Born in Berlin, N.H.; bachelor of arts, major in journalism, Northeastern University; master's degree in urban studies, Southern Connecticut State University; was an editor and reporter at New Haven Register, an editor at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and a reporter at The Meriden Record-Journal. Now a freelance writer and editor.
#jobs #ClimbingLadders #ClimbingCareerLadders #WorkLifeBalance Most of us grew up thinking we had to have a career. Start at the bottom, work our way up through the ranks and advance financially along the way. Author Bruce Feiler, in his book, “The Search: Finding Meaningful Work in a Post-Career World,” turns the notion of a career on its head. While some people set goals and stick with them, many others revise their passions, change direction and rethink priorities in the middle of “careers,” Feiler says. People who are the happiest, Feiler says, are those that don’t climb. Instead, they dig, to look for their true selves. Feiler is right in one sense. Not everyone has to, or wants to, climb career ladders. And, people often change direction during their working lives, as he points out. Some of these changes involve personal preference. For example, a person is hired for Job X, but observes someone doing Job Y and decides he or she would like to try that. The person may try Job Y until he or she observes someone doing Job Z, so they try that etc. However, most changes in jobs, careers and work situations are foisted upon workers. These changes are happening more frequently as technology and other advances reform workplaces. These reforms are not always for the better, as far as workers are concerned. There seems to be a constant desire among employers to want to replace people with machines. After all, machines don’t need benefits, vacations etc. And, they don’t complain. You can already see more changes coming: driverless vehicles, artificial intelligence etc. Perhaps at one or more of your academic graduations you heard someone tell you to follow your passion. You later find that passion doesn’t always make you a living. Being good or knowledgeable at something is marvelous, as long as you realize that it may not help you pay bills. Therefore, it is incumbent upon each worker to find the good thing(s) about a job, and focus on that (them). As one focuses on the good, always be thinking that all good things will come to an end. Perhaps what makes a job good, or, at least, tolerable, could disappear suddenly. In fact, the job itself could go away. Feiler is correct in saying that climbing, or trying to climb, a career ladder doesn’t work for everyone. Sometimes, a ceiling – justified or not – gets in the way. Sometimes, what’s at the top may not turn out to be worth the climb, and one doesn’t find that out until he or she reaches it. And, of course, the higher one climbs, the harder they can fall. The point here is that lives are made not by happenstance, but by decisions and effort. Wise decisions may not always involve career advancement. It’s OK to decide not to climb. Regardless, whatever path you choose, give it all you have for as long as you are able, or for as long as you are allowed. Remember, too, that your life outside of work can be more important than the job. Don’t let a job deprive you of that part of your life. In other words, as Feiler says, it might be better to dig rather than climb. It might be better to be a chipmunk than a squirrel. Peter
#MultigenerationalWorkers #employers #employees #jobs In decades past, people in workplaces had similar views of how to work. Basically, you were given a job, and you did it based on how you were trained and what the boss expects of you. Also back then, workers ranged in age from teens to the 60s in most cases, and they grew to adulthood in similar ways. Today’s workplaces have multigenerational workers. There might be someone in his or her 80s, or even older, mixing with younger generations and middle-agers. As technology advanced, each generation grew up differently. Not only is each generation different in technological knowledge and comfort, each generation has formed different attitudes about work in general. The nose-to-the-grindstone middle-aged and older workers are mixing with generations that look for something else from their jobs. It’s not laziness, in most cases. It’s that some may think work and the rest of their lives need more balance. Some may also believe they can find easier ways to complete tasks that differ from the usual training. Some may even think that some assignments are downright unnecessary. These differing attitudes about work can confound managers. Managers thrive on conformity. They thrive on control. They thrive on workers meeting them where THEY are, not the other way around. Worker X may not necessarily be wrong to think the way he or she does. But because his or her thinking may not be in line with the manager’s, problems can arise. Add to that the difficulty in finding enough workers in many occupations, managers seem to be the ones who have to adapt more than the workers. For the record, workers have to realize that jobs have expectations. You can’t just take a job and do what you want. There are some workplace rules that must be followed, to comply with laws, ethical and professional standards. And, more importantly, the