Job's - Current Situation

[Fredo76]

Here in the states, pundits have been wagging about The Great Resignation for a couple of years now. They've blamed it on everything - emergency Covid checks, over-generous unemployment benefits, lack of affordable child care, "kids these days", fear of the disease, caring for parents, just about everything you could think of.

Recently I read of one more reason that makes a lot of sense to me - families here are going back to having only one earner for quality-of-life reasons, meaning our labor shortages may be structural, and not temporary.

 

[KnittyNorah]

Reminds me for some reason about the East German worker who turned up to lay bricks at a site my friend was working on. He was amazing! Did a really good job, and quick too - tireless...he barely took a break all day.

Next day he didn't turn up. Normally no-one would have cared, but he'd been such a good worker that the foreman actually took the time to go round to the hostel address he'd been given, where he found the guy tucked up in bed watching telly. "Why didn't you come to work?" asked the foreman. "I'm done for the week," said the brickie. The foreman, understandably bemused, said "What do you mean, done for the week?" "I've used all my bricks," said the guy. "We have more bricks," said the foreman. The man looked at him in horror: "You mean I'm expected to work like that every day?"

Turned out that back east you worked till you'd run out of bricks then took the rest of the week off. The idea of working every day, well really...

When I was working in Berlin just a couple of years after the wall came down, I heard lots of that type of story.

There is a definite attraction in the idea that laying X number of bricks, selling Y number of widgets or performing Z number of surgeries is your 'week's work' and you go home when it's done - but it only works up to a certain point, and even then only for certain jobs. Many were the coffee breaks when some of the Ossis would regale us Brits and Dutchies and Scandis with tales - some sad, some scary and some silly - of 'how life used to be'.

 

[DCBassman]

Jobs - Current Situation​

FTFY...

 

[fossyant]

Jobs - Current Situation​

FTFY...

Carried away with the apostrophie !

 

[Ming the Merciless]

The other thing to remember is that the youngest Baby Boomers are 57 or so. The bulge of that generation is moving out of full time employment anyway, even if not retired. That bulge which lead to all the old pension schemes closing etc in last 20 years or so. Well that bulge is now retired or semi retired or very shortly will be. There aren’t the same number of workers in following generations to replace them. That simply tilts it in favour of workers, where as for a long time it was the other way round. Companies haven’t planned for a reduction in the size of the workforce as much as they think.

 

[All uphill]

The other thing to remember is that the youngest Baby Boomers are 57 or so. The bulge of that generation is moving out of full time employment anyway, even if not retired. That bulge which lead to all the old pension schemes closing etc in last 20 years or so. Well that bulge is now retired or semi retired or very shortly will be. There aren’t the same number of workers in following generations to replace them. That simply tilts it in favour of workers, where as for a long time it was the other way round. Companies haven’t planned for a reduction in the size of the workforce as much as they think.

Which is why it was a good thing for the UK to have access to workers from countries with younger populations to do the work and pay lots of tax.

 

[Fab Foodie]

What’s happened and I count myself amongst this lot.

A lot of older experienced and good at their job professionals, but not career focused in terms of let’s see how high up the ladder we can get, have been neglected for years. Taken for granted that they will be there when the ambitious have moved on. All the HR, performance and training focused on the young thrusters, but anathema to everyone else not into that kind of thing. Their priority has never been to move up the career ladder. They’ve followed roles that are interesting to do, often side ways movement, climbing the ladder slowly. They get high enough, but stop when the demands on them start to outweigh the benefits in their view. Come the pandemic there was an opportunity to further consider and realise their priorities. For some that means retiring, others part retire, and others go part time in a stress free job that has lower demands and hours compared to their skills and experience.

These people always worked to live, not the other way round. Now they are doing more of the living, and less of the work. The long hours culture of many places for decades didn’t help this situation. If someone works their contracted hours, and does it well, they shouldn’t be made to feel like they weren’t pulling their weight. The culture of being expected to work overtime every single week is a sickness many no longer want.

The decades of experience has walked out the door, and they will never get it back. Experience is the difference between information and knowledge. Far too many managers and directors realise that far too late.

