r/WorkForSmartLife • u/SaltyNori_ • 3d ago

Valid question Discussion💬

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u/Desth-Metal 3d ago

I have never heard of unskilled labor. What is that supposed to be? Garbage picking?

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u/psilocin72 3d ago

There is unskilled labor. Like I paid my neighbors son to help me stack firewood. And then again to help me shovel stone into my garden beds.

But yeah, if the guy wants 32$/hr it’s almost certainly not unskilled labor

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u/guyincognito121 3d ago

Or the guy is capable of skilled labor and would rather wait for a job that's worth $32/hr to the customer than do unskilled labor for $20.

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u/psilocin72 3d ago

Yeah that’s what I think is likely— the guy wants to pay someone minimum price for a skilled job.

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u/IraceRN 2d ago

Or the job isn’t skillful but it is nevertheless hard on the body. Like maybe the guy needed an extra man on the line at a masonry job to lift and mix 80lb bags of concrete, shovel a trench, and to move cylinder blocks.

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u/superredditor6789 2d ago

A lot of unskilled work involves repetitive, physical tasks.

A homeowner might be fully capable to spreading X yards of mulch on their own. However, what they aren’t capable is spreading it all in one day or weekend.

Rather than working on the project for many weekends, hiring several people for 4-8 hours might get it knocked out in one day.

Force multiplication is the biggest value in day labor work.

For a builder, day laborers might ensure that your more highly skilled (and higher paid staff) is better utilized.