Short-Staffed Service Industry Eyes On-Demand Worker Marketplace | Eater SF

"With its new Gigs feature, I saw Instawork extend beyond full- and part-time listings into last-minute temporary staffing: employers can post shifts up to 24 hours in advance and pay fixed rates (example: $18/hour for a dishwasher or host, $25 for a line cook or bartender). Instawork matches an "Instaworker" whose employment record is in the system and handles paperwork and payroll, and the platform surfaces accountability information—who showed up, past performance, and employer ratings—while workers can see in advance whether a gig includes a staff meal or parking. Sumir Meghani, Instawork’s CEO, cautions it won’t solve the Bay Area labor crisis overnight but argues that turning an informal pool of potential workers into a searchable digital marketplace could better distribute shifts, let workers earn extra income, and reduce short-staffing problems." - Caleb Pershan