#jobs #employers #employees #coronavirus #COVID19 #FlattenTheCurve #NewNormal #leverage
Gail has a job that was vital to her company’s operation.
The job is low level and low paying, relative to the stress and responsibility it imposed on her.
Gail wins a big lottery jackpot. She tells her company that, instead of instinctively quitting on the spot, she would stay until her replacement is hired and properly trained. In the end, Gail wanted to be paid her regular salary for that time, and, at the end, be paid for the unused vacation time she had earned.
The company said no. Gail walked. Gail had leverage. The company resented that leverage. (Read: employer cuts off nose to spite face.)
In short, this dispute was not about money. It was about power.
Today’s labor market is in turmoil. The COVID-19 pandemic has upended most normal operations.
There are many available jobs, yet relatively high unemployment. Employers say the dichotomy is caused by “excessive government benefits” that “pay people to stay home.”
If it were only that simple. Certainly, the benefits the government provided to cushion the effects on working people whose situations were completely destroyed by the pandemic have helped those workers make tough decisions.
Employers are trying to force normalcy, and want to create some sense of – for lack of a better word — desperation to bring back the employees they had to furlough. That would give them leverage.
Employees have many more decisions to make. First, since schools are trying to reopen normally, one COVID outbreak could shut down a class, or a school, instantly. (Having everyone who is eligible to get vaccinated – by whatever means — would be a big help). Does a parent go back to work and leave a child at home to “go to school remotely” on his or her own? (Many day-care alternatives dried up during the pandemic.) Does that parent want to risk getting ill by going back to a job, among the maskless unvaccinated, at which safety measures are not necessarily assured? (A worker is no good to anyone when hospitalized, or worse.)
It’s complicated. It’s forcing employers to be more innovative about their work places and work rules. It’s forcing employees to make harder choices: is it WORTH going back to work?
Adding to the complications is job availability. If a worker spent a career at Position X, but a different Position Y offers better pay, more flexibility and more safety, he or she is likely to choose Position Y, presuming he or she is qualified for it.
Where does that leave the employer of Position X? He or she can either complain about employees “being paid to stay home,” or find a way to get those employees, or new ones, back. It may require creativity, thinking outside the box and/or thinking less about himself, or herself, and more about the future of his or her business.
For employees, there are potentially oodles of options, some of which also may require creativity and thinking outside the box. If you are someone like Gail, without the big lottery jackpot in hand, there are ways to create a potentially lucrative income that involve spending a few, part-time, off-job hours a week pursuing something you may have never thought you would do. No specific education, experience or background is required. These are non-government programs that can potentially give you leverage with your employer.
To check out one of the best such programs, message me.
Meanwhile, we all have to figure out what the “new normal” will be. We have to learn lessons from this episode so that we are better prepared for the next one.
And, there WILL be a next one.
As had been said before, if you – employer — pay them properly, ensure their safety, provide flexibility and understanding in difficult situations and mitigate fear of sudden furlough, they will come. They will work.
If you don’t, they won’t. And you can’t force them.
Peter
Monthly Archives: August 2021
INVIDIVUAL RIGHTS VS. DOING WHAT’S RIGHT
#IndividualRights #DoingRight #GetVaccinated #coronavirus #COVID19 #FlattenTheCurve
Can one be for individual rights AND doing right?
In today’s world, it’s tough to see that, but let’s break it down.
The U.S. Declaration of Independence guarantees us the right of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
But, when a public health crisis emerges, we have to think more about doing right.
Why? Because it’s no longer just about YOUR rights, because how we behave can affect many others – even those closest to us.
In a time like now, in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have to weigh our individual rights. Yes, we have the individual right to get the virus and potentially become ill. But, if we get it, and we didn’t protect ourselves properly, we could infect others. How would you feel about individual rights if someone close to you, or even a stranger, got sick BECAUSE you exercised your individual rights not to get vaccinated?
Individual rights give us choices. One of those choices is doing right.
Individual rights can be defined differently, depending on whom you ask.
It’s my body, and I have the right to do, or not do, with it what I choose.
Does this mean you have the right to use your body to hurt someone else, i.e., with a punch or a kick?
If you don’t really have the right to use your body as a physical weapon, do you have the right to use your body to potentially spread disease – as a passive weapon?
There’s a whole different debate on how women decide how to use their bodies, and whether they have the right to do with it what they choose.
