Laroi Sutherland, a truck driver who hauls frozen meat and vegetables, spends up to six weeks on the road. But no worries, she’s always moving around, planning to move to India soon. “Who says you should stay where you’re from?” Sophie asks, a digital nomad who grew up in Italy, is of Mexican and Puerto Rican descent, and went to college in the U.S.
Because gig workers are considered independent contractors, Richard, who also works shift jobs, does not receive any benefits. To access health insurance, he uses Medicaid. Despite his current financial situation, he’s got bigger fish to fry; he got married in December, and he’s already thinking about having children in the future – something that feels like a distant dream.
While working in person as a speech language pathologist, Ashley would come home completely drained. But now that she’s working remotely, she has some energy to spare. She even wrote a children’s book about disability and ableism, which will be available in May. She’s also preparing to welcome her first child into the world.
Trevor, an actor in New York City, uses an app called Hyr to help pay the bills while he rehearses for an upcoming Off Off Broadway play. It’s a pretty sweet gig for him, especially because he likes dogs more than humans. Once he got married, everything changes – now he’s dreaming of having kids someday.
Meghan, a founder of a jewelry marketing company, is what they call a “supercommuter” – someone who moved great distances during Covid for work. Even though she spends most of her time in Manhattan, she resides in upstate New York. Her dream is to work from anywhere and paddleboard.
Laroi, who drives more than 3,000 miles per week with her refrigerated semi-truck, is on the road for weeks at a time. But she’s made her truck feel like a cozy little home. How? By slow-cooking pork chops for dinner using a lunchbox oven powered by the truck’s 12-volt lighter plug. Delicious!
Cristina, who used to work long hours at a financial-services company in New York City, now has a four-day workweek. It’s reported to improve mental health, and that’s probably why Cristina goes out more and sees more shows. It’s like she’s living a second life!
While the rise of apps for hourly work has made life easier for some, it’s becoming more and more unpredictable. Trevor likes the flexibility it gives him to work on his acting career but hates the odd hours. Shift workers complain that their hours vary by an average of 32 percent from week to week.
Joanie, a nurse at a hospital near Detroit, has a robot that fetches equipment for her and her colleagues. It gives her more time to spend with her patients who have heart or lung disease. But she’s worried that robots will take away jobs from people, as they can accomplish repetitive tasks.
In this age of flexible work, people are using their time in new ways. Whether urinating in public or snacking on tangerines, there’s never been such a glorious moment!
