Amazed how people just don’t want to work

[GTBlaze]

My family and I own a service business where a crew of 2 will go out and install glass products, etc

sure, not the most glamorous job in the world but are now offering 30.00 40.00/hour plus a little overtime with experience and 20-25/hour without experience

Our competition is paying the same people with experience 14-20.00/hour

we have ads on Facebook, monster, zip, Craigslist, indeed, etc and a Help wanted sign on a very busy street

we have had 5 applications sent in over a month period

it’s crazy that nobody wants to work and the ones with experience don’t want to jump to a much higher paying job with better benefits.

I have never seen anything like this before in our business. We are having to turn away tons of work because we don’t have enough installers to install the products we sell

it’s just crazy. I know a couple of HVAC business owners who are experiencing the exact same thing

 

[Dress2Jacket]

Most employers are experiencing this today. Lots of people (apparently) retrenched their lifestyles during Covid and are either spending a bunch less or planning to leave someone else holding the bag (i.e. not gonna bother with their the rent until the eviction moratorium goes away). So there's a portion of the workforce that simply isn't motivated to go to work today.

 

[684Bee]

My family and I own a service business where a crew of 2 will go out and install glass products, etc

sure, not the most glamorous job in the world but are now offering 30.00 40.00/hour plus a little overtime with experience and 20-25/hour without experience

Our competition is paying the same people with experience 14-20.00/hour

we have ads on Facebook, monster, zip, Craigslist, indeed, etc and a Help wanted sign on a very busy street

we have had 5 applications sent in over a month period

it’s crazy that nobody wants to work and the ones with experience don’t want to jump to a much higher paying job with better benefits.

I have never seen anything like this before in our business. We are having to turn away tons of work because we don’t have enough installers to install the products we sell

it’s just crazy. I know a couple of HVAC business owners who are experiencing the exact same thing

It’s a real thing. Gotta stop with all the free money and get past all this COVID crap.

 

[slugboy]

Are people seeing the ads?
I haven’t touched Craigslist in 10 years, and my Facebook ads are worthless. I haven’t looked at Monster in 20 years, and I’ve never used Ziprecruiter.
I’m not the person you’re hiring, and I’m not sure what channels work (I got my jobs through referrals).

 

[GTBlaze]

We submitted ads through a site that distributes it to like 15 different platforms including google jobs.. and the ads are displayed on all the platforms under the correct categories

 

[LibertyTurns]

I feel your pain @GTBlaze. I’m trying to hire 125 heads just to scrape by and sustain current levels. I’d love to add 200 or 250 heads to grow. Been non-stop recruiting since March & have managed to add a net of 25. There’s so many opportunities people have the flexibility to do what they want, ie start another career, move back closer to family, etc.

In addition to your wage rate you might want to highlight anything else you got- health care coverage, paid time off, holiday pay if you have it, flexible work hrs, advancement opportunities, etc. People want to know why working for you is better than the other guy. Good luck. It’s tough out there.

 

[Northeast Stinger]

I feel your pain @GTBlaze. I’m trying to hire 125 heads just to scrape by and sustain current levels. I’d love to add 200 or 250 heads to grow. Been non-stop recruiting since March & have managed to add a net of 25. There’s so many opportunities people have the flexibility to do what they want, ie start another career, move back closer to family, etc.

In addition to your wage rate you might want to highlight anything else you got- health care coverage, paid time off, holiday pay if you have it, flexible work hrs, advancement opportunities, etc. People want to know why working for you is better than the other guy. Good luck. It’s tough out there.

Definitely a labor shortage in a lot of locations. Several of our fast food joints have been doing drive through only for months now because they can’t get enough help to fully open.

A Walgreens I know of was able to hire workers by putting on their electronic billboard an add for $30 an hour starting pay, maternity leave, 2 weeks paid vacation, fully covered health insurance and company profit sharing.

 

[Buzzbomb]

Another reason that employers might not want to factor in….
Women and Men lack childcare for their young, whether children or grandchildren. Hopefully with schools reopening, that should alleviate some of that dilemma.

 

[GTBlaze]

That is a very good point.. never thought of that!

 

[LibertyTurns]

Another reason that employers might not want to factor in….
Women and Men lack childcare for their young, whether children or grandchildren. Hopefully with schools reopening, that should alleviate some of that dilemma.

