Introducing WorkWhile: The best work for the best workers
Announcing our $3.5m seed funding and launch in California and Texas
Today my co-founder Amol Jain and I are excited to announce the launch of the WorkWhile labor platform and our $3.5m seed round, led by Khosla Ventures. This funding will allow us to build the technology for the hourly labor platform of the future, helping the 80m Americans who work hourly jobs get back to work.
WorkWhile uses cognitive science, behavioral analysis, and peer feedback to help identify the most reliable hourly workers and then match them with the right shifts. Simply put, WorkWhile helps workers get the hours they need while maintaining the flexibility their lives require, all while providing support and perks not available at traditional hourly wage jobs. Businesses get access to the best workers with the flexibility this environment demands. We’re connecting workers and shifts in the Bay Area, Los Angeles, Orange County, and Dallas-Fort Worth.
With this funding, WorkWhile will expand its team and develop additional products to help its high-quality workers manage challenges, including healthcare, personal finances, and transportation. WorkWhile currently offers next-day pay so workers can manage unexpected expenses, and sick pay credit so workers who need to stay home can still get paid. The ability to support investments in expanded telehealth and other services is critical to retaining high-quality workers on the platform.
Employees and Employers: The ultimate mismatch
Half the US labor force works hourly wage jobs. During the pandemic, 40% of households that make $40k or less have lost jobs. Even before COVID, hourly work was anything but stable. Nearly one-third of hourly workers involuntarily worked part time as employers cut hours. Schedules for hourly workers are notoriously variable, which leads to real harm. According to Harvard’s The Shift Project, workers who get their schedules with 0–2 day’s notice and/or experience canceled shifts have a nearly 40% probability of hunger and financial hardship. Last minute scheduling also leads to kids being left unattended six more days a year.
This traditional model hasn’t been great for employers either. Recruiting and retaining hourly workers is time consuming, expensive, and never-ending. Average turnover for hourly workers is 50%, with some industries like hospitality reaching turnover rates of 300%. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that productivity losses linked to absenteeism cost employers $225.8 billion annually in the United States, or $1,685 per employee. Despite millions of Americans being out of work, recruiting funnels are very leaky and it can take up to 3 weeks to fill a position. The total cost of replacing an employee can be 15–20% of their salary.
The 1:1 relationship between employer and employee is inherently brittle. Employees want full-time hours, schedule stability (yet some flexibility), and benefits. Employers want the ability to scale the workforce up or down, quality, and retention. This mismatch between what employers want and what workers need has led to billions in recruiting, turnover, and productivity costs and makes life miserable for shift workers. WorkWhile is here to finally use technology to solve that problem by aligning incentives and creating a much better match.
A better match for workers
WorkWhile helps workers get the hours they need while maintaining the flexibility their lives require. Our matching algorithm connects workers with relevant shifts, and gets smarter with each completed shift. Workers receive perks not available at traditional hourly wage jobs such as their wages within 24 hours of clocking out of a shift and ability to try new jobs and learn new skills.
“It’s hard to find a job that works with you and doesn’t give you a take it or leave it schedule. WorkWhile was exactly what I was looking for with the ability to create your own schedule for full time. There are some weeks when I can’t work everyday, due to child appointments and family emergencies. I appreciate the ability to cash out after 24 hours. Life can be unexpected which means bills can catch you off guard,” explained Michael Zavala, an early adopter of the platform.
“The majority of hourly workers are honest and reliable but some have difficult personal circumstances they need help with. Companies treat these employees as high turnover and expendable but, if given respect and appropriate support, they can become longer-term, model employees. WorkWhile wants to help solve this problem,” said Vinod Khosla.
A better match for employers
With WorkWhile, businesses get access to quality talent with the ability to scale their workforce up or down depending on business needs. Focused on back-of-the-house positions, WorkWhile helps essential businesses like Cheetah and Thistle plus e-commerce companies like Ansel & Ivy meet their warehousing and logistics needs.
“We needed to expand our workforce quickly as our business grew. Even in this economy, hiring is slow and can be difficult. WorkWhile has been a great partner helping us find the staff we need quickly,” said Lisa Chui, Director of HR at Cheetah, an e-commerce platform offering contactless pickup and delivery of food and supplies.
WorkWhile customers are able to easily manage their workforce through a web portal where they can set schedules and provide worker feedback.
The best workers deserve better
Our goal is to build the best way for hourly workers to make a living. As the economy begins to open and what some have called “the great re-hiring” gets under way, businesses will be hard-pressed to hire the right folks with speed at scale. We’ve seen how transformative technology can be in solving n by n problems. We’re long overdue for investment in the 80m Americans who power our economy. They deserve a better match.
Want to help build the future of hourly work? We are hiring!
Thank you to our angel investors Katrina Lake (founder and CEO of Stitch Fix), Jennifer Fonstad (Managing Partner, Owl Capital), F7, Siqi Chen (Co-founder, Runway), Philipp Brenner (Co-founder and CTO, KeepSafe), Zouhair Belkoura (Co-founder and CEO, KeepSafe), and Nicholas Plinkington (Founder and CTO, DroneDeploy)
