Quality of life is part of it... extra money in a family is suppose to bring extra happiness. Turncs out that’s not as true as people thought.
Companies in the past were loyal to employees - that’s not the case today. Companies will go with whoever is cheapest - illegals, foreigners, whoever rocks their bottom line.
That matters.
Feeling a large chunk of your life is spent for the benefit of people who don’t give a damn about you is rough. Pearls before swine as they say... Ask police officers who offer up their lives for cities that fire them if they don’t get jabbed. Talk about zero loyalty. It’s the same, but not as dramatic down the line wit other businesses.
Similar to when conservatives realized we didn’t matter to the Never Trumper/Bush type ‘elites’... That no matter how often we voted for them - they would never be loyal back.
This is what I think is influencing many to not jump back into the low-skill labor market...Quality of Life and Conditions.
Many in my small business network HAVE increased wages to no avail in finding decent team members.
And I will say, ‘let’s be honest here,’ working in any sector of service industries can be a challenge to what one has to put up with from bosses and customers. I was in retail for several decades from cashier to District Manager and have seen it all. From bad staffing/managers to downright abusive customers or customers that just come in a trash the store without buying or accepting assistance.
We often over the years have even seen folks here on FR mock tipped employees because they fail to get tipped or have lousy wages etc. While many here will attempt to blame the business owner, it is a function of the consumer too. The demand for low priced goods and low priced luxury services influences profits and wages. In particular in the services sector it is tight margins. Many of my colleagues took the bait of a volume based service business and now are feeling the pinch of a tight labor market. And frankly, people who are not willing to jump back into the game because a client gets upset over a muddy pawprint on the floor on a rainy day after a dog walk. Yes, a single pawprint triggering an elitist customer demanding a refund and not to send that employee again.
I recently let a client go because of her attitude. We have systems in place to make it easy for our clients to book and schedule services 24/7. She insists on calling/texting/email and expecting an immediate response. She did this to me while working with an aggressive animal. Her distraction level was so intense even I was triggered.
Conditions matter and it is the consumer who sets those conditions.
Unfortunately, most companies that don’t go for the lowest cost denominators go out of business. That has long been the case.
“Quality of life is part of it... extra money in a family is suppose to bring extra happiness. Turncs out that’s not as true as people thought.”
So right!
I know several families that were two income households. When the lockdown came they had to tighten their belts for awhile. They realized they could have a happier life on less income. The families got used to being together and found out they enjoyed having mom home.
It was worth not buying a new car/truck to have mom at home.
Then there was the online schooling and moms and dads actually got to see what their kids were being taught. It was a wake-up call. Some of the parents I talked to couldn’t believe the crap their kids were being taught. Now mom has time to review the kids school work, go to parent-teacher and PTA meetings.
The teachers and school boards aren’t terribly happy to see these Tiger Moms demanding that real history, math, economics, etc be taught.
Home schooling has gone through the roof since the lockdown. And its the brightest kids who are being taught at home since mom isn’t working. The slackers are still in the public school system.
It seems more families are choosing the traditional family life. A good thing.