Why control matters more than pay for Uber and Lyft drivers

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The Minneapolis City Council’s decision to enforce minimum wage standards for Uber and Lyft drivers has sent shock waves beyond its city’s borders. On the surface, the move appears to be a step toward ensuring fair compensation. However, beneath the veneer of economic justice lies a complex issue that the council has ignored: the intrinsic value of control.

Scientific research reveals the psychological toll of lacking control. A striking example comes from post-surgery pain management. The standard practice of administering narcotics at fixed intervals leads to patients’ high anxiety and unbearable pain. Patients constantly nag nurses for their next dose. However, in the 1980s, several studies found that allowing patients to self-administer painkillers resulted in reduced narcotic use instead of overdose or addiction. It became evident that when patients couldn’t decide on their own, they required more medication to cope with the pain itself and their lack of control.

Control means being able to influence the outcome of a situation through autonomy and choices. This primitive desire drives us to earn more money, which equals control. To make money, you have to give up control of your time, energy and freedom.

But how much money would you give up for more control? Many Twin Cities’ Uber and Lyft drivers are willing to earn less in exchange for more control. They can choose which rides to accept and when and how long they work. Drivers between jobs know they can fall back on this temporary gig anytime. No job hunting hassles or interview anxiety. They can start, stop or pause at any time.

Uber and Lyft drivers also enjoy perks that most American workers envy. No micromanagers breathing down their necks. No fear of being late or leaving early. No threat of getting fired for not meeting a quota. How many workers who earn more than the minimum wage have this kind of freedom? Uber and Lyft drivers are literally and figuratively in the driver’s seat.

Gaining a sense of control at work has its advantages. This is the allure of working for Uber and Lyft, even at a lower pay. However, the Minneapolis City Council failed to factor in the trade-off, which is lost in the debate over this decision.

Control is not a luxury item on someone’s Christmas list. It is essential to everyone’s physical and mental well-being. Our fight-or-flight response kicks in the moment we lose control. The two rideshare companies fought the efforts aiming at stripping away their control. Now, they are running away. You can call it corporate greed. But from a scientific lens, it is human nature because losing control hurts.

Uncontrollable stressors cause serious consequences. Put a lab rat in a cage and deliver electric shocks throughout the day. The shocks are uncomfortable but not lethal. The rat has no way to escape. The next day, put the same rat in a different cage where it can escape. You shock the rat again. The question is: Does the rat try to escape? No, because the day before, you taught the rat to be helpless. You have created a condition called “learned helplessness,” an animal model for clinical depression.

The Minneapolis City Council has taken control away not only from Uber and Lyft but also from drivers who are willing to trade higher pay for more control. Even worse, the people and businesses that depend on this service will see their control diminish soon.

Control is a zero-sum game. Minneapolis may win its battle against the two rideshare giants. Still, the outcomes of its controversial decision will be rather depressing for both the city and the state.