That describes my situation exactly. Am slowly backing-off, I've been open about doing this to the management and they're being very accommodating and it's working quite well all round. Am doing a lot more mentoring/training, working on a wider range of projects where my experience can have a bigger impact and which makes me feel more valued. I love my work, am not ready to give it up yet, but will certainly be looking to withdraw on my terms and sooner rather than later....

 

[Buck]

So many people are reassessing their “life plan” - do they really need that brand new car, especially as it sits on the drive 3/4 days per week now? Also, they have coped without the big foreign holidays, not eating out twice a week etc. etc.

So, the “need “ to earn the same, or more, is not quite as it was and I think it will only be in a couple of years when companies revert back to their traditional models (some will, some won’t); the cost of living has increased and they have no money to fall back on that some will be “forced” into working more even if that is in a different industry.

We are also in that golden period where the population bulge of 50-59 year olds have in many instances done the big expenses and have mortgages paid or near paid off; kids grown up and the realisation that shiny new things all the time doesn’t necessarily make you happy. It is this group of experienced, time-served and knowledgeable folk that will be retiring early / reducing hours / changing roles.

In my recent experience many of the youngsters just don’t want the responsibilities or commitment to full time and often want part time from the off (perhaps that is because we started work in the 80s and 90s when it was “work hard play hard“ and the start of a materialistic generation?

 

[swee'pea99]

After 35-odd years at a freelance job I was never that invested in, though I found it mostly interesting and remunerative enough, I saw a gentle decline turn into a lockdown fall off the cliff, and I've been on the beach ever since. And you know what? It's nice here.

I walk, I cook, I listen to music. I read. I watch telly. I ride to the pool, swim, and ride back, maybe take a detour to check out the yellow stickers, buy some of those fantastic Spanish oranges from the street stall. Very low stress.

I'm in good nick for my age, and I have a lifestyle I enjoy a lot, basic as some might think it. Never had a fancy car, never missed it. Never had an iPhone, or the latest anything, or pretty much any bit of technology that wasn't a bargain off ebay. Bit more by way of exotic holidays would have been nice, but other than that....

No, with the mortgage paid off and a frugal mindset, we actually live very well on very little money, and though I'll be delighted if work comes my way, I'm not busting a gut to find it, and if it doesn't I don't think I'll lose too much sleep over it. I have some savings. My pension kicks in in the not too distant. No-one's going hungry.

So if any youngsters want the work, good luck to you mate! It worked for me, hope it works for you.

 

[PaulSB]

Pretty much what I did.

When my Scottish company decided it was time to bring people back in the office for 3 days a week despite having performed well in a 100% working from home environment for the previous 12-18 months, I found a 100% remote job for a company in London that pays 17k more in basic salary, has better benefits, and pays for all expenses for those 2 times a year they'd like me to go to the London HQ.

Interesting to see this and other similar posts. My youngest son and his partner both changed jobs over the last 15 months and their first child arrived.

They both have 100% home working which with a young child works brilliantly. The day care nursery is 4 miles away, commutes etc. eliminated and by 5.30/6.00pm the family has finished for the day and everyone can relax. Both got better jobs, salary increases and coupled with the end if commuting costs and stresses it was an all round winner.

I compare that with my working life, up at 5.30am, leave at 7.00 with luck home by 6.30pm. If my wife was on shifts she wouldn't be home till 10.00pm. I know we made it work and raised three happy kids but I can't remember or imagine how it all came together.

 

[Brandane]

Here in the states

It's because of BREXIT!

 

[vickster]

Carried away with the apostrophie !

Twice no less

My employer is always looking to recruit but primarily due to impressive growth over the the last couple of years rather than attrition. The young team members (to be fair they’re pretty much all young compared to me) are all very keen, hard working, ambitious, nothing wrong with any of that In a work environment

 

[fossyant]

Twice no less

My employer is always looking to recruit but primarily due to impressive growth over the the last couple of years rather than attrition. The young team members (to be fair they’re pretty much all young compared to me) are all very keen, hard working, ambitious, nothing wrong with any of that In a work environment

You need jobs in a Uni ! Anyone free, we've loads ?

 

[DCLane]

You need jobs in a Uni ! Anyone free, we've loads ?

Mine first! We're on the drier side of northern England.

 

[fossyant]

Mine first! We're on the drier side of northern England.

Manchester has more 'culture'.