Ethical Implications of 10-minute Delivery: Balancing Consumer Delight and Employee Rights

Abstract

With the rapid growth of quick commerce and delivery services, consumer delight has been steadily increasing, leading to extreme happiness from the speed and convenience. But at the same time, ethical concerns arise about employees’ rights and well-being, as they are pressured to deliver the product within the given time (10 minutes). The main objective of this study is to examine the ethical implications of the ultra-fast delivery model by exploring the tension between consumer delight and the protection of employee rights. For this study, the data were collected through semi-structured interviews with delivery riders by using a purposive sampling technique. Being a qualitative study, thematic analysis is used to identify recurring patterns and ethical issues within the data. The findings reveal that the ultra-fast delivery model has resulted in extreme consumer delight and a high customer rating system, but the working conditions for employees are severely affecting their physical and mental health because they do not meet humane working condition standards. On the one hand, consumers are delighted; on the other, employee welfare is at stake.