We certainly all respect individual rights. But communities are made up of many individuals. If individuals all believe they have different rights from others’, how do those individuals become part of the community?
If we all want healthy communities, what are we, as individuals, doing to help ensure that? If we don’t want others to hurt us, do we still believe we have the right to hurt others?
In workplaces, individual rights have to fit within the framework of the employer’s needs. In most jobs, employees often end up having to do tasks they don’t want to do. Do they have the right to say no? Certainly, but there will be consequences that the employee may not prefer.
Incidentally, if your boss is giving you a lot of tasks you’d prefer not to do, there are ways you can build a potential income that might one day allow you to finally say no.
There are many great programs that allow you to devote a few, part-time, off-job hours a week toward building such an income. No specific education, experience or background is required.
To learn about one of the best such programs, message me.
Meanwhile, it’s worth your time to give thought to your individual rights, what is right and how you should contribute to your community.
Your rights may indeed be absolute. But to achieve the correct balance in your life, you need to find the formula of individual rights, doing right and contributing to your community that works for you and all around you.
These choices should not seem hard. In fact, they should be very simple.
Peter
WHO IS WATCHING YOU?
#WhoIsWatchingYou #BeingWatched #SomeoneIsAlwaysWatchingYou
Someone is always watching you.
It’s been said that one’s character is judged by what he or she does when no one is watching.
But, someone is always watching.
They may not watch you every minute, every hour or every day. But they are watching.
And, it’s not necessarily for sinister purposes that they are watching, as tech companies and other browsers are reported to be doing.
They are watching to see what you do, how you carry yourself, how you interact with and treat others and what results you get.
They may be watching you because they want to be like you. They may not necessarily want to imitate you, but they may look to you for guidance for their own behavior.
Just as that is true, the opposite may also be true. They may be looking at you to determine how NOT to behave in given circumstances.
If you are a parent, your children are probably your most loyal watchers. They may not always listen to you, but they ALWAYS watch you.
If you are a student, teachers and other students are watching you. They not only want to see how you perform in school, they want to see how you behave outside of school.
As adults, we may not always think our behavior is watch-worthy. We may believe we lead boring lives that no one wants to watch.
Oh, but they do. Why? They don’t watch for the entertainment value of your life – although some lives can be quite entertaining. They are more likely watching to catch some life lessons that they may want, or not, to emulate.
If you are an employee, your boss is always watching you. After all, it is his or her responsibility that YOU do what you are supposed to do at work. The boss also may be looking for how the workplace culture is affecting you. Even if you do the work properly, do you fit in to what the company is trying to achieve?
If you are a teacher, your students most definitely are watching you. Even if they seem less eager to learn than you would like, they are still watching – and learning. As with parents, they may not listen to everything you tell them, but they are watching to see whether you carry out your message.
Friends also watch you – and here’s where a sinister part may come in. They watch to see how you evolve as a person and whether they can comfortably fit into your life. They may not want you to become “too successful,” lest you leave them behind. If you get excited about a new opportunity, some friends will try to convince you that it really isn’t for you. That’s known as jealousy.
As people watch, how much you care about what they think will determine how you conduct yourself. If you are looking to do something other than what you’re doing now to enhance your own prosperity, there are many programs available to help you do that.
To learn about one of the best such programs, message me.
Someone is always watching you. How much should you care about that? A good rule of thumb is if you are trying to do everything right, you shouldn’t care. If not, perhaps you should.
But, more importantly, don’t act – or not act – based on the impression you want to leave on some watchers. Act because what you are doing is right for you, and could be right for others whom you would prefer to watch you.
Peter
FREEDOM AND RESPONSIBILITY
#freedom #responsibility #COVID19 #coronavirus #FlattenTheCurve #vaccinations
Personal freedom is your right.
But you have to use it responsibly.
You have the right to hurt yourself, but you have the responsibility not to hurt others.
To paraphrase the late Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, you have the right to swing your fist, but the responsibility not to bloody someone’s nose.
To again paraphrase Ben Franklin, we have the right to create a republic, but the responsibility to do what we must to keep it.
Personal freedoms are not just given. They are given with the caveat that we will use them responsibly.
Most of us, deep down, understand the concept. But, today, there are a few who apparently do not.
In terms of COVID-19 vaccinations, you have the right to refuse it, get ill, even die, though no one wishes that for anyone. You don’t have the right to get the virus and, however unintentionally, give it to someone else.