work must get done. Therefore, there must be SOME order in the workplace. Most jobs are hard, in one form or another. They will take a toll on your life to varying degrees. If they did not, they wouldn’t pay you. Employers in decades past had hard and fast rules about telephone use. One could not take personal calls at work unless it was urgent. With many generations today, taking one’s eyes off one’s phone is, well, difficult. Yes, personal devices can be useful to communicate necessary workplace matter. But, spending one’s entire work shift on one’s phone doing non-workplace tasks is not advised. The managers’ positions are dicey. How do you get the most from your workers, without interfering with their privacy? Work rules have to be carefully constructed, and obvious violations have to be dealt with. But, some managerial flexibility may be in order in a diverse, multi-generational workforce. Having a job is not easy. Keeping a job may be even more difficult. But, keeping good workers, no matter their age, may be the biggest challenge in today’s world. Peter
#vote #RegisterToVote #USCitizens #NaturalizedCitizens #NativeBornCityzens In the past few weeks, thousands of people from many countries have become U.S. citizens. For most, the process took years. But, they say, it was well worth it. On July 3, 2024, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution covered some of these citizenship ceremonies. In one case, political columnist Patricia Murphy told the story of her cousin from Ireland finally becoming a U.S. citizen. The privilege of U.S. citizenship is valuable to anyone who comes here from any other country. Usually, the first thing these new citizens look forward to is registering to vote and casting their ballots. Many native-born citizens of this country do not take advantage of that right to vote. Every election, be it local, state or federal, is important. If you are a native-born or long naturalized citizen of the U.S., and are of eligible age, do what the newly naturalized citizens look forward to: register and vote! Politicians will do their thing. Courts will do their thing. If you don’t like what they are doing, vote them out! If you admire what they are doing, or say they are going to do, vote them in! Don’t let minor mishaps by candidates discourage you from voting. In the upcoming elections, it will come down to WHAT you are voting for, not whom you are voting for. Our system of democratic government has shown its fragility recently. There are some who want to eliminate it altogether. If you don’t want that to happen, make sure you vote for candidates at every level that have pledged to preserve it. The preservation of our system of government is more than just a partisan issue, or a matter of opinion. It’s a matter of power. Some would rather have the few control the lives of the many. If you think voting for candidates who want to disrupt that system is a good idea, you may miss our system of government when it’s gone. Giving Person X ultimate power today because you like him or her may lead to Person Y, whom you may not like, coming to power tomorrow. An election may not be able to stop that. Often, a person who gets power this way will find ways not to leave power, regardless of the people’s preferences. We’ve also recently seen courts, for the first time in the nation’s history, start to take rights AWAY from people. If you don’t want that to keep happening, vote for candidates at all levels who will appoint judges who will enhance and increase rights, not remove them. Remember, what you think you have the right to do today may not be available to you tomorrow. The reason for optimism here is that the people STILL have power to control much of the country’s destiny. New citizens cherish the right to vote here. It should be cherished by ALL citizens. If you think your vote doesn’t count, it will count more than ever. Don’t sit out an election because you don’t like the choices. Remember, some choices are so much worse than others. As a voter, you have to discern the worst alternative, and vote for the other candidate. Voting should be made as easy to do for everyone eligible in all jurisdictions. Still, regardless of attempts to restrict voting, as some want, you, as a citizen, must persevere and do whatever you must to vote at all levels. Damn the long lines and other obstacles. Make sure you register, vote and get your vote counted. Your future definitely will depend on it. Peter
#housing #YoungAdults #HighCostOfLiving #HousingPrices #parents If you are a young adult, do you believe you will have a better life than your parents? In decades past, and, perhaps, still today, parents’ goal was to give their child(ren) a better life than they had. But, young folks today, in large numbers, don’t see that as a possibility. Many of them still rely on help from their parents to get through daily life. Remember last week, we talked about the cost of going to work? Now, we will examine one of the effects. Perhaps this problem began as home prices really started to accelerate back in the 1970s. Many children who grew up in relatively affluent towns could not afford to live there on their own as adults. They could not afford the home prices or apartment rentals. So, if they wanted to stay close to home, they moved to nearby towns and