MyWorkChoice

What: MyWorkChoice hires part-time workers to provide “light industrial” and janitorial work in warehouses, assembly lines and shipping centers

Expected pay: $12 – $18 per hour

Husl$core: $$$

Commissions & Fees: NA

Where: California, Arizona, Minnesota, Texas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Nebraska and Kansas

Requirements: 18+, and be authorized to work in the U.S.. Other requirements vary by position but often include passing a background check and drug screening

Review:

MyWorkChoice hires hourly workers to fill “light industrial” positions for partner companies. The jobs can range from janitorial work to assembling products or stocking shelves in warehouses and shipping centers. 

The site differs from many gig platforms in that it actually hires its workers as W-2 employees. That means MyWorkChoice pays the 7.65% employer portion of Social Security and Medicare taxes that you’d have to pay yourself if you were self-employed.

The site also offers employee benefits, such as health insurance. And the mere fact of being an employee qualifies you for some additional workplace protections, such as disability and worker’s compensation insurance.

And, while you can work up to a 40-hour week with this company, you set your own schedule. You determine how many — and what –hours you want. This gives you the flexibility to work around ever-changing school schedules and/or family obligations. The site only requires that you be available for at least 4 hours a month.

The catch

The jobs are physical, often requiring that you stand for hours on end. Sometimes you also need to be prepared to lift heavy objects.  And, while you are officially working for MyWorkChoice, your services are being subcontracted out to other companies. Those other companies often have their own employees, who could be working side-by-side with you and making more money for the same job. Why? They are employed directly, rather than through a middle-man.

Moreover, you get no guarantees that MyWorkChoice will be able to fill all of the hours you have available to work.

If you take a shift and realize later that you can’t make it, you’re expected to repost the shift. If no one picks it up, you’re expected to work it anyway.

Hourly pay

Finally, the pay is nothing to brag about, exceeding minimum wage by only a few dollars per hour in most cases. You are also unlikely to ever qualify for overtime pay, since the site schedules in four-to-eight-hour blocks and no more. It also staffs each job at 200% of capacity to make sure there are enough part-timers to fill every available shift without resorting to overtime.

That said, other gig companies that find warehouse work for freelancers have many of the same problems, but don’t offer employee benefits. MyWorkChoice pays via direct deposit or cash card every Friday.

Recommendations:

Warehouse work is plentiful, even during the pandemic, and requires little or no experience. However, since there are no guarantees that you’ll get all the hours you need, you may want to sign up with the firm’s competitors too. Other sites that can connect you with these jobs include Wonolo and BlueCrew.

In addition, if you’re strong enough to fill some of these warehouse jobs, you may be able to make more money with a moving firm. Consider HireAHelper or GoShare. If you have a truck, also consider Truxx. All three sites promise considerably higher hourly rates, even after expenses.

What their users say (from Indeed):

Great flexibility, but need more hours for people that don’t have other sources of income. The app should have the option to cancel a repost if the repost hasn’t been picked up yet. Lastly, MyWorkChoice employees, should get a 15 minute break like the rest of the employees, at least for the hot summer days. 10 minutes is not long enough to cool down from a hot warehouse.

Not a secure job. The only good thing about it is the flexibility, but the other workers in that factory get paid better and get more hours to do the same thing you’re doing. You’re better off finding a stable factory job if you’re going down this route.

Three good things about this agency are the on-site managers, the coworkers, and the fact you can pick your workdays and hours. But you might pick a shift on the app, and then once you drive to the job site, you could be sent home as they had too many people show up.

I worked right next to someone doing very little work, and they were paid the same. Very frustrating.

Be ready to stand in one place for your full shift.