It all boils down to risk. Most everything we do in life involves risk. We make decisions on what to do, or not do, based on a risk (and reward) assessment.
Certainly, not all risks are worth taking. Some risks can be minimized. Some can be avoided. The key is to determine your risk tolerance based on good information, a strong feeling of self-preservation and a strong desire not to inflict unwanted hardship on others – even others you may not know.
Risk also abounds in the workplace. Most people, unless they are in knowingly risky professions, don’t see taking a job as a risk.
In fact, they see taking a job as a necessity, regardless of the hardship it brings. The risk comes in the form of missed opportunity, taking Job X instead of Job Y.
What if you took Job X, but Job Y is completely different. And you could do Job Y while keeping Job X?
There are programs out there that allow people to, while they are off from Job X, to devote a few part-time hours to Job Y. Perhaps, eventually, unless they really love Job X, Job Y may be all they need to thrive financially.
To learn about one of the best such programs, message me.
Personal freedom ALWAYS comes with responsibility.
Think of freedom like a paycheck. You have the right to collect it, but you have the responsibility to do what you must to earn it.
One craves the freedom, but also must embrace the responsibility. One has the freedom to marry, but one must have the responsibility of fidelity to that marriage.
One has the freedom to choose, but has the responsibility to choose wisely.
One has the freedom to be a daredevil, but has the responsibility to ensure daredevil antics hurt no innocent bystanders.
So, if you support personal freedom, you MUST support taking the responsibility it requires.
Freedom and requirement are not mutually exclusive terms. We all cherish the freedom the U.S. allows. We have the responsibility to ensure that freedom does not hurt others.
Peter
KNOW YOUR LIMITS, OR PUSH THROUGH OBSTACLES?
#2021Olympics #pressure #mentalhealth #decisions
Simone Biles decided to opt out many of the 2021 Olympics gymnastics events for her mental health.
Sunisa Lee almost quit gymnastics, but pressed on and eventually won a Gold Medal at the same Olympics.
CNN’s Alisyn Camerota posed the question: What is the teachable moment here?
Many of us were always told to press through obstacles. Play hurt. Don’t let setbacks stop you.
Now, with Biles and swimmer Michael Phelps, among others, there is new thinking. If your head is not in the right place, take a step back.
In other words, know your limits. It’s OK not to be OK. Time away can help you.
It was undoubtedly difficult for Biles, considered the greatest gymnast of all time, to pull out of what was said to be her last Olympics. After all, she’s the best at what she does, she can bring home many medals for the U.S. and the Olympics are what she works so hard for. Some ask, how can her mental state get in her way? Can’t she just suck it up and play through it?
As an elite athlete, both mind and body have to work together. In one of her events, Biles got a “twisty,” meaning her mind did not know where she was, what to do and how to land, in mid air.
News reports say that if she weren’t as good as she is, she could have landed wrong and injured herself, perhaps to the point of paralysis.
She’s gotten “twisties” before, but she didn’t want to risk it again, the reports say.
Meanwhile, U.S. teammate Lee, earlier in her career, was not in a good place. She thought of quitting the sport, news reports say.
Yet, she persevered. That paid off with a Gold Medal in the all-around exercises at the 2021 Olympics.
So, what do you tell your kids when they ask questions about these incidents? Often, as children, we are taught to overcome, or push through, obstacles. We are encouraged not to get discouraged.
Here’s what you may have been told: Others are depending on you.
Everyone reacts differently to that kind of pressure. Some can handle it regularly and for life. Others can handle it for a time, but not all the time. Still, others can’t handle it at all.
Elite athletes face that pressure regularly. Most have their own way of dealing with it. But, sometimes it can build up over many years to a point that it becomes too tough to handle. In that case, many elite athletes retire. Some should retire, but press on. Others press on to more success.
So, this begs a question. How do you handle obstacles? Do you simply avoid them at all cost? Or, do you accept the challenge they pose? Things will happen to you in your workplace. Many are not in your control. How do you handle them? Are you looking for something better?
There are many programs out there that allow you to spend a few, part-time, off-work hours a week to enhance your income, and your future. No specific education, experience or background is required. You just need an open mind, and willingness to do something you perhaps never thought you would do.
To learn about one of the best such programs, message me.
Lee’s and Biles’ situations are not mutually exclusive. You just have to know yourself, know what you want and know how to protect yourself. May you find the right place for you.
Peter