Amazed how people just don’t want to work

[lauraee]

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

Maybe try to hire away your competitors' employees. If you're paying 10 to 20 an hour more, that will be a no brainer. As long as the other benefits match up, the business is stable, & it's not a toxic work environment.

A friend let me know about a good job that would have paid more. Everyone should always keep an eye out.. Once I compared what it would cost to commute & to park, & retirement benefits, I decided to stay where I am. Short commute, two nice promotions later, & a better retirement plan have made me happy I stayed.

 

[BuzzStone]

My T-Shirt Company in Cumming has had a sign out front for a year looking for another employee. We don't make a large margin on shirts but we will take anyone willing to work and teach them what to do. Its crazy hard to find people willing to work right now.

 

[Buzzbomb]

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

Happening right here in Duluth. Have a friend near Atlantic Station.
Try again.

 

[Buzzbomb]

Another factor to consider is weighing whether to chance catching the virus vs. working. I have friends who have taken SSI, retirement benefits, so they can work less or not at all. With the Delta variant spiking, all ages getting sick right now, it’s not only us older folks or immune compromised. Science is not certain how long the antibodies last for people previously infected or vaccinated folks from 6 to 9 months ago. One woman told me her children need her more, than risking her health waiting tables on the public.

 

[Northeast Stinger]

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.

Sounds like a tough labor market for you.

In my neck of the woods we lost a lot of green card, immigrant and seasonal workers during Covid. This impacted primarily health care, hospitality, labor, transportation and the food chain. Nationally as much as 18% of the economy relies on foreign born workers. We fit the profile

For us, for some reason, these workers have not come back. Restaurants can’t open full time, our local markets are short of food items, our builders can’t get enough workers or supplies, and the ripple through our economy is impacting everyone.

Conversely, everyone I know is more flush than they have can ever remember, the tourists are flooding into town and it seems like lots of people are spending money like crazy.

Housing is tight. I keep telling my studio partner she could make a fortune renting out a room. Houses are being bought sight unseen and well over asking price.

I remember from college economics that when you go from a recession to a rapidly expanding economy you get glitches in the labor pool, uneven recovery and anomalies in the data. That seems to be the case right now.

 

[Northeast Stinger]

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.

Yeah, my kids too. But their argument, which makes a lot of sense, is that companies used to be more reliable and kept their promises to workers. Now, why be loyal to a company if the company is not going to be loyal to you? My daughter is incredibly hard working, learns new jobs very quickly and gets good recommendations wherever she goes. But whenever she senses bs on the part of management she finds a “higher bidder” for her talents and she is out of there.

Not the way I did it but I sometimes wonder if I was a sucker.

 

[Buzzbomb]

Yeah, my kids too. But their argument, which makes a lot of sense, is that companies used to be more reliable and kept their promises to workers. Now, why be loyal to a company if the company is not going to be loyal to you? My daughter is incredibly hard working, learns new jobs very quickly and gets good recommendations wherever she goes. But whenever she senses bs on the part of management she finds a “higher bidder” for her talents and she is out of there.

Not the way I did it but I sometimes wonder if I was a sucker.

100 % agreement!

In the olden days, a boss told me you work for your future. It no longer included 50 years with a company. That was for the previous generation. Sure you participate in their 401k plan, however I started contributing to my own self-directed IRA on the side. As years passed, it emboldened me to do what your daughter is doing, go and do where it benefits me best. The corporations have always looked out for their best interests, so why not do that for yourself?
I think it’s referred to as “taking care of number 1.”

 

[Jophish17]

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.

Amen to this. It’s not a terribly huge amount but I’d definitely have more money in the bank account if my wife didn’t have access to instagram where she is constantly “influenced” to buy stuff we don’t really need

 

[awbuzz]

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.

Basically there are some people think that if they have 50 cents think they have to go spend a dollar...
Then they expect the "ants" to pay for the "grasshoppers" retirement too.

 

[slugboy]

@GTBlaze good luck in your search for good people. I know it’s not easy to find them, especially these days.

Re finding jobs: a couple of my neighbors had been out of work for a year. They tried and tried, but their industry was dead, and they were trying to stay close to what they knew. Last month, they could suddenly get as many hours as they wanted on contract—it was a “can you work 70?” kind of situation. Not quite the same industry, but close enough. Suddenly, if you want work, it’s there, but employers want a ton of hours.

 

[Technut1990]

Yeah, my kids too. But their argument, which makes a lot of sense, is that companies used to be more reliable and kept their promises to workers. Now, why be loyal to a company if the company is not going to be loyal to you? My daughter is incredibly hard working, learns new jobs very quickly and gets good recommendations wherever she goes. But whenever she senses bs on the part of management she finds a “higher bidder” for her talents and she is out of there.

Not the way I did it but I sometimes wonder if I was a sucker.

yeah there’s definitely no loyalty out there anymore but I think it goes both ways. I worry that the mentality has an impact on other aspects of life. If you Are an adult and you make choices to move around or take the higher bid that’s an adult making a decision. I worry that kids grow up thinking they should start out on top and that mentality cheats them from some learning experiences that caused most of us old timers to develop social thought. I think this impacts relationships with friends and can cause divorces. Kids can end up expecting to much and if they don’t get their way it kills those relationships, rather than staying in and working they bail out. Plus some kids simply aren’t equipped to qualify for the highest bid, yet they expect it anyway. I just think the hard knocks in my youth and young adult days prepared me for life in general, Highs and lows. it also taught me to work hard but temper expectations.

