Recession, Inflation, and Work – Do Not Make the Same Mistakes

I have served as a career and workplace advisor through my adult years, and no, my first new car was not a Model A. However, our group programs are one of my most unique sources of information. Thus far, over 50,000 people from all walks of life have responded to a process that leads them to the proper career role, actionable plans to succeed, corrections in skill sets, and customized/well-developed support systems.

?There has always been a balancing act between workers and employers. During economically good times, employers tended to be friendlier toward talent. As a result, it was easier to “get ahead.” But, unless we had a mind-bending talent level, we knew employers still had the upper hand. Because when an economic downturn took place, far too many of the same employers shifted gears and made it clear workers were expendable.

?By and large, the American workplace has spent much of its life in a trance, perpetually distracted by the need to survive, to savor the predictability promised by recruiters, aimlessness, and its lukewarm comfort.

?Many of us would have been eager for enlightenment in 2006. But instead, it was the last big blowout sale for task work. We printed money that didn’t exist, we snapped up homes few could afford, and the middle-class began financing their way to the middle-upper class. Millions of workers filled out paperwork while technology came up with a cheaper and easier solution.

?Elizabeth Taylor once said, “I fell off my pink cloud with a thud.”

?On November 16, 2008, I got a call from a client in Manhattan. He was taking a video from his office. Across the street, Citibank was escorting thousands of employees out of the building. The stampede for task-driven workers was over. Many people from that era continued to work but also waited for a return to their old jobs.

?Once again, we shifted from looking at talent as indispensable to expendable.

?Today, going through these motions once again is a bad idea.

?Because we have, indeed, changed.

?When the pandemic locked down the world, many of us predicted that if it were over in less than a year, we would probably go back to “normal” if there ever was such a thing. Economists went into doomsday scenarios if Covid went into a two-year run.

?Of all the possible outcomes, inflation, recession, plus a labor shortage? Who knew?

?Inflation and a recession are the bills we must pay for a two-year pandemic.

?The labor shortage is quite different.

?A few months before I launched Inspired Work, every aspect of my life changed when one of my colleagues dropped dead from a heart attack. At that moment, I realized all the time I was wasting as I worked towards my goals. My values changed. Rather than climbing the next mountain, spending time with friends, family, and my dogs became far more critical than hurrying through life.

?For many of us, what we did before the pandemic seems insane today. I spent so much time traveling because I believed it was the right thing to do. I always kept a nice car in the garage and drove about 50-75K per year. In two years, that same car has traveled only 400 miles.

?For three hundred years, employers had the upper hand simply because the highs and lows of the economy played in their favor.

?Today, dictatorships will fail. Sacrificing time with family to commute two hours a day is insane. So much of what has become precious to us, and all the employers complaining about the job market, forget they are part of the reason for today’s workplace.

?Some business owners and CEOs have ordered people back to “the office.” On the following day, the employees are contacted through social media and phones to discuss better opportunities with employers that are happy with remote work.

?Earlier, I humbled myself by suggesting these turns of events have even surprised me.

?But there is one place where I suggest all of us change or affirm our behavior.

?Strong and sustainable relationships depend on our awareness and willingness to fulfill the needs and expectations of everyone at the table.

?I believe this is the most crucial across-the-board change.

?For some of us, that change is already tricky.

?But I live with a straightforward mantra:

?“Pushed by the pain until pushed by the vision.”

Why?

?Because we have changed.

?workskunk

This year, we began a restructuring of our business model to assist everyone that wants or needs to change their work lives for the better.

Workskunk provides the resources to learn the most important skills for thriving in the new world of work. Our offerings include comprehensive programs for members to develop successful career campaigns and for organizations to develop surprisingly effective skills for talent acquisition and development. Even teenagers are welcome to use our services, so they steer around underemployment because the ideal job or career is waiting for them.

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Inspired Work

Big news!

To support the growth of workskunk, the fee for the Inspired Work Program has been lowered from?$800?to?$100.?

Each program is virtual and includes live facilitators to ensure the best possible outcome.

We continue to offer customized services for individuals and organizations.workskunkTV

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