We’ve all heard it before. Takeaway is way more tempting than cooking at home night after night after night. But although ordering-in might save you precious time, at the end of the day I’ll bet your wallet takes the hit.
Everyone on the planet resorts to takeout after a long day's work — and I’m no exception. After a day slouched at my desk tapping on laptop, hopping on and off Zoom calls, I deserve a big fat burrito — extra guac and cheese, please. But it’s never worth the price, and with taxes, app payout, delivery fees & tip, it all adds up.
Plus, I often wonder d how much delivery drivers actually get out of my bill? Do the extra $ that I pay for delivery actually reach the drivers alone?
The Washington Post recently conducted an experiment to discover what percentage of the total tab goes to drivers. The Post looked at a variety of food delivery apps vs. restaurant pickup to see how they compare. The exact same order was placed — here are a few of their findings:
Screenshot from The Washington Post article
Disclaimer: “As tips can vary customer-to-customer — from the size of the tip to giving a percentage versus a flat dollar amount — The Post initially removed them to compare the cost of the transactions better. When added in later, they significantly impact driver pay.” — The Washington Post
Driver payout is very close to the estimated app payout, which is a bit unexpected. I imagined that the drivers would receive at least 5-10% of the total and earn a livable wage. But I now see that isn’t it at all…
“Is this money going to the restaurant? Is this money going to the driver? Is this money going to the firm? It’s all so opaque…Customers have been really frustrated when they look at their receipts.” said Veena Dubal, an employment law professor at the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco.
Then suddenly, restaurant owners decided that their prices would vary depending on which platform a customer came through. What-why? Because the apps charge sooo much in commission?
I’m super annoyed that the price of my favorite burger and fries keeps rising. And rising. And rising. People blamed inflation, then it was the fact that people should earn a minimum wage — clearly the drivers weren’t — and now it’s the app commission?
“If the delivery companies didn’t exist, customers would go back to ordering straight from me over the phone or from my website, and I would actually be able to make money on the orders again,” said Artesano owner Douglas Mathieux, 54.
We keep talking about how much restaurants lose, but what about the drivers? They’re the ones who spend hours driving through terrible weather — who would leave their house in the rain, am I right?
Based on The Washington Post study, drivers' pay is usually calculated based on time and mileage. I highly doubt that this includes the time drivers waste waiting for the bag ‘o grub to be ready. Most apps handle only one order at a time, that way drivers know precisely how much they make. But some apps batch orders together, making it tough to grasp exactly what they earn.
But things are changing… New York was the first city to pass a new bill establishing a minimum wage for anyone who drives or bikes food orders throughout the five boroughs. The law goes into effect on July 12th. Wages will increase to $17.96 per hour (plus tips) with a further boost to $19.96 an hour by April 1, 2025.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams explained on the Gothamist site. “The ones that bring you pizza in the snow and Thai food you like in the rain. This new minimum pay rate will guarantee that these workers and their families can earn a living. They should not be delivering food to your household if they can’t put food on the plate in their household.”
Eric Adams added, “When the rate takes full effect, workers will make three times (my emphasis) as much as they do now. I am proud that our city has fulfilled its promise to provide more stability and protections for 60,000 workers and get them a dignified pay rate.”
Once the New York establish this legendary pay hike, hopefully, this can spread to other cities. And that way restaurants can still receive orders from the app, drivers earn a fair wage, and I get my big fat ooey-gooey burrito. Restaurant owners are happy. The drivers are happy. And I’m thrilled. Boom!
Interview
Looking for a new job? More and more companies are asking candidates to endure unending interview rounds. But what is the limit? Can too many rounds drive candidates away?
Back in the Before Times – ie: pre-pandemic – job seekers went through one to three interviews until a hiring decision was made, which is totally reasonable. But in recent years, an outrageous number of interview rounds has become the norm. Sometimes recruiters reach such an absurd number that they even drive candidates away.
Our editors have heard stories that leave us speechless:
A woman went through 29 – YES, 29 – 30-minute interviews for a senior director position. She met multiple employees, including the CEO, President, and COO. Two of her references were called, and both gave her stellar reviews. In the end, the company went with a different candidate.
This scenario describes a familiar story:
A person was interviewing for their job and had to go through six separate 30-minute Zoom sessions with each person on the company’s main team. For some reason, the sessions couldn’t be scheduled on the same day. Instead, they expected the candidate to be available every day over the course of a week. On top of that, they required five references who each had to fill out a 15-question questionnaire.
Most job seekers are simultaneously interviewing with multiple companies, meaning they have to juggle overlapping interview processes. With each of them demanding a ridiculous number of steps, this eats up valuable personal time. Let’s face it, not many of us can run an effective job search while doing our actual job.
And it isn’t merely the interviews. The amount of effort required simply to be considered for the interview stage is just as ridiculous:
A basic mid-level role position asked for an initial hour-long video interview, then an assignment that takes approximately 5 hours to complete with a deadline of a week later. This was followed by yet another interview and another assignment due a week after that. But wait, there’s more! A panel interview and an hour-long executive director meeting were held. And after that came another interview with the hiring manager.
