what makes the delivery guys work so hard? experts call on the platform to improve the algorithm in reverse
2024-09-11
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cover news reporter wu yujia
recently, a 55-year-old food deliveryman in yuhang, hangzhou, died suddenly due to overwork. there are rumors that "the platform stops registering riders over 45 years old and stops assigning orders to riders over 45 years old." the person in charge of the food delivery platform said that the rumor that the upper age limit for deliverymen is 45 years old is false information.
digital economist pan helin believes that from an objective perspective, even if the platform does not prohibit riders over 45, their physical strength, energy and reaction time are not enough to support them in delivering food. when people are over 40, they have to deal with all kinds of complicated things, such as taking care of the elderly and children, and also deal with various alarms from the body, such as gout, diabetes, three highs and other chronic diseases.
therefore, whether the platform allows "45-year-old riders" is not the key issue. the key issue is why the work intensity of today's riders is so high? the answer is actually very simple: algorithm.
pan helin suggested that the platform should improve the algorithm in reverse, that is, the algorithm should not only consider the efficiency dimension, but also see "people". the delivery boys are not a tool for the platform to make money.
pan helin said that platform companies make money by taking commissions from orders. naturally, the platform hopes to have more orders, and the platform determines the number of orders. the more orders the diners place, the more the platform earns. there are many factors that affect the number of orders placed by users, and the most core factor is the delivery time. therefore, the platform uses algorithms to assist riders in shortening the delivery time. for example, from restaurant a to residential building b, it saves 2 minutes to take a small road than a big road. when an experienced rider tries to take a small road, the algorithm will record these 2 minutes, and the system's estimated delivery time will be reduced by 2 minutes in the future. with the blessing of the algorithm, the delivery time record in the system is constantly refreshed by the riders themselves, getting shorter and shorter. this is a good thing for some young and strong riders, because the system will reward riders for delivering more orders on time, and each order can deliver more orders if the delivery time is short. but if you are over 45 years old, when your physical condition and reaction ability make you unable to catch up with young people, then "desperate" becomes a normal state.
so, what to do?
pan helin pointed out that the key is actually in the hands of the platform. the platform needs to do two things: the first is to improve the algorithm in reverse, and give the deliveryman the shortened time, or reduce the penalty for overtime. the second is to increase the unit price of food delivery. people often laugh at food delivery in europe and the united states. the delivery fee is very expensive, the delivery time is very long, and the user experience is very poor. but have you ever thought that the normal development trend of a country should be that the income of workers gradually increases? china's "demographic dividend" is fading. it doesn't make sense that there are fewer and fewer workers, but their income is getting lower and lower. giving workers a normal and reasonable return on their labor should become the overall "consensus" of the chinese people.
"algorithms can force people to run desperately, but they can also force people to balance work and rest. the key lies in how you use it," said pan helin.
