The Lonely Uber Driver: How a regular ride highlighted the human condition.

I was in Chicago to speak at an event. I grabbed an UberX with a million things on my mind. Did I have my speaking notes, and was I fully prepared? What about the 25 things on my “to-do” list and what needed attention first?

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But little did I know I was about to have a ride that would teach me a lesson about humankind.

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I connected with the UberX. The driver was a white male, a little heavyset with dark curly hair in his late 20s. When I got in, he turned around and said a cheery “Hello, sir!” His enthusiasm was infectious and caught my attention.

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As we pulled away from the curb, he started asking questions about me. He asked why I was in town and what I did for a living and wanted to know all about commercial real estate. His interest in me was heartwarming and unexpected. We talked about me for a few minutes.

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Then I turned the tables and started asking about him. Simon was his name and technology was his game. He loved to code, and he was working for a healthcare startup. They were working hard in product launch mode.

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The next part of the conversation caught my attention in a big way.

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He said his company was fully remote to save money. He spent his days coding at his kitchen table. He would do Zoom meetings a few times a day, but then his house would get quiet except for the snoring of his beloved French bulldog, George. He rarely saw another human being, he said, unless he went to the grocery store.

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And he was lonely, he said.

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Simon told me he drove Uber mainly to talk to people. The money was helpful, he said, but he made plenty at the software outfit.

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What he needed was people and human interaction. My heart sank when I heard him describe his life.

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I’ve been thinking about Simon a good bit since our ride. Covid will be one of the defining events of our lifetime. It will be in the history books for all time.

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But I like to think the story is still ongoing. How did our world recover from Covid? I don’t mean medically but as a society.

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I for one think we haven’t changed as a species in 3 years. We still need to be together.

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Distributed work is required in some professions, from soldiering to farming.

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But knowledge workers should be together at least some of the time. Yes, there are introverts. Yes, there are annoying people in the workplace. Yes, commuting can be painful (but the podcast listening time is a bonus!).

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Count me in the in-person camp. I want to be with people and interact and socialize. I want to learn from my co-workers and live life as a member of a physical, real-life tribe.

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And I bet the history books will reflect that the yearning to be together after such an alienating terrifying illness known as Covid will happen in the workplace and beyond.

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There is something right about meeting a friend for dinner or having random sports talk with a friend. There is a deep-seated need in most of us to interact in person, and Covid hasn’t changed that.

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And I submit as evidence a random encounter with a young man in Chicago. I am sure the leaders at his company have no idea about his quiet suffering from loneliness. They are focused on their bottom line rather than the wellness of their employees.

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Simon said it. In real life. In an Uber, driving for him was not about money but a cure for loneliness.

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Good luck, Simon. I hope you and your dog make lots of friends.

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You should work for a company with a real office with real people.

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Four-legged George will understand if you leave him for a bit.

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And your life will be better lived with others in person.