There’s a fine line between what’s appropriate and what’s inappropriate. While it might make sense to ask for a presentation regarding a candidate’s vision for an executive-level position, it’s totally over-the-top for a company to expect a full-blown marketing campaign.
This feels like companies are using the interview process to get free work, or even strategies for new initiatives from their job candidates.
Is it the remote work that paved the way for an application process that’s exhausting and, frankly, exploitative. Or, are companies competing against each other to be considered the most elite workplaces?
Perhaps the most straightforward answer as to why companies make the hiring process so difficult is simply because they can.
Hire or risk losing top candidates
Exceptional candidates only transition to the job market for a brief time. Therefore, companies must nail down their recruitment process and be completely transparent about the process from day one. This way, companies can avoid negatively impacting a candidate’s interest in a role, and possibly driving them away due to a lengthy, grueling, confusing process.
62% of US professionals say they’ll walk away if they don’t hear back from the company within 10 business days of an initial interview – this from global staffing firm Robert Half. Also, most job seekers aren’t willing to go beyond 4interview rounds.
Fact is, overly complicated hiring processes forces quality candidates to go elsewhere… and righteously so. It’s tough to make up for an enormous amount of personal time lost. Not to mention how painful it is to give away ideas and your work for free.
A Guide to Quiet Quitting: How the Gen Z TikTok Trend Is Actually About Setting Boundaries At Work
Quiet Quitting is the latest trend among Gen-Z TikTok that encourages setting boundaries at work
Toni Morrison has an anecdote about her first ever job, which was cleaning some neighborhood woman’s house. The young Toni arrived home after work one day and expressed her troubles to her father. But he didn’t provide the sympathy she expected. Instead, he gave her something better — his advice:
“Listen. You don’t live there. You live here. With your people. Go to work. Get your money. And come on home.”
Years later, she wrote about this remarkable experience for the New Yorker and said, in hindsight, this is what she learned:
1. Whatever the work is, do it well—not for the boss but for yourself
2. You make the job; it doesn’t make you
3. Your real life is with us, your family
4. You are not the work you do; you are the person you are
What Morrison so eloquently articulated was setting boundaries. I revisited this piece during the pandemic when working from home ramped up in earnest. Back when work was one of the few things that anchored my day.
Without a physical office, the pandemic shattered the work/life balance for many people. There was no more of that physical separation that Morrison talked about. There is no coming home from work physically. There is no real life to come back to — just a manufactured commute to your laptop in your makeshift home office.
But, par for the course, Gen Z are navigating this boundaryless era using TikTok. While internet gurus promote hustle culture and constant online availability since you’re not getting face time with your managers, there’s a trend in town — “quiet quitting.”
@zaidleppelin On quiet quitting #workreform ♬ original sound - ruby
The trend arose from the depths of the pandemic. Layoffs, salary cuts, and furloughs proved that their employers did not care about their hard-working employees.
The Washington Post dubs quiet quitting as a fresh trem for an old phenomenon: employee disengagement. In many cases, it’s a response to burnout. For much of Gen Z, it’s a way of establishing healthy boundaries in the office and resisting the pressure of the rat race. After all, why work yourself to the bone for a company that just proved it’s ready and willing to let you go?
Despite the term’s negative connotations, Quiet Quitting can provide an empowering shift in thinking for employees.
For far too long, employees have been indoctrinated with a slew of toxic workplace advice. Faced with these old misconceptions and lacking job security or clear paths for advancement, Gen Z is untethering their identities from work.
Quiet quitting — therefore — might be a bit of a misnomer. These employers aren’t completely disengaged. They’re certainly not launching Flight Club-esque sabotage attempts on their employers. NO. Contrary to media panic, Gen Z understands the value of a job — the fickle market they entered ensured that. But they also understand the value of life.
They’re doing what they’re being paid for. Nothing more, nothing less.
According to Chief, a private membership network focused on connecting and supporting women executive leaders, older generations should learn from this approach.
“Gen Z has already endured the largest seismic shifts to the career landscape than any previous generation, having started their careers in the middle of a pandemic that changed office culture forever and a gig economy that makes piecing together work more viable. They’re taking both those realities and therefore demanding more autonomy and flexibility than any other generation.”
Gen Z are less attached to job titles and statuses. They’re more concerned about their lives. Sure, this can lead to problematic outlooks on money and experiences — see the “I can earn my money back” TikTok trend. But it’s better than hustling for no reward. Besides, as some Gen Z-ers put it on TikTok, the office isn’t even a vibe.
“With the ability to work from anywhere and for more than just one place, Gen Z-ers are forging their own paths that don’t rely on old patterns set by previous generations and are redefining what “career success” looks like. Gen Z can take note, as more and more leaders are similarly pursuing multiple income streams of their own through the form of a portfolio career. The way in which work looks like and where it happens is evolving.”
With less single-minded focus on one job, some TikTok business gurus advocate shutting your laptops precisely at 5 pm. And then jump onto your side hustle. Do nails or lashes on the weekend. Become social media managers for your phone. Sell soap on Etsy (again … perhaps not in the Fight Club way).