 

[684Bee]

yeah there’s definitely no loyalty out there anymore but I think it goes both ways. I worry that the mentality has an impact on other aspects of life. If you Are an adult and you make choices to move around or take the higher bid that’s an adult making a decision. I worry that kids grow up thinking they should start out on top and that mentality cheats them from some learning experiences that caused most of us old timers to develop social thought. I think this impacts relationships with friends and can cause divorces. Kids can end up expecting to much and if they don’t get their way it kills those relationships, rather than staying in and working they bail out. Plus some kids simply aren’t equipped to qualify for the highest bid, yet they expect it anyway. I just think the hard knocks in my youth and young adult days prepared me for life in general, Highs and lows. it also taught me to work hard but temper expectations.

All starts with parenting in the home. The earlier a kid learns they don’t just automatically get what they want, and that they have to earn it, the better.

 

[Northeast Stinger]

yeah there’s definitely no loyalty out there anymore but I think it goes both ways. I worry that the mentality has an impact on other aspects of life. If you Are an adult and you make choices to move around or take the higher bid that’s an adult making a decision. I worry that kids grow up thinking they should start out on top and that mentality cheats them from some learning experiences that caused most of us old timers to develop social thought. I think this impacts relationships with friends and can cause divorces. Kids can end up expecting to much and if they don’t get their way it kills those relationships, rather than staying in and working they bail out. Plus some kids simply aren’t equipped to qualify for the highest bid, yet they expect it anyway. I just think the hard knocks in my youth and young adult days prepared me for life in general, Highs and lows. it also taught me to work hard but temper expectations.

Me too but it was a different time.

One only has to look at Amazon, a corporate success story with thousands of workers who were physically and mentally broken by the work culture.

And don’t get me started on GM. My wife’s family is from Detroit. Lots of workers who played by the rules and had their pensions and life savings stolen by the company.

But I will stop. The examples could go on and on.

So for me it is a chicken and egg question as to which happened first. But, yeah, with some younger people it is hard for them to see that there is any payoff in blind loyalty or commitment. They want you to show them the money.

 

[RonJohn]

yeah there’s definitely no loyalty out there anymore but I think it goes both ways. I worry that the mentality has an impact on other aspects of life. If you Are an adult and you make choices to move around or take the higher bid that’s an adult making a decision. I worry that kids grow up thinking they should start out on top and that mentality cheats them from some learning experiences that caused most of us old timers to develop social thought. I think this impacts relationships with friends and can cause divorces. Kids can end up expecting to much and if they don’t get their way it kills those relationships, rather than staying in and working they bail out. Plus some kids simply aren’t equipped to qualify for the highest bid, yet they expect it anyway. I just think the hard knocks in my youth and young adult days prepared me for life in general, Highs and lows. it also taught me to work hard but temper expectations.

I think at least part of that is waxing nostalgic. I remember in the 70s when I was under 10 years old listening to some people in their 50s discussing how the young adults in the 70s didn't understand the world. They surmised that the current (at the time) young adults believed that they should start out life with a nice and fully furnished house, nice cars, nice clothes, and no payments. They said that young people didn't understand that their parents and grandparents had worked their entire lives to get to the point that they were in, and had not started with everything nice and easy. They were talking about the decade before me. I am certain that people in their 50s, 60s, and 70s said the same things about young adults when I was in my 20s. We are saying the same things about young adults now. I would say it is likely that in 40 years, people who are currently in their 20s will say the same thing about they young adults then. The same things have been happening for at least 50 years, it just isn't obvious to us that we are now on the other side of the rotation.

 

[Jim Prather]

You know it's funny...There are recorded discussions just like this dating back to the Greek philosophers of 500 B.C. I think it is just the nature of getting older.

 

[Northeast Stinger]

I think at least part of that is waxing nostalgic. I remember in the 70s when I was under 10 years old listening to some people in their 50s discussing how the young adults in the 70s didn't understand the world. They surmised that the current (at the time) young adults believed that they should start out life with a nice and fully furnished house, nice cars, nice clothes, and no payments. They said that young people didn't understand that their parents and grandparents had worked their entire lives to get to the point that they were in, and had not started with everything nice and easy. They were talking about the decade before me. I am certain that people in their 50s, 60s, and 70s said the same things about young adults when I was in my 20s. We are saying the same things about young adults now. I would say it is likely that in 40 years, people who are currently in their 20s will say the same thing about they young adults then. The same things have been happening for at least 50 years, it just isn't obvious to us that we are now on the other side of the rotation.

My daughter is a millennial who manages a large staff. I get tickled when I hear her talk about Gen Z and “these young people today.”

 

[forensicbuzz]

Basically there are some people think that if they have 50 cents think they have to go spend a dollar...
Then they expect the "ants" to pay for the "grasshoppers" retirement too.

That's a relatively obscure fable. Color me impressed.

 

[MountainBuzzMan]

Happening right here in Duluth. Have a friend near Atlantic Station.
Try again.

Try what again? I covered multiple topics

 

[Buzzbomb]

Try what again? I covered multiple topics

The first line, directed at me.

Atlantic Station is within the City of Atlanta, and Duluth is definitely in one of the top four populous counties in Ga. Do a web engine search, and you will see the state I live in somehow gets away with a 5.15 wage in one place(not a tip job).

You do realize several states have and businesses abide by more than $10 an hour and the $15.00 minimum in NY City? Dishwashers making 17.00, in N.J.

 

[LibertyTurns]

My T-Shirt Company in Cumming has had a sign out front for a year looking for another employee. We don't make a large margin on shirts but we will take anyone willing to work and teach them what to do. Its crazy hard to find people willing to work right now.

Maybe you should advertise in Intercourse? Somebody there should want to move on down to Cumming!