And it not wages. Base pay for the wharehouse staff where I work is $15.00 and hour plus the option for up to 10-20 hours of OT a week. For my area of the SE US that is a very good wage. Job includes high end health care plan, 401k, dental, life insurace etc as well as annual bonuses
Still cannot get enough workers
I thought wages were at the heart of the issue but have since changed my mind.
I’m hearing constant tales of employees refusing to do assigned tasks, walking off the job on whims, calling in sick (or just going radio silent), returning to the base having undelivered cargo, etc. Warehouse jobs start at $20.00/hr for unskilled laborers. Drivers need a CDL so they’ve bumped the starting wage to $23.00/hr and in some cases are paying for trucker school.
Employees are doing so because they can get away with it. They know that when staffing levels are at 65% the company cannot afford to lose anyone else. So they are tolerating misbehavior.
This has a cascading effect. When workers see coworkers slack or openly defy their superiors without consequence they quickly adopt the same bad habits. One guy was bragging that he was only around long enough to pay off his motorcycle then he was going to quit. A female coworker repeatedly complained about COVID fears to get out of work.
The work ethic I grew up with is dead.