Welcome to the second edition of the Deskless Worker Pulse, an exploration of the country’s frontline workforce. 

‘Deskless’ workers, as we like to say, are the backbone of South Africa. These are the millions of people behind tills, boom gates and bin day who keep South Africa moving. 

But they aren’t thriving. Despite high self-reported rates of job satisfaction and vocational purpose, half of the country’s deskless workforce runs out of money before their next payday, and 1 in 2 people have absolutely zero savings. 

Since 2016, the rand has lost more than 50% of its spending power, while the cost of living soars totally out of proportion with wages; a unit of electricity costs 135% more than a decade ago and petrol’s up by 88%. 

How are the most vulnerable and hardworking people in our society meant to keep up? Payday loans and extortionate interest rates do nothing but carve more value away from people’s income. 

In this, the second-ever edition of the Deskless Worker Pulse, we’ll explore real-world, actionable solutions based on insights gathered from thousands of people on the frontline. We also introduce the Deskless Pulse Score (DPS), a definitive and helpful indicator of self-reported fiscal wellbeing across all sectors. 

Read on to discover how deskless workers across different industries are responding to the financial reality of our times, and what employers and individuals can do to ease the burden. 

We believe that with a more financially resilient workforce, we’ll nurture a more confident and productive country. 

Simon Ellis
Co-founder and CEO