Full-Time Carer Finds The Secret To Beating Cost Of Living Crisis
A full-time carer says he has found the secret to Sydney’s ongoing cost of living crisis by finding work that allows him to bring his disabled wife along for the ride.
Early this year, Ashley Bowser moved from Perth to Sydney to be closer to family, but he found it virtually impossible to afford the basic cost of living.
As full-time carer of his wife, Jane, Ashley struggled to find avenues of income that still allowed him to provide care for Jane during an eight-hour work day. Becoming a same-day courier driver with Sherpa and being his own boss has changed all of that.
As a Sherpa, Ashley can self-determine his work hours and remain a full-time carer for Jane because she can go on jobs with him.
“Our time spent in the car together while on jobs is actually very gratifying and special to us. We enjoy it. It’s valuable time in more ways than one,” explains Ashley.
“I appreciate that I’m able to care for Jane while ‘on the job’ and the fact that I can choose when to work is comforting as someone with relatively demanding daily responsibilities as a carer. I accept that gig work mightn’t suit all carers but for me, it is proving a godsend.
“I also appreciate the confidence that working with Sherpa has provided me because being out of work and looking for work can be demoralising. Sherpa has given me and Jane some comfort and security for which we’re very grateful,” adds Ashley.
For Ashley, the flexibility factor is a major positive to gig economy work. He can work as often and as many hours as he wants and doesn’t want to see the gig economy rules change so much that people like him will lose the unique advantages of gig work.
Australia’s largest same-day delivery company by volume of deliveries, Sherpa, provides gig work to more than 10,000 Australians across the country. The award-winning Australian tech-disruptor launched in 2014 currently services 75 per cent of the Australian population across 21 cities as well as parts of New Zealand. Its customers include individual consumers as well as major retailers and small businesses covering a spectrum of sectors. Sherpa delivers virtually anything and its focus is purely same-day delivery.
Sherpa CEO Duncan Brett says the demand for same-day delivery continues to grow, even after an unprecedented boom during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Within less than a decade of operation, Sherpa has completed more than seven million same-day deliveries to-date. The pandemic spurred a resounding demand for fast delivery of online purchases and frankly, this demand has kept up ever since.
“Consumers today generally demand fast delivery and Sherpa’s business model as one of Australia’s biggest gig economy platforms means we’re able to satisfy this demand while still providing excellent income-generating opportunities for our fleet of drivers.
“We’re always looking for more drivers and pride ourselves on providing our driver partners with fair pay and a number of protections and benefits that unfortunately some other gig economy operators do not.
“The gig economy has been heavily criticised recently but as Sherpa continues to prove, with fair and strong standards in place, gig work can be very lucrative and a fitting income-generating option for many Australians,” adds Duncan Brett.
Anyone interested in becoming a Sherpa simply needs to be aged 18 or older, have a vehicle with all appropriate insurance, have an active ABN / right to work in Australia, have a good level of English, pass a Police check, have an active smartphone and of course, a valid driver’s license.
For more information, visit sherpa.net.au.
