitty job that exploits people desperate to make some money.