[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/into-the-lives-of-fathers-in-the-gig-economy\/#NewsArticle","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/into-the-lives-of-fathers-in-the-gig-economy\/","headline":"Into the lives of fathers in the gig economy","name":"Into the lives of fathers in the gig economy","description":"With Father\u2019s Day fast approaching (20 June), TheHomeGround Asia sits down with three fathers working in the gig economy in Singapore to understand the life of being your own boss and how it has helped, or challenged, their fatherhood journey.\u00a0 Working in the gig economy can be an appealing prospect, with temptations of flexible hours, […]","datePublished":"2021-06-18","dateModified":"2022-04-16","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/author\/Ming%20En%20Liew\/#Person","name":"Ming En Liew","url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/author\/Ming%20En%20Liew\/","identifier":132,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8fe7a89455a989038349633329a6e4ad6299388f5e1e3ea83c28126090b2314f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8fe7a89455a989038349633329a6e4ad6299388f5e1e3ea83c28126090b2314f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"TheHomeGround Asia","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/photo_2021-07-22-222533.jpeg","url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/photo_2021-07-22-222533.jpeg","width":640,"height":640}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/1624013886575_1280X626_283829.jpg","url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/1624013886575_1280X626_283829.jpg","height":626,"width":1280},"url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/into-the-lives-of-fathers-in-the-gig-economy\/","about":["Community","Featured","Local","Singapore"],"wordCount":1618,"articleBody":"With Father\u2019s Day fast approaching (20 June), TheHomeGround Asia sits down with three fathers working in the gig economy in Singapore to understand the life of being your own boss and how it has helped, or challenged, their fatherhood journey.\u00a0Working in the gig economy can be an appealing prospect, with temptations of flexible hours, autonomy, and being your own boss. But with a pandemic on our shores, and mouths to feed, the cons can easily become amplified. For foodpanda rider Mufiya Mahmood, this is certainly the case.\u00a0The desire to be a responsible fatherMufiya Mahmood with his wife and two children, aged one and two. (Photo courtesy of Mufiya Mahmood)When Covid-19 hit, foodpanda rider Mr Mufiya found his income slashed by 30 per cent. As the sole breadwinner with two children under the age of two to support, he had little choice but to pull longer hours to make up for the lost income, clocking in 11 to 13 hours, six days a week.\u00a0Such is the reality of working in the gig economy, where your income is dependent on however much you work.\u00a0\u201cI do have some concerns because I\u2019m always outside, so I always try to stay safe as much as possible for them [his family],\u201d he explains. \u201cBut I don\u2019t have the luxury of staying home and working from home. It\u2019s just the nature of the job.\u201d\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s hard to strike a balance while juggling [work and fatherhood],\u201d he adds. He reveals that oftentimes while he is out working, his children would send him video messages, asking him to go home.\u00a0\u201cOn my off day, I really spend time with them, but that cannot make up for the time loss in the six days… I feel the pinch, but no choice,\u201d he shrugs.Pre-pandemic, being a food delivery rider had allowed him to earn a decent keep, and when combined with his love for riding, it presented as a fairly appealing prospect. Furthermore, he appreciated the flexibility it came with. When he became a father nearly two years ago, he was able to shorten his shifts to make it home before his children went to bed, allowing him to spend time with them, while still making an income.\u00a0But with Covid-19 ongoing and no clear timeline on when the economy will recover, he is keenly aware of the instability that comes with working in the gig economy, and has since ventured into two businesses of his own; an upholstery-cleaning business, and another that provides moving services.\u00a0\u201cI\u2019m the only one working, so I need to make that extra sacrifice for my family,\u201d he says. \u201cThat\u2019s the number one key thing of being a father, responsibility.\u201d\u00a0But he adds: \u201cI\u2019d prefer to have more time with them. When I\u2019m doing food delivery, I need to work for at least seven hours. If I pivot more to my business, maybe I spend less time on work, and more time with them. That\u2019s what I\u2019m hoping for.\u201d\u00a0This Father\u2019s Day, Mr Mufiya does not have any special plans, but is looking forward to spending some time at home with his family.\u00a0A consistent and steadfast supportHo Wengwen Ivan in his taxi. (Photo courtesy of ComfortDelGro)Speaking with ComfortDelGro cab driver Ho Wengwen Ivan over the phone, he comes across as a jolly but matter-of-factly man. A father to four children aged between 14 and 19, he says that he was \u201cvery, very happy\u201d when he first learned that he was going to be a dad.\u00a0His pride is evident in the way he speaks about them; when asked what his happiest moment is as a dad, he says: \u201cWhen you can see them growing up, then they obey and their results are good.\u201dAs a cab driver, Mr Ho was spared the worst of the pandemic\u2019s impact, with the support of ComfortDelGro\u2019s waivers on cab rentals, and his wife\u2019s regular income as a nurse. However, the nature of his job still sees him pulling in long hours daily, working 14- to 15-hour shifts, with rest days only when he feels too tired to drive, something that he continues to do in order to \u201cearn as much as possible… to provide them [his family] with a good life.