And how many years can some people exist
Before they’re allowed to be free?
– Bob Dylan, Blowing in the Wind
It is becoming easier for non-college graduates to settle for a job in metropolitans, thanks to the growing platform economy that lowers the bar for job entry. As netizen jokes for the go-to job choices, about the three so-called auspicious opportunities: security, cleaning, insurance sellers and the challenging ironman triathlon: takeout delivery, courier, uber driver".
Today, as digitization sweeps across the globe, the digital-intergrative industries, notably takeaway delivery, express delivery and uber drivers have rapidly become integral to China’s economic landscape. These sectors have not only transformed consumer habits and lifestyles but have also become crucial in the job market. Reports suggest that these industries act as stabilizers for employment in China, especially during economic fluctuations, by providing numerous job opportunities. However, this trend also prompts deeper reflection: Should a country’s employment depend heavily on these sectors? Does this reliance indicate an imbalance in economic development?
A recent report An irrevocable courier complaint illustrated a problem of courier business. Simply speaking, the system design is driving delivery service workers crazy, meanwhile also making customers uncomfortable. Delivery companies designed a set of strict indicator assessment system that regulates couriers’ work: signing rate (every time slot to be assessed), complaint rate, timely rate of solicitation, logistics stagnation… any abnormality in data or violation result in large penalties. Even worse, the system design is far from benign, that it penalizes delivery workers harshly for any small complaint possible, and even induces mistakenly placed complaints by designing misleading user interfaces.
It’s hard to compete against algorithms. And it’s becoming a common approach for platforms to design their system in an over-simplifying manner that somehow shifted the real operational pitfalls of the platform into uneasieness and conflicts between end workers and consumers.
Doesn’t sounds right. In general, the “ironman triathlon” jobs pay low and is extremely demanding. From the employee’s perspective, the work intensity in sectors such as takeaway and courier services is notably high, and labor protections are often insufficient. Many workers endure long hours, unstable incomes, and a lack of social security benefits. Additionally, the relatively low skill requirements associated with these industries do not support the long-term career development of the workforce.
Take a higher view, over-reliance on specific industries, particularly low-end services such as takeaways and express delivery, can indicate an imbalance in economic development. This disparity is evident not only in the industrial framework but also in the labor market structure.
Platform economic flourishes, but maybe the platforms should be more aware of their social responsibilities. Now that they are somewhat too concentrated on (or perhaps, trapped in) the revenue objective. Digitalization and algorithmic optimization on one hand, boost efficiency and facilitate the industry, on the other hand, they trigger involution and suppressed the surplus space of the workers and consumers. Who is to blame for the growing discontent, hostility, collision of interest, and even tragedies observed on all these platforms?
In the end, it’s growing more like a bad equilibrium, trapping almost everyone inside a digital siege.