Absolutely that’s another barrier, so is affordable housing, so are car prices & gasoline, the rising cost of groceries, the list is endless. People feel like there’s no way to get ahead & can’t see a future. Then there’s the intangibles. I’m not talking about hands or brains, but that thing that makes you get up in the morning to go to work & at least try to do a decent job. It’s a tough place we’re in. It’s a harsh stance to have but when there’s too many safety nets, it saps people of drive and initiative.

 

[armeck]

Another reason that employers might not want to factor in….
Women and Men lack childcare for their young, whether children or grandchildren. Hopefully with schools reopening, that should alleviate some of that dilemma.

Daycares around the country are struggling, which means parents are struggling.

daycare shortage - Google Search

 

[Northeast Stinger]

Absolutely that’s another barrier, so is affordable housing, so are car prices & gasoline, the rising cost of groceries, the list is endless. People feel like there’s no way to get ahead & can’t see a future. Then there’s the intangibles. I’m not talking about hands or brains, but that thing that makes you get up in the morning to go to work & at least try to do a decent job. It’s a tough place we’re in. It’s a harsh stance to have but when there’s too many safety nets, it saps people of drive and initiative.

All the research I have seen says that people want to work. My hope is that the infrastructure bill can remove some of the barriers like child care deserts and lack of adequate mass transit.

 

[LibertyTurns]

All the research I have seen says that people want to work. My hope is that the infrastructure bill can remove some of the barriers like child care deserts and lack of adequate mass transit.

Not sure who’s doing the research but when I got people who finally show up to work & leave after a day or two because being where they’re supposed to be on a regular basis is “just not what I wanted” we have a problem that runs deeper than more support. Yes, there’s the 2-3 women that come in here and child care is an issue but it’s not the prevailing issue. I’ve personally recruited people in town, just fill out an application and you’re in. They’re too damn lazy to lift a finger and in probably the majority of cases we’re to blame gor what we’ve let happen. You call and text them, radio silence. They just don’t want to work.

 

[RonJohn]

Just my opinion, but I don't think it is all related to people not wanting to work. I do think there is some of that. However, there are other factors involved. (Maybe not all applicable to the @GTBlaze and @LibertyTurns situations):

• There is extra money in the economy and in businesses. Businesses are expanding, and need additional workers to expand. (not just refilling positions that were in place before COVID, but adding extra positions.) A business doesn't have to have money directly from the government for this to happen. If you run a construction business, there are many companies who are building and expanding because of cheap loans and government money. That impacts your construction business because of the extra labor required to expand and meet the construction need.
• During lockdowns, people were able to reevaluate their priorities. A salaried office worker was able to complete his work without a one-hour commute each way. At 5 o'clock, he could light the grill on his patio and relax on the patio with his kids while burgers were cooking instead of sitting on the interstate yelling at other drivers and picking up takeout on the way home. His quality of life went up, and his expenses went down. He now realizes that he could earn $10k less and still be in the same financial condition he was before with a better quality of life. If his job now requires him to report back to the office every day, he is very likely to look for another job. Currently, instead of having to settle for $10k less, he can probably get $10k or $20k more while still working mainly from home. I read an article about someone from Manhattan moving to the mountains in Colorado during the pandemic for quality of life and because he could work remotely. Try convincing him to return to Manhattan for the same money.

One thing I will say. If you are in a position to make money from the current climate, you should be making as much as you can. When government money slows down and interest rates rise, a lot of this expansion will retract. The current worker crisis could easily turn into an unemployment crisis.

 

[Technut1990]

If my son and step son are any indication, the younger generation expects business owners to meet every need THE KIDS have rather than the kids qualifying themselves for the job. My generation and older sought to qualify ourselves for a job.

 

[slugboy]

• During lockdowns, people were able to reevaluate their priorities. A salaried office worker was able to complete his work without a one-hour commute each way. At 5 o'clock, he could light the grill on his patio and relax on the patio with his kids while burgers were cooking instead of sitting on the interstate yelling at other drivers and picking up takeout on the way home. His quality of life went up, and his expenses went down.