\u201d\u00a0Long hours may mean that he is not home much to spend time with his kids, but the time he does have, he spends wisely.\u00a0Mr Ho\u2019s day starts at 7am daily, and on schooling days, it begins with him sending his children to school \u2013 a precious window of time which he spends talking to them, and getting to know more about their days and what they do in school. On weekends, he also makes the effort to be home by six or seven in the evening to have dinner with his family.\u00a0\u201cThen, we will discuss a lot of things together. What they\u2019re good at, what their teachers have praised them in, then we will try to encourage them,\u201d he shares.He also makes full use of the flexibility he has as a cab driver, and readily takes half or full days off work if his children have performances or meet-the-parent sessions, in order to be present for them.\u00a0While he admits to being a strict father, he describes himself as being \u201ccaring to them when they need help.\u201d And his love is clear in the advice he dispenses to them, and promises of steadfast support: \u201cStudy hard, and achieve what you want to do next time. Don\u2019t worry about anything going wrong, just go ahead and do it. Anything, I will be there to support them.\u201d\u00a0An ode of a father\u2019s lovePeter Huang with his 19-month-old son, Jacob. (Photo courtesy of Peter Huang)When Peter Huang first learned he was about to become a father, it sent him into a state of paranoia.\u00a0\u201cI was constantly on Google, researching what to do, and being on forums,\u201d he laughs. But despite the nerves of being a first-time parent, he says, \u201cI had this very bizarre new sense of joy. There\u2019s this sense of mission. It\u2019s the most selfless feeling; it\u2019s not for me, it\u2019s for the kid, for the wife, and I just want to provide whatever help I can.\u201d\u00a0Now a father to a 19-month-old son, Jacob, Mr Huang still remembers the first time he held his child in his arms like it was yesterday: \u201cIt\u2019s humbling, it\u2019s exciting, it\u2019s delirium.\u201dThe founder of MiCapella, a local acapella band, Mr Huang is a full-time musician and vocal percussionist, performing both with the band and as a solo artist. Before he had Jacob, Mr Huang spent much of his time travelling and touring with the band.\u00a0\u201cI thought travelling and touring, staying up late for rehearsals, and doing gigs until 3am or 4am was tiring. But this fatherhood thing… ,\u201d he trails off with a scoff, waving his hands in a gesture of dismissal.\u00a0He explains that as a musician, his schedule is typically planned ahead of time, allowing him to prepare himself mentally for potentially tiring days ahead, and schedule rest days if necessary.\u00a0\u201cThere\u2019s no recovery day when it comes to fatherhood,\u201d he rues. \u201cYou just push through. There\u2019s nothing that will prepare you for it because you\u2019re not in charge anymore. The kid\u2019s needs become the driving force.\u201d\u00a0Thankfully, tending to his child\u2019s needs is made easier with his work as a full-time musician, as he had the flexibility to take time off on short notice. He also expressed his gratitude for government grants that entitled him to two weeks of paid paternity and childcare leave, even as a self-employed individual.\u00a0But the typical challenges with fatherhood all came to a head when the pandemic struck. As a musician, Mr Huang was hit especially hard, with approximately 90 per cent of his gigs and performances being cancelled. Initially, he worked as a courier driver to make some money, but that plan was soon derailed due to a medical condition, which required him to have a hip replacement surgery.\u00a0With a loss of income and medical bills to boot, Mr Huang and his wife were forced to burn through their savings, pushing him to consider possible alternatives that he had never thought about before.\u00a0\u201cI have put more effort into pushing for myself to go into schools as an external instructor, which was not my primary thing in the past at all,\u201d he shares.\u00a0Still, Mr Huang intends to stay the course in the music industry for now, as he believes that the vaccination roll-out and pent-up demand for live entertainment will usher in a quick bounceback in the music industry.\u00a0Most importantly, everything Mr Huang does now is with his son in mind: \u201c[Having a child] changes my approach as a person, not just in work. I want him to be proud of me.\u201d\u00a0He adds: \u201cHe\u2019s going to have his own life and grow up [one day], and I just want to be part of his life, and I want him to like his old man and what his old man does.\u201d\u00a0When asked to share a message to his child, his answer was simple and heartfelt. Tearing up, he says: \u201cDaddy loves you, I always tell my kid that. I don\u2019t know whether he understands it yet, but I want him to know that I love him, and that\u2019s the number one thing. Everything else is secondary.\u201d\u00a0Join the conversations on TheHomeGround Asia’s Facebook and Instagram, and get the latest updates via Telegram."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Destinations","item":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Singapore","item":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/\/singapore\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Into the lives of fathers in the gig economy","item":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/into-the-lives-of-fathers-in-the-gig-economy\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]