Job rotation? No thanks!

In I/O, there are a few different models for learning how to perform multiple positions in an organization. Job shadowing, cross-training, job rotation...they serve other purposes. Sometimes, organizations do this to diminish any disruptions due to illness or turnover. Sometimes, organizations do this so that workers in higher-level positions can gain a new perspective on the experiences of rank-and-file employees. For example, I have a friend who works at the corporate headquarters of a fast-food restaurant who works in a store once a year.

However, arguably a non-story from the San Francisco Chronicle describes some angry DoorDash engineers who have NO INTEREST THANK YOU for cross-training ass DoorDash delivery drivers.  

How to use it in class:

1. Anything you say on social media could end up in the newspaper. A good lesson for our students and an opportunity to talk about cyber-vetting. 

2. When implementing job training, you need to have employee buy-in. TC does not buy into this practice, but it sounds like other employees might (see quote below).

3. There is also a throw-away comment about employee assessment and annual review. DoorDash employees are working for "credits." 

Gig Work!

 When I taught I/O SP21, the students had a LOT  to say about gig jobs. I brought it up as a "Future Direction in I/O," and the students expressed much about gig work. Ok, some of it was sharing anecdotes about shady UberEats drivers, but they were engaged in the conversation.

I am going to make it into a meatier conversation this Spring, using these two points:

1) Pew Research gig worker methodology

This Pew article is an interview with two Pew Research methodologists, Colleen McClain and Monica Anderson. This article APPLIES everything we teach our students about in RM. For example, making choices about the type of question (forced-choice, yes or no, etc.) and writing questions for a variety of different KINDS of gig workers (grocery pickers vs. food delivery vs. drivers). It is interesting.

2) The actual data highlighting gig worker diversity and harassment

This isn't just a conversation about a future direction in work. It can also be a discussion about diversity and harassment in the workplace.

Here are some of the actual data from pew (thanks to Ed Hansen for sending this my way!).