But this valorization of side hustles is not about hustle culture, either. They say job security isn’t guaranteed. Learning new skills and develop an alternate income stream/s to keep you afloat. Just make sure you’re not left in the lurch. BTW inflation is here. So every little bit helps.
But where do you start? Watching TikToks can only get you so far. Try a course on LinkedIn Learning to sharpen up your skills and learn new ones that you can turn into a verifiable side hustle — or leverage in your job search if quiet quitting leads to … real quitting.
Learn on your own time with bite-sized videos or in-depth courses. Watch them after work, before you clock in, or on your lunch break. Then, after your courses are complete, you’ll have certificates prominently displayed on your profile that prove your skills.
Kim K is acting up again — nature is healing.
After Kanye West recently went on an online tear trying to win Kim back by … weaponizing his fans against her and her boyfriend — the logic is flawed, especially since West was simultaneously parading his relationship with Julia Fox — a judge declared Kim Kardashian legally single. Silly me, I thought this would be the end of the whole ordeal. I naively hoped that I would get some peace, quiet, and respite from the Kardashian/Jenner/West/Barker/Fox/Davidson/whoever-else brood for at least a little while.
Once again, I was wrong.
Kim Kardashian recently made it Instagram-official with Pete Davidson in a very on-trend photo dump. And — predictably — this went viral. This is … whatever. Good for them. However, at the same time, a video of Kim’s advice to business owners also went viral.
In an interview for Variety, the magazine asked Kim for her "best advice for women in business." In response, Kim said — in all seriousness and without a hint of sarcasm or self-awareness — “Get your f—ing ass up and work.” She continued: “It seems like nobody wants to work these days. You have to surround yourself with people that want to work. No toxic work environments and show up and do the work. Have a good work environment where everyone loves what they do because you have one life.”
If this sounds like bad advice, it’s because it is. In fact, none of it really means anything substantial. At best, it’s vacuous and unhelpful. At worst, it's ignorant and completely insensitive.
Emerging from a global pandemic that ravaged the economy with high rates of unemployment and confused work boundaries for those who could work, Kim’s assessment of people “these days” is outrageously out of touch.
In fact, most people are working more. Studies show: “Nearly 70 percent of professionals who transitioned to remote work because of the pandemic say they now work on the weekends. And 45 percent say they regularly work more hours during the week than they did before.”
While the rise of remote work promised more freedom and flexibility, it actually placed increased pressure on employees. They face rising workloads — especially in shrinking departments that laid off some employees due to budget cuts — and less ability to advocate for themselves. So, even if Kim is right and people don’t “want to work,” they’re working anyway. And they’re working more than ever.
According to Paul McDonald, senior executive director at LA-based staffing firm Robert Half, "While remote work affords employees greater flexibility, it also makes disconnecting extremely difficult. Many people feel pressure to keep up with rising workloads and are putting in long hours to support the business and customer needs.”
This pressure, combined with hastily-set-up remote systems means employees have been left in limbo, clocking in at the end of the world. “Simply handing an employee a laptop and downloading Zoom or some other collaborative software is not enough to help employees manage their work and lives through the pandemic and beyond,” says Cali Williams Yost, a nationally recognized expert on workplace flexibility and founder of the Manhattan-based consultancy Flex+Strategy Group.
Due to the prevalence of hustle culture, these boundaries are even more blurred. Unfortunately, the glorification of non-stop hustling was omnipresent during the pandemic. Remember when we first started lockdown and everyone was like, “write a book,” or “get a six-pack.” Somehow, that expectation still stands, and now those who got crypto-rich or exploited people’s pandemic vulnerabilities are looking down on the people who didn’t.
Kim is the latter. Her various business ventures all depend on selling consumer insecurities back to people. The self-image she constructed for her brand is one that promises her fans they can get a piece of her life, her success, her looks if they only spend more and more money.
According to Kim, her job is burdensome. She defended herself, saying: “When you do product shots (or) when you (post) things that are work-related posts, it's still a job and it's still really hard. Success is never easy. If you put in the work, you will see results.” But once again, this is overly simplistic, oblivious, and ignorant.
Not to say that she hasn’t leveraged the privileges she’s been given, but that’s just it. Kim Kardashian was born in proximity to wealth and fame, all of which provided her with the opportunities she has now leveraged for her success. And some of these opportunities have come at the cost of other people — i.e. her whole aesthetic and how it was built on a foundation of anti-blackness. As a fair-skinned woman, Kim was praised and uplifted for embodying aesthetics that Black women have been shamed and degraded for. So her success is not merely a result of her desire to work, her individual actions. Rather, it’s because she had all the prerequisites to success. But not everyone can just reach out and choose a life of access, ease, and abundance.
To be honest, the Variety question was kind of a setup. Kim’s relationship with work is not like most people’s, so no advice she would have given would be relatable. Sure, it didn’t have to be so shallow or perpetuate toxic ideas about work. But the lesson here is clear: don’t take work advice from Kim Kardashian.