cities that were not nearly as affluent and had more affordable housing options. Perhaps, they thought, someday they’d have enough money to move back to the town in which they grew up. Maybe, they could even inherit mom and dad’s house when they died. This was when living at home with mom and dad was, shall we say, less desirable. Today, young people are really feeling the squeeze. The jobs they can get, even with a college education, don’t pay much more, figuring for inflation, than they did back in the 1970s. But housing costs during those decades have ballooned. Housing that was unaffordable in the 1970s is completely out of reach today for young folks. Even housing in the less affluent towns has become more difficult for young folks to buy, or even rent. Add to that the rising cost of everything else: food, fuel, day care, education etc., and starting a life in one’s 20s today without help is nearly impossible. Many in that age group are postponing marriage, children and other life expectations (at least their parents expect them) because of costs. Never mind that some of them are already burdened with student loan debt. Today’s employers are not seeing young people coming into the workforce in droves because they can’t live on what they will be paid. Companies are expanding and relocating to new environs, thus creating jobs. But few of the jobs they are creating will go to people who already live in those places. They will go to people who will move to those locales because of the jobs, which brings increasing property values that aggravate the problem. As an aside, American retirees moving overseas to less expensive countries are pricing the young locals there out of some of their markets. For many young people today, getting ahead financially is a somewhat foreign concept. How to survive, day to day, is a more pressing matter. There are signs that wages are rising, contributing to inflation and creating an economic chicken-and-egg roller coaster for everyone. So, starting an adult life is hard today. The idea of finding a first apartment, or house, that is affordable, then trading up over time may be foolhardy thinking. A combination of public and private solutions to this problem are in demand right now. Perhaps the catalyst to solving this problem may lie in an idea no one has yet conceived. Still, it’s vitally important for young people to cultivate and maintain optimism. You are the future. You, and your cohort, may be the ones to solidify that future for your whole generation. Peter
#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
#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
#MemorialDay #graduations #summer #vacation #recreation #happiness #sadness #anger It’s Memorial Day, 2024. It’s supposed to be a day we reserve to honor those who died serving our country, and many people in many places do just that. It’s also the beginning of graduation season, when our friends and family end one journey, and, presumably, start another. It’s also the unofficial start of summer, which signifies warm weather, good times, vacation and leisure. Or, if you are a student ending a school year, perhaps you are starting a summer job. No matter your situation, Memorial Day often is seen as a start or an ending. This begs a thought: what should I start, or what should I end? The healthy thinking here is to look forward to many good things you can make happen. Are you angry all the time, but can’t put your finger on why? Perhaps you should start new behavior that will end that feeling. There is so much good out there and so many reasons to be happy and optimistic. Perhaps you can start by looking forward to, say, jumping in a pool, lake or ocean for a good time. That may begin to take your mind off what makes you angry. Are you sad more often than you are happy? Why do you feel that way? It’s understandable, on Memorial Day, if you are mourning someone lost in battle. When one loses a loved one by any means, it is difficult, if not impossible, to get past. In such a case, you have to think that your loved one is in a better place, even if he or she is not with you. Then, you have to focus on things that make YOU happy. As the trees and flowers are in full bloom, it’s often little things like that that begin to take the edge off sorrow. In the past few years, life seems to have hit people harder than it ever has. Many people have lost good jobs, and can’t find a job that comes close to replacing what they have lost. What hasn’t been lost, usually, is the motivation to succeed. As the world changes, we may have to put that motivation into something new. The effects of the pandemic of a few years ago still linger. In fact, the disease is still around. Yet, we have found ways to deal with it, like vaccines, so that if it comes back to us, we are more likely to handle it better than we would have at the beginning. Things are costing more, be they groceries, housing, cars etc. At the same time, in many cases, people are getting paid more. If you are getting paid more than you were a few years ago, it’s only logical that the things you buy are going to cost you more. So, ask yourself: is getting that raise worth paying a little more for groceries? The cost of housing has been discussed in detail here, and there are no easy answers. Sometimes, to provide for oneself, one has to watch what he or she spends, and evaluate the importance of each of those purchases. So, as you have a meaningful Memorial Day, think of the people or things that mean the most to you. Think of ways you can improve yourself, your life and pursue happiness. It’s not always easy, but it is definitely healthier to pursue happiness than to harbor anger and/or wallow in sadness. Peter
