"Work but work ..." 57-year-old "Gig Worker" Actual condition July 19th 20:01

"Working freely, one million yen a month is not a dream."

For a man who has worked for a company for many years, such words on SNS were very attractive.

(Social Department reporter Yuka Onishi)

Earn as much as you need, when you need it

It was in February that 57-year-old Tanaka (pseudonym), who was an office worker, became a "gig worker".

When I was watching a video posting site on my smartphone on a holiday, the words that caught my eye were the trigger.

These words were dancing in the video.

"You can earn money by working as you like in your free time"

"If you work

hard for

3 days, you can afford 100,000 yen!"

"Life like traveling because you go to various places by car

"

"

Work

freely, 100 a month Ten thousand yen is not a dream "

When I looked it up, I found a light truck driver, food delivery that carries food from restaurants, sorting of distribution warehouses, and work like a "handyman" who takes care of personal problems.

"Gig workers" are people who take on one-off jobs in units of one day or several hours through smartphone apps and earn income, and they work in a way that "earns as much as they need when they need it."

Interested in a feeling that is not bound by the frame

Until now, what Mr. Tanaka took for granted was to continue working at one company.

After graduating from university, he went to a financial institution as a new graduate.

In my 40s, I changed jobs when I was asked by the company I was dealing with for accounting and financial skills, but I took it for granted that I would work here.

Mr. Tanaka works five days a week under a business consignment contract, and although he has some overtime, he works at a fixed time every day and takes about 300,000 yen a month.

By combining the income of my wife who works part-time, I was able to raise two children sufficiently.

Mr. Tanaka says that the way of working as a "gig worker" was fresh.

Mr. Tanaka

"I was interested in a feeling that is completely different from my previous way of working, and is not bound by the frame, and after working until the age of 65, I wanted to work in a way that is free, fun, and profitable. Was

As soon as I thought so, Mr. Tanaka was forced to retire in December last year because the performance of the company he worked for deteriorated due to the influence of the new Corona.

Even if I look for a job in Hello Work or free paper, I am 57 years old, and I can't find anything that I can understand in terms of income.

My child's school fees are a few more years, and even a house loan is about 10 years, so if I don't work, I can't make a living.

When thinking of ways to earn income right away, Mr. Tanaka came up with a "gig worker."

The reality of my dream job is ...

Mr. Tanaka, who quit his job, immediately installed an app on his smartphone that allows him to receive food delivery and home delivery jobs.

The first day of the gig worker was celebrated by reporting the light wagon car that was originally used for commuting and picking up children as a business vehicle.

I ran the car from 9am and waited with excitement for work to come in.

However, it is difficult to get notifications on smartphones.

On this day, 6 cases were delivered persistently until late at night.

The amount of money obtained was more than 4000 yen.

"It's the first day, well, it's like this."

However, as the days went by, I began to get impatient.

Even after this day, I couldn't get the job I wanted.

Mr. Tanaka

"Work is like a scramble. Looking at SNS, it seems that many people started their main business or side business with the new Corona, and the competition rate is steadily increasing."

After all, the income I earned in the first month I started working was only 60,000 yen.

After deducting gasoline and car insurance, I had about 10,000 yen left.

Work, but work ...

Feeling impatient that he could

n't support his family as it

is, about a month later, he was introduced to a local transportation company that was looking for a "gig worker" through an acquaintance.

The company was a subcontractor of a major shipping company, and there were not enough drivers to deliver packages from delivery bases to private homes.

A person in charge at a local shipping company said:

The person in charge of the transportation company

"Once you get used to the work, you will earn income just by carrying it hard. It is a mechanism that you can receive a reward of about 150 yen per baggage. There are not enough drivers, so you can earn enough."

Having to find a new job, Mr. Tanaka decided to believe the words of the person in charge.

From March this year, about half of the month, I was asked to have this shipping company handle the delivery work.

Delivery work gathers at the delivery base at 9 am.

Allocate the luggage that must be distributed on that day and pack it in a light wagon.

The number of luggage varies from day to day, sometimes about 70 or more than 100.

If you get lost, you will lose time, so carefully check the list of destinations and the map before departure, and consider a route that can be distributed efficiently before you depart.

However, even if the time to deliver the luggage is specified, the resident is absent, or the written address is incorrect, it is often difficult to think about it no matter how carefully you prepare.

There are many days when I can't eat lunch, and even if I can eat it, I just bite the sweet bread in the car.

After all the packages have been distributed and the delivery base has been cleaned up, it will be after 10 pm that we can return home.

On busy days, we deliver luggage for more than 12 hours every day without holidays.

There is a wave of income so far ...

However, the reality is that there is a big difference between days when the amount of luggage is large and days when the amount of luggage is small.

On days when there is little luggage, the daily income is calculated to be about 750 yen per hour, which may be lower than the minimum wage.

Mr. Tanaka knew about this contract, but he never thought that there would be a wave of income so far.

On days when I don't have a home delivery job, I grab my smartphone from the morning and get work such as food delivery.

Longing for regret

Mr. Tanaka says that he hasn't had a day off for half a year since he started working as a gig worker in February.

Still, the income in June is about 400,000 yen.

After deducting the gasoline fee, you will have about 300,000 yen.

The longing I was holding turned into regret.

Mr. Tanaka:

"When I calculated it, my take-home pay was not much different from when I was working at a company, but my working hours had more than tripled. To maintain my income, I will continue to work at this pace or higher. I have to keep working, but I think I'm going to break my body first. But at this age, in the bad economy in Corona, I can't find a job that will work under favorable conditions ... I can't afford it now. "

Before becoming a gig worker, Mr. Tanaka's only pleasure was traveling alone on a motorcycle.

On holidays, I went out to the sea and mountains on a day trip, and took a break while gazing at the scenery.

But now my car is dusty in my garage.

I have never started the engine since I entered this year.

When the reporter asked if he hadn't considered taking a day off to get rid of his tiredness, Mr. Tanaka pondered a little and then replied:

Mr. Tanaka

"I'm scared, I have to move. If I don't work now, I think I can't make money tomorrow."

"Like" is the only support

For Mr. Tanaka, who spends his days off, one of the little things he enjoys is posting on SNS.

It is customary to tweet a word in the morning.

"Today is home delivery. I will do my best without overdoing it!"

"I would like to make an effort to speed up delivery."

Then, by the time I finished my work, I received "likes" and messages from people who seemed to be working as the same "gig worker."

If you write down your worries when you can't get the job done well or when you can't deliver efficiently, you may get encouragement and advice.

Mr. Tanaka:

"Everyone responds quite a bit. Every day, I get motivated by the amount of luggage and being swayed by the app, and it's the only moment of relief. Anonymous seniors who encourage me I'm sure they're all much younger than me, but I don't care about their age. The only good thing about being a gig worker is knowing this kind of world. "

"Gigwork" where the whole picture is not well understood

As society changes drastically due to the spread of infection, the number of people who have started working as “gig workers” in search of new work styles and income is expected to increase rapidly.

I've been interviewing gig workers for almost a year, but some people use their spare time to earn income because overtime has decreased due to the impact of the new Corona, and some people like the new way of working.

On the other hand, I feel that there are people who are raising anxiety about the future because of the difference from the life they drew like Mr. Tanaka.

This way of working is already widespread in Europe and the United States, but in Japan there is no national census and the overall picture is not well understood.

I would like to listen to as many people as possible and tell them the actual situation.

Reporter of the Social Affairs Department

Yuka Onishi

Joined the

station in

2011

After working at the Matsuyama Broadcasting Station, since 2016, she has

been interviewing mainly on labor issues such as various working styles.