I’ve seen some of that, but I’ve also seen more meetings scheduled earlier and later and during lunch, and back-to-back-to-back meetings. Office life is fighting for that “commute time”.
I’ve seen people scheduling their meetings to start and end at 5 or 10 off the hour so they can have a little time to take care of necessities

 

[Buzzbomb]

This is not directed at the O.P., because they are paying a fair living wage.

There are companies still paying $7.25-10.00 an hour. It’s not about doing the job when you wake up in the morning(that’s a load of horse manure), it’s about a job that allows you to pay these inflated prices on goods, transportation, et al, & not have to ask for help on housing at the beginning of the next month.

 

[MountainBuzzMan]

This is not directed at the O.P., because they are paying a fair living wage.

There are companies still paying $7.25-10.00 an hour. It’s not about doing the job when you wake up in the morning(that’s a load of horse manure), it’s about a job that allows you to pay these inflated prices on goods, transportation, et al, & not have to ask for help on housing at the beginning of the next month.

This seems way too generic a post and does not reflect location. Which is extremely important. $15 an hour is not a living wage in places like SF or NY. But $10-$12 could be in truly rural areas. One size does not fit all no matter what the prevailing "wisdom" may want you to believe.

As others have said, there is a lot of growth going on (Or trying to) Companies also have PPP money and are kicking off growth programs to use it. A lot of companies needed it to survive, but a LOT of companies will use it to grow. If we can pull it off the country is about to go through a crazy growth spurt. When all the research is finished I bet the return on investment for the PPP money will be amazing, unlike all the other programs.

My company is also in a large growth spurt (revenue and headcount) I will probably double our head count from where it was in late 2020 vs mid 2022. In our factory we start people at $14 but have a 12 month plan to get them to $17.5 if they are good employees. We also have a longer term growth plan for employees who put in the effort. So far we have not had any significant issues attracting people to work in the factory.

Now try to find the right people with Cloud Software Development skills and good luck

 

[LibertyTurns]

There’s certainly a lot of different factors at play and there’s no single silver bullet. If you company has a hammer lock on manpower you’re doing something right because most companies are struggling. It’s not just finding skilled mechanics and machine operators, I know people looking for Accountants and Managers too. It’s brutal out there now.

On the other hand, maybe it’s about time the little guy at the bottom got a bigger slice of the pie? It was happening the 2018 & 2019 up until the pandemic hit and happening in a greater extent in the demographics traditionally left behind. All I know is I’m trying to get out ahead of this and raising my labor rates 15% now in 2 years is just about keeping me even. It’s not like I was offering below average pay with bad benefits, we’re sitting at 65th percentile and have pretty generous benefits packages to boot.

It’s personally tough for me because I volunteer a fair amount at the local youth center trying to raise kids and families out of the seemingly endless cycle they’re in and I’d think now more than ever they’d be motivated to change their life with business conditions as they are. It’s sad so few cannot seem to find their way.

 

[RonJohn]

It’s personally tough for me because I volunteer a fair amount at the local youth center trying to raise kids and families out of the seemingly endless cycle they’re in and I’d think now more than ever they’d be motivated to change their life with business conditions as they are. It’s sad so few cannot seem to find their way.

I don't know what situation the families you work with are in, but for people who live scraping by paycheck to paycheck, I think getting a larger paycheck hardly ever solves the problem. There are couples who make $12/hour each who have been able to save money and are financially comfortable. There are couples who make $30/hour each and would have to scramble to replace their water heater if it goes out. For someone who can't manage money, an increase in income is usually met with at least the same increase in spending if not more. I think that same lack of understanding and planning prevents them from navigating career decisions. If you can't see past the end of this month, then preparing yourself for a promotion isn't important. If you plan everything out, understand what is required for a promotion, and work at it, you are more likely to get it.

It may sound like I am denigrating people. I am not trying to. People don't learn personal finance in school. Even if they do learn a budget in high school, it is an abstract idea that is only covered for a day or two. Society and marketing make it seem as though if you don't drive a new car from the time you graduate high school until the time you die that you are a failure. Friends on Facebook take the best vacations, so you must be a failure if you don't take expensive vacations two or three times a year. It is difficult to convince some people that they don't have to buy something simply because there is enough money in the checking account today to pay for it.