#housing #HousingCosts #YoungAdults #BuyingAHouse #SellingAHouse It’s not easy being a young adult today, trying to build a life. As Bill Torpy, columnist for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, points out, the median price for a house in Atlanta today is $405,000. He discussed the perils of young adults and housing in his May 12, 2024, column. If you are 20-something, married or single, can you afford $405,000 for a house? With rents on apartments also skyrocketing, it’s no wonder many young people are still leaning on “the bank of mom and dad” for help. There are a number of issues driving up housing costs. In decades past, a young person could get an affordable apartment to live in until he or she was able to buy a house. After all, The American Dream included home ownership. They would buy their first house and live there until they outgrew it. Then, they would sell it to buy a bigger house. They would keep trading up in housing size as needed, until they reached retirement age. Then, they might sell their bigger house and trade down to a smaller one, perhaps in a retirement locale with the various amenities for older folks. That pattern is more or less out the window today. Buying and selling real estate has become something of a cut-threat endeavor. In those old days, a person starting out might offer a price for a house that was a bit less than the seller had asked. The seller, looking for a firm sale, would usually accept. Today, it’s more likely that a buyer will have to bid up from the asking price, and might still lose out. The demand for housing today is way over what the supply is. Because people can’t make any more land, most property available for building has been spoken for. That caps the supply at a certain level, but the population has grown considerably from decades ago, and keeps growing. Also in the housing mix are entities such as property management companies, hedge funds and real estate investment trusts that tempt sellers with cash offers, leaving many young buyers out of luck. Meanwhile, apartments and condos are going up like crazy in some areas. Often, new apartments mean high rent, and new condos can be overpriced and have high owner fees to maintain common areas etc. Tiny houses, and housing made from shipping containers also have been trending. These are not an option if one plans to have a family, or even a spouse. Something else is happening today. Many young adults want everything now. They won’t settle for a fixer-upper, or rooms they view as too small. Many want what they are used to – what their parents have. And, they want it now. They are unwilling to accept something less, and work up to what they ultimately want. If you are young, and do not want to live with mom and dad for the rest of your life, flexibility is the key. Chances are, even if you buy or rent someplace that’s not exactly what you want, figure on making do until you can save enough to afford more. As you trade up, you may not get everything you want at each stage. But, with each stage, you may get something more. It’s not always possible in some areas to find adequate, affordable housing. But, if you keep looking, you may run into something you can work with. By the way, try not to get too comfortable living with mom and dad. Remember, too, that a house is a house. A home is what you make with the house you have. Peter
#WorkFromHome #OfficeSpace #PersonalInteractions #jobs #employers #employees Companies that require office workers face a dilemma. Since COVID-19 forced many workers to toil from home, some workers don’t want to come back to the office. Their employers who pay for the office space want more workers to come back, at least once in a while. Some, like Cisco in its Midtown Atlanta offices, are resorting to upgrading their office space by focusing on improving indoor environmental factors, according to an article by Zachary Hansen in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The article was published April 14, 2023. In fact, as a new Portman Midtown Atlanta office tower goes up, it may be the last of its kind for a while, Hansen writes in an article published May 13, 2024. But, will those things entice workers back into the office? Many have gotten used to working from home, or somewhere else. The advantages – no commute, no buying lunch at work and other money savings, for example – outweigh the disadvantages – no office worker interaction, distractions at home etc. That puts companies in somewhat of a bind. How much office space do they really need? Does having an office building, or office space in general, give a company an identity that makes it worth having? Is upgrading office space to entice workers back going to be worth the investment? Will workers respond by coming back into the office? These are the decisions of the future, both for companies and their employees. If a company forces workers to come back into the office, will