Day of the delivery person

“I can easily manage on four hours’ sleep”

Delivered day after day: The "Kronen Zeitung". The many delivery staff throughout the country ensure that this is the case.(Bild: Christof Birbaumer)

Today, Wednesday, is newspaper delivery day. Sylvia delivers the "Kronen Zeitung" from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. every day. The mother of three from Schwaz explains the benefits of the job.

While most people are asleep, one of them is awake and scurries from house to house. Every day - and for three years now - Sylvia delivers the "Kronen Zeitung" from 1 am to 5 am. Today, Wednesday, is newspaper delivery day. We take the opportunity to look into the question of who makes sure that we get the news of the day with our morning coffee every day. On behalf of many, we spoke to Sylvia, a delivery person from Schwaz.

"Paid morning sport"
The 35-year-old single mother of three gives us an insight into her life. Sylvia's working day starts just as others are falling into bed. Then she starts delivering newspapers in a slightly older car. "The constant 'stop and go' is hard on the brakes, so I recommend an old car," she explains. She has bought a second car especially for delivering newspapers.

Sylvia has been a newspaper deliverer for three years. The mother, who gets by on just four hours' sleep, finds that the job has many advantages.(Bild: zVg)

Sylvia likes her job as a newspaper deliverer: "It's a paid morning sport." It has clear advantages for her: "I have three children at home and I'm a single parent, so I'm flexible during the day and don't need a babysitter. The eldest is 15 years old, and my neighbor keeps an eye on the children if anything happens during the night," she says.

It's almost a respite from everyday life - during the day it's often stressful and noisy, at night it's quiet. Of my two jobs, this is the more relaxed one.

Sylvia

She doesn't find working in the dark stressful: "It's difficult at first, but you get used to being active at night. It's almost a respite from everyday life - during the day it's often stressful and noisy, at night it's quiet. Of my two jobs, this is the more relaxed one. At least the newspapers don't talk back to you," she smiles. She works four hours - the first of her two jobs ends at five o'clock.

From the first job straight into the second
Then it's business as usual: preparing breakfast, getting the children ready for school. Then she makes her way to her second job: Sylvia works in the office until 2 pm. Then she spends time with her children. She finally makes it to bed at 9 pm. "I get by on four hours' sleep, that's enough for me."

"Ideal job to earn some extra money"
She would definitely recommend the job as a delivery person to others: "If you want to earn some extra money, it's great, and you can work anywhere from one to three routes. Depending on the route, you earn between 500 and 1500 euros a month."