Was it a mistake for Instacart to hail its workers as heroes?
Photo: Instacart

Knowledge@Wharton staff

Presented here for discussion is a summary of a current article published with permission from Knowledge@Wharton, the online research and business analysis journal of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Grocery delivery workers were hailed as heroes during the pandemic. However, Instacart’s experience shows how the sudden moralization of work can backfire, according to a university study.

The study, led by Wharton professor Lindsey Cameron, found that, rather than unifying low-wage workers, a narrative that is pushed by the public and a company can polarize and isolate workers, especially those such as gig workers who lack the cohesive social structure that comes with being in a physical office with co-workers.

Based on interviews with 42 Instacart workers during the pandemic’s peak and after the hero narrative quieted, the study identified three types of Instacart workers:

  • The Skippers: These Instagram shoppers readily embraced the hero narrative, but didn’t go the extra mile for customers because their normal duties and exposure risk were enough to make them feel morally credentialed. While generally viewing Instacart positively, no Skippers were still active on the Instacart app a year into the “new normal” of the pandemic largely because they weren’t economically dependent on gig work for survival.
  • The Stallers: Stallers shrugged off the hero label, viewing their work as transactional and necessary to their livelihood. They saw Instacart as exploitative and manipulative, with many mocking its “Household Heroes” marketing campaign. Still, Stallers stayed on the platform beyond the worst of the pandemic as the pay met their needs.
  • The Strugglers: Strugglers wrestled with the hero label and needed to reconcile the banal task of grocery shopping with the idea that they were doing morally credentialed work.

The study found there is a psychological “balancing act” between the schedule flexibility and autonomy offered by gig work and its dehumanizing technology, inconsistent wages and potentially poor working conditions. Sudden moralization adds another dimension to that self-narrative, which workers respond to differently.

“Not all heroes wear capes, as Instacart officials, media and customers claim. But telling workers they have capes does not necessarily make them heroes,” the professors wrote in the study. “Instead, workers must wrestle with moralized narratives, making them their own, to truly embody the narrative of being a hero.”

BrainTrust

“The best way to thank people is to reward them in some way — bonuses, paid days off, gifts, etc. would be a way for a company to put its money where its mouth is!”

Neil Saunders

Managing Director, GlobalData


“About those who decline the ‘hero’ description — how many of the more easily defined heroes say, ‘I was just doing my job’?”

Gene Detroyer

Professor, International Business, Guizhou University of Finance & Economics and University of Sanya, China.


“How do you thank and praise workers in challenging hourly positions? Pay them more. Unlike many of us, they are there for the money, not an existential experience.”

Dr. Stephen Needel

Managing Partner, Advanced Simulations

Discussion Questions

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: What effect did the moralization of grocery delivery and other retail jobs during the pandemic have on employee morale? How can retailers thank and praise workers in challenging working conditions without coming off as exploitative or hypocritical?

Poll

Did the moralization of retail workers during the pandemic have a net positive, neutral or negative effect on employee morale?

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8 responses to “Was it a mistake for Instacart to hail its workers as heroes?”

  1. Neil Saunders Avatar
    Neil Saunders

    These academic studies often seem rather obscure and a bit irrelevant to me. I don’t think there is anything wrong with praising people for doing a good job in difficult times and I am honestly not sure people would think too deeply about it unless specifically asked to cogitate on it. That said, the best way to thank people is to reward them in some way — bonuses, paid days off, gifts, etc. would be a way for a company to put its money where its mouth is!

  2. Dr. Stephen Needel Avatar
    Dr. Stephen Needel

    How do you thank and praise workers in challenging hourly positions? Pay them more. Unlike many of us, they are there for the money, not an existential experience.

  3. Bob Amster Avatar
    Bob Amster

    I, a self-declared moderate, am convinced that the word “hero” is overused and, consequently, diminishes the efforts of what I think are real heroes. When a soldier jumps on a live hand grenade to save two or three of his military buddies, or someone jumps into an icy river to rescue a two-year-old, he/she is a hero. When you work under hard conditions you are a very nice, dedicated person going above and beyond the call of your job. You deserve recognition for your efforts, but you are not a hero. Sorry if I have offended anyone.

  4. Georganne Bender Avatar
    Georganne Bender

    Wharton is running out of things to study. How can praising employees or showing gratitude for what they do be a bad thing?

    Instacart workers are heroes in the sense that they provide what we cannot do for ourselves. To me, the people who deliver groceries to an elderly family member who lives five states away truly are everyday heroes. Maybe the issue isn’t the moralization of what they do, it’s the demoralization of what happens when the praise stops.

