It is often human instinct to jump to conclusions in new and unfamiliar situations. This is because our cognitive system relies on mental shortcuts, known as heuristics, which help us to increase our speed in making judgments and decisions. However, this increase in speed can sometimes come at a steep cost – accuracy.
Knowing the Misconception
As a part of the MyWorkChoice business model, hourly workers can choose their own shifts working between 4 and 40 hours per week. Additionally, to remain active on our app employees must work for a minimum of one 4-hour shift per month. When prospective clients are presented with this information, we’ve noticed they make an initial assumption that all employees are going to work the minimum 4-hour shift per month, resulting in a revolving door of sporadic employees – a worst case scenario for any operational model seeking stability.
Recognizing our Biases
To delve more into why this assumption is made we must first understand our own biases. Creativity and innovation are highly valued in our society, yet we are inherently biased against them. Why? Because they can have a negative association with risk and uncertainty. Uncertainty is something both individuals and businesses want to avoid, which is why creative ideas can sometimes be overlooked in favor of more familiar ones. This means that issues of uncertainty become more significant than the desire for creativity.
Researchers at Cornell University found that despite how open minded a person may be, there is still implicit bias associated with creativity. This can often be difficult to recognize as people self-identify as preferring creativity even if their actions may not reflect that. To promote acceptance of new and creative ideas we must overcome our own illogical biases by mitigating uncertainty with data-driven systems and logical information.
Understanding the Reality
With that in mind, the earlier assumption that employees would work the minimum 4-hour shift per month is simply inaccurate. In reality, almost four-years of data reveals MyWorkChoice employees work an average of 24.5 hours per week. With our business model we make it possible for people to work more hours per week. Flexibility gives them control over their schedule and allows them to fit in shifts where they otherwise wouldn’t have been able. Moreover, it is impractical to believe an annual income of $720 — the pay generated by one 4-hour shift per month at $15 per hour — is sufficient to support oneself.
The initial aversion in the face of an unfamiliar idea would result in missing the opportunity to become the most desirable employer in town. So while we understand that the ideas behind our business model may be new to you – they are not new to us. They are tried, tested, and proven to optimize your hourly workforce.
