#employers #employees #jobs #work #wages #salaries
You have a full-time job making, to use a number, $7 per hour.
Multiply that by 40 hours, and your weekly pay is $280.
If you live, to use a number, five miles from your job, you will travel 10 miles per day, back and forth to work.
If gasoline, to use a round number, costs $3 a gallon, you will spend $150 a week in gasoline to get back and forth to work. Subtracting that from your $280 salary, that leaves you with $130.
Multiply $130 by four weeks (a month), you’ll have $520 left for food, rent etc.
If your rent is $1,000 a month, you won’t make it.
We’ve not even figured in wear and tear on your car from commuting, any medical needs you may have – much less discretionary spending. If you have children who must be cared for while you work, you can’t afford that.
Politicians of many stripes make a big deal about people sitting home collecting government benefits while not working. Most everyone who is able would like to work – if not merely for the money, but to get out and about, meet people etc. But, most workers do not want to be taken advantage of by an employer.
The good news in today’s labor market is that hourly wages are going up because people are “choosing” – that’s the term many politicians use – not to work, and companies are trying to entice them back, or keep the workers they have.
The point of this discussion is that people, by and large, are not lazy. They want to work. But they also want that job to cover their necessities. When that doesn’t happen, people are less likely to want to work.
Chances are, if your job pays $7 an hour, you do not have the option to work from home. You have to go someplace to work.
Even in professions like teaching, salaries in some places make it difficult to work and otherwise take care of yourself and your family.
Regarding teaching, we won’t even discuss the harassment, political hassles etc., that add stress to an already undercompensated job.
In short, the economics of going to work are not cut and dried. Everything depends on what you make, where you live and whether you can meet your expenses with what you make.
Employers who long for the days when workers were plentiful, and would work for whatever they would pay them, keep dreaming. Those days are gone, particularly as the U.S. cracks down on immigrants.
Work is desirable for most people, and most employers like to have hiring options. But the math has to work not only for the employer, but also the employee.
It’s difficult to find the sweet spot, in which employees are paid appropriately to live, employers are making money and all is well with the world.
Today’s world is not that simple. For those who believe it is (some politicians believe that people will come back to work those menial jobs when their savings run out), you are living in a fantasy world.
Remember, if you are working at a $7 an hour job, you probably don’t have savings to rely on anyway.
Again, the good news is the job market is getting wise to the situation. More employers are offering more enticements to get workers back. Some assurance that paychecks won’t dry up if another pandemic, or some other disaster, hits, would also be helpful.
People want to work. Employers want workers. The numbers have to jibe on both ends to keep everyone happy.
Peter
Monthly Archives: June 2024
WHO IS ALLOWED TO THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX?
#ThinkOutsideTheBox #JobParameters #jobs #employers #employees
Think outside the box.
Have you ever been encouraged to do that at, say, your work?
Did you then ask yourself: do they really want me to think outside the box?
Most employees are in a box called their job. Certain duties are prescribed within that box.
Your boss(es), in most cases, want you to stay within that box. If you go rogue, and do something outside that box, you may get punished.
As an employee, your goal may be to do the best job you can within your box, with the hope that you may be elevated to a different position that may allow more flexibility to think outside the box.
Of course, upper management wants managers to think outside the box and look for efficiencies or better ways to accomplish tasks that could add to the bottom line.
But as a low-level employee, in most companies, you are given a box (parameters) and not allowed in most cases to stray from it (them).
As employers, what do you think your company could be if everyone at every level were allowed to think outside the box?
Might you find a hidden gem of an employee deep in your organization? Does your business model allow for everyone to think outside the box? Do you and your managers have a monopoly on finding better ways to do the necessary tasks?
Some organizations certainly have a culture that allows creative thinking at all levels. Technology companies HAVE to have that to find the best ideas.
But those companies that make widgets, or simple things, might feel the need to put everyone who works there in a box for greater efficiency and attention to detail. If the employees are unionized, the contract may prescribe the box for each employee.
As an employee, you are astute to think about it when someone, say, your boss, encourages you to think outside the box.
Does he (she) really want me to do that? Does he (she) really want me to suggest better ways he (she) can better do his (her) job? Will those different ways be better for him (her) or me?
Certainly, if unsure about what the boss meant, it’s best to go about doing your job, within your box, to the best of your ability.
But, if you see a safe opportunity to offer a new idea, or to try something new that could be better, by all means go for it.
You may be surprised indeed at the reception you get, particularly if you feel your company’s culture would allow for it.
In summary, be wary when someone tells you to think outside the box at work. It could be a setup or ambush. Most companies have a competitive culture, in which managers are always looking over their shoulders. The words may sound encouraging, but try not to be fooled.
But, if employers really want their staffs to think outside the box, make sure the culture is clear and well established so that employees can feel safe doing so.
You may be surprised at the results you, and your employees, can achieve.
Peter
Think outside the box.
Have you ever been encouraged to do that at, say, your work?
Did you then ask yourself: do they really want me to think outside the box?
Most employees are in a box called their job. Certain duties are prescribed within that box.
Your boss(es), in most cases, want you to stay within that box. If you go rogue, and do something outside that box, you may get punished.
As an employee, your goal may be to do the best job you can within your box, with the hope that you may be elevated to a different position that may allow more flexibility to think outside the box.
Of course, upper management wants managers to think outside the box and look for efficiencies or better ways to accomplish tasks that could add to the bottom line.
But as a low-level employee, in most companies, you are given a box (parameters) and not allowed in most cases to stray from it (them).
As employers, what do you think your company could be if everyone at every level were allowed to think outside the box?
Might you find a hidden gem of an employee deep in your organization? Does your business model allow for everyone to think outside the box? Do you and your managers have a monopoly on finding better ways to do the necessary tasks?
Some organizations certainly have a culture that allows creative thinking at all levels. Technology companies HAVE to have that to find the best ideas.
But those companies that make widgets, or simple things, might feel the need to put everyone who works there in a box for greater efficiency and attention to detail. If the employees are unionized, the contract may prescribe the box for each employee.
As an employee, you are astute to think about it when someone, say, your boss, encourages you to think outside the box.
Does he (she) really want me to do that? Does he (she) really want me to suggest better ways he (she) can better do his (her) job? Will those different ways be better for him (her) or me?
Certainly, if unsure about what the boss meant, it’s best to go about doing your job, within your box, to the best of your ability.
But, if you see a safe opportunity to offer a new idea, or to try something new that could be better, by all means go for it.
You may be surprised indeed at the reception you get, particularly if you feel your company’s culture would allow for it.
In summary, be wary when someone tells you to think outside the box at work. It could be a setup or ambush. Most companies have a competitive culture, in which managers are always looking over their shoulders. The words may sound encouraging, but try not to be fooled.
But, if employers really want their staffs to think outside the box, make sure the culture is clear and well established so that employees can feel safe doing so.
You may be surprised at the results you, and your employees, can achieve.
Peter