  5. Paula Rosenblum Avatar
    Paula Rosenblum

    I agree with Neil 100 percent. Articles like Wharton’s get published partly so that employees don’t get too “uppity.”

    It’s a crock pot of nothing, not a study.

  6. Gene Detroyer Avatar
    Gene Detroyer

    As Bob Amster suggested, “hero” is an overused word. I agree. Unfortunately, I don’t have another. Savior?

    These folks put themselves in a position during the pandemic that most of us did not. It doesn’t matter if they did it for the money. They provided a service. A service that replaced us so we did not have to go out into the COVID-19 environment.

    About those who decline the “hero” description — how many of the more easily defined heroes say, “I was just doing my job”?

  7. Ryan Mathews Avatar
    Ryan Mathews

    First of all, as an academically trained philosopher I’m not sure “moralization” is the term I’d use to describe Instacart’s use of the word hero. Second, let me echo my fellow BrainTrusters who have a hard time understanding why Wharton wasted time on this topic. As to how retailers can thank workers, they might try giving them something they want like a raise, a bonus, better benefits, job security, training for advancement, etc.

  8. Craig Sundstrom Avatar
    Craig Sundstrom

    I think there’s a bit of confusion here: my recollection is that the “hero” label — which was always contentious (read some of the RW discussions from that time) — was given to retail workers who had substantial public exposure … specifically checkers, front desk and people who had to work in close proximity to others (kitchen staff, warehousing, etc.) I don’t think Instacart really fit that description, so I’d hesitate before using them as a sample.

    As for the labeling more generally, I think it was initially a positive, but faded as many concluded talk was cheap.

8 Comments
oldest
newest
Neil Saunders
Neil Saunders
6 months ago

These academic studies often seem rather obscure and a bit irrelevant to me. I don’t think there is anything wrong with praising people for doing a good job in difficult times and I am honestly not sure people would think too deeply about it unless specifically asked to cogitate on it. That said, the best way to thank people is to reward them in some way — bonuses, paid days off, gifts, etc. would be a way for a company to put its money where its mouth is!

Dr. Stephen Needel
Dr. Stephen Needel
6 months ago

How do you thank and praise workers in challenging hourly positions? Pay them more. Unlike many of us, they are there for the money, not an existential experience.

Bob Amster
Bob Amster
6 months ago

I, a self-declared moderate, am convinced that the word “hero” is overused and, consequently, diminishes the efforts of what I think are real heroes. When a soldier jumps on a live hand grenade to save two or three of his military buddies, or someone jumps into an icy river to rescue a two-year-old, he/she is a hero. When you work under hard conditions you are a very nice, dedicated person going above and beyond the call of your job. You deserve recognition for your efforts, but you are not a hero. Sorry if I have offended anyone.

Georganne Bender
Georganne Bender
6 months ago

Wharton is running out of things to study. How can praising employees or showing gratitude for what they do be a bad thing?

Instacart workers are heroes in the sense that they provide what we cannot do for ourselves. To me, the people who deliver groceries to an elderly family member who lives five states away truly are everyday heroes. Maybe the issue isn’t the moralization of what they do, it’s the demoralization of what happens when the praise stops.

Paula Rosenblum
Paula Rosenblum
6 months ago

I agree with Neil 100 percent. Articles like Wharton’s get published partly so that employees don’t get too “uppity.”

It’s a crock pot of nothing, not a study.

Gene Detroyer
Gene Detroyer
6 months ago

As Bob Amster suggested, “hero” is an overused word. I agree. Unfortunately, I don’t have another. Savior?

These folks put themselves in a position during the pandemic that most of us did not. It doesn’t matter if they did it for the money. They provided a service. A service that replaced us so we did not have to go out into the COVID-19 environment.

About those who decline the “hero” description — how many of the more easily defined heroes say, “I was just doing my job”?

Ryan Mathews
Ryan Mathews
6 months ago

First of all, as an academically trained philosopher I’m not sure “moralization” is the term I’d use to describe Instacart’s use of the word hero. Second, let me echo my fellow BrainTrusters who have a hard time understanding why Wharton wasted time on this topic. As to how retailers can thank workers, they might try giving them something they want like a raise, a bonus, better benefits, job security, training for advancement, etc.

Craig Sundstrom
Craig Sundstrom
6 months ago

I think there’s a bit of confusion here: my recollection is that the “hero” label — which was always contentious (read some of the RW discussions from that time) — was given to retail workers who had substantial public exposure … specifically checkers, front desk and people who had to work in close proximity to others (kitchen staff, warehousing, etc.) I don’t think Instacart really fit that description, so I’d hesitate before using them as a sample.

As for the labeling more generally, I think it was initially a positive, but faded as many concluded talk was cheap.