Labor Challenges in the Post Pandemic World
Jeremy Sacker
Experienced Dealmaker | 12 Successful Transactions (Personal & Private Equity) | Now Helping Business Owners as a Business Broker
I am fortunate that I get to talk to people all over the United States every day, and the labor stories I hear are, well, strange.?Characteristics of generations do not apply to all individuals, but, for the most part, my generation, Gen X, and the generation before, the Baby Boomers, lived to work.?Our parents worked hard to provide for us, and there were times when we went without.?People who lived through The Great Depression and WWII influenced us.
Fast forward to today.?Millennials and Gen Z were raised differently.?It was better because families had more.?(Please remember, I am speaking in generally).?In my opinion it is because of this that there has been a shift from “living to work” to “working to live”.?
Don’t get me wrong, the older I get the more I regret the time I lost with my family because I was chasing the dollar.?But my wife and I wanted to provide our kids more, and the sacrifice was that I was gone.?A lot.
Now I see my children, their friends, my team, and many others making a different choice.?They are choosing to work only enough to support their lifestyle.?This is causing problems for businesses, and I am not sure how long it will take us to figure this out.?
Here is what I think will happen:
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1.????Bad bosses will kill companies.?The balance of power has shifted in a way that unions only dreamed of.?The employee has the upper hand, and, because of this attitude shift, will keep it.?Unemployment remains low, despite the economy cooling.?
2.????Automation will grow exponentially.?Where??Low paying jobs and anywhere automation makes sense.?We will see the first fully automated fast-food restaurant in the next 3 years in the US.?Driverless trucks will grow as well.
3.????College attendance numbers will drop.?Some of the best paying jobs today don’t require a degree.?Developers, designers, and advertising roles do not require a degree.?
4.????The shortage of people entering the trades will continue, and this will drive the next round of inflation.?The next 10 years will see slowly rising costs related to new construction and maintenance, but once retirements start in Gen X we will see extreme cost increases.
This train has left the station, and there is no turning back.?The pandemic fueled this change by convincing thousands of Baby Boomers that it was time to retire.?Now our challenge is to figure out how to live in this new world.
President at Coopergirl Productions
2 年What are these jobs paying? I took a retail job in a higher-end lingerie store. The average bra was $65. The manager begged me to work there, I did not apply. That manager did not manage the store or her staff. Workers came in late or skipped the day altogether without consequence. Others showed up in clothes I would save for yard work. At one point, I became the topic of gossip and "drama". The assistant store manager was gossiping about me to an employee and told the store manager I had done something. As I was unaware, I said would ask the assistant manager about it. If she had a problem with my behavior she should have said something to me at the time. Instead, I quit. Why? Because I have good solid management skills and $12 an hour does not cover me managing my managers. I was a customer who took a job at the manager's request and thought I might raise some marketing money for my small business. My point: Managers should manage, employee bad behavior should have consequences, wages should make a job worthwhile, and all warm bodies are not good bodies. When you run a higher-end store lingerie store, pay your workers a decent wage. And when a job applicant shows up in sweats and bedroom slippers, do not hire her.
Entrepreneur
2 年Unfortunately when this happens employers fail to report those people to the state unemployment center, because what they are doing is showing they applied and that will satisfy the UI department that they are out there looking for a job! If you report them they will be cut off & be forced to go & work! Just my insight of what I see and have done when it happens to my clients looking for labor force.
Experienced communications leader with a background in strategic planning and change management.
2 年I face this challenge weekly - candidates apply, they express interest, we schedule an interview, and then they are never to be heard from again.
Senior Partner/Owner at Software Analysts Corp.
2 年Well said Jeremy.
Business Development & Strategic Sales at ProServ Logistics
2 年When I owned the pizza shop, I had 1 in 5 show up for interviews. I hired every single person that would show up for the interview. Out of that group, another 1 in 5 would show up for the job.