they quit? If a worker has a great job he or she doesn’t want to lose, will he or she give up the freedom that working from home gives them? Will being home, with young children, be too much of a distraction for workers? Will they then bear the expenses of commuting, day care etc.? Of course, many workers dream of having these alternatives. Many workers HAVE to go to work at a specific location. They cannot possibly do their jobs from home. They must interact with bosses, customers, coworkers etc. But, if there are choices available, is there a way a worker can have it all with some sort of hybrid work schedule? As discussed here before, if workers can do their jobs remotely, they can essentially live anywhere. They don’t have to be in a high-cost, high-tax locale, even if their employer is. They can live where they want and still have the job they want. But, as a society, do we want to encourage such a solitary lifestyle? Of course, essentially working alone cuts down on arguments. You don’t have to sit at a lunch table with someone you don’t like, or with whom you disagree on just about everything. Still, we all benefit from having personal interactions with people. Some service organizations who meet regularly, even if they don’t require regular attendance, encourage it because club members are deprived of the presence of those who are absent. They see that as a loss. So, most people will make decisions about where and how they work based on personal preference, unless companies impose requirements. We will all miss something if too many people do not interact with one another. The workplace is the easiest, and often the best, place to do that. Peter
#CampusProtests #youth #FinancialSecurity #GenerationalWealth #frustration In generations past, parents always wanted their children to have it much better than they did. Often, that was achieved. If parents worked at manual jobs, they wanted their kids to go to college, so they would not have to do manual jobs. Many of today’s young people see no way they can have a better life, at least economically, than their parents. That is, short of inheriting the wealth their parents accumulated. Many of these young people come out of college with huge student debt. If they become, say, schoolteachers, there is hardly any way they can pay off that debt AND buy a house AND start a family etc., as far as they can see. The protests on college campuses today seem to be over the war in the Middle East. But, author Scott Galloway, in his book, “The Algebra of Wealth: A Single Formula for Financial Security,” says young people are not seeing themselves as ever becoming better off than their parents. That may lead to the frustration some students are expressing in the campus protests. Galloway appeared on “Inside with Jen Psaki” on MSNBC May 5, 2024. From another perspective, Nedra Rhone, “Real Life” columnist for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, writes that this year’s college graduates may have been deprived of both of a high school graduation ceremony because of the COVID-19 lockdowns of four years ago, and now perhaps of a college graduation ceremony because of the campus protests. You have to feel for this generation, Rhone says. Her column on the subject also was published May 5, 2024 Financial security for young people – again, short of a big inheritance from mom and dad – is getting harder to achieve. Today, unlike in decades past, going to work is a big cost in terms of commutes, child care etc. If the return paycheck hardly compensates for that, frustration can build. Working from home, if allowed, can ease that stress, but not everyone has that ability. The good-paying jobs that result from expensive college educations don’t pay as well as one might think, when comparing the cost of living today with the cost of living their parents faced. Housing costs are way up from decades ago, both in home prices and rents. If one becomes a teacher, and, perhaps, marries another teacher, even both of their paychecks may not give them enough to house themselves and otherwise enjoy life. We are not even talking about those who do not get a college degree. Of course, those who go into the trades – plumbers, electricians etc. – can do very well because they will always be in demand. But, surprisingly few kids are exploring that route. After all, the work can be hard and long. Many may have even watched parents work hard in trades, and don’t want to do that. So, the frustration among young kids today may have been building over time. Some may feel quite hopeless, which may spawn mental illness. They may find the jobs they WANT to do don’t pay enough. They either have to do something else they may not like, have a “side hustle” in their free time or try to scrape together a living with what they make doing what they like. Some still lean on mom and dad for help well into their adult lives. How on earth, some are thinking, are they ever going to retire? There is no better formula, perhaps, than to live below one’s means, if that’s even possible, and put the leftover money into savings. Each time one gets a raise, put that into savings, if possible. There is no easy answer for this young generation. But, by all means, they should focus on optimism, relationships and finding less costly enjoyments in life. Peter
