#workplaces #workers #pay #benefits #childcare #COVID19 #coronavirus #FlattenTheCurve
The pandemic changed everything.
First, it gave workers a bit more leverage in how they deal with work/life balance.
That has good, and bad, effects.
Workers are leaving jobs that paid little, with no flexibility in their lives, to either stay home with children – day-care costs are rising and options are limited – or moving on to jobs that pay more and, perhaps, offer some of the flexibility they want.
A story by Marc Fisher for the Washington Post, and a “This Life” column by Nedra Rhone tackle this issue in detail. Both were published Dec. 30, 2021, in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The Post story focuses on Liberty County, Ga., along the state’s coast. Liberty is a small county, with a major military institution, Ft. Stewart, as its biggest employer.
But the county is growing by adding big warehouses. These allow people to leave the small, mom-and-pop hotel and restaurant jobs for higher-paying, and often more flexible, warehouse work.
That hurts the lower-paying sole-owner businesses, causing them to cut back on hours, service etc., for lack of help.
Some employees had been laid off when many of these operations shut down. When they reopened, many of the workers did not return, for various reasons – not the least of which is the risk of being infected with COVID-19.
Meanwhile, Rhone’s column discusses the differences among various generations in how they react to changing workplaces.
The youngest generation of workers had their world turned upside down. Many now want to be entrepreneurs, meaning they may never work for anyone but themselves in their lives.
(What these young folks may not realize is that working only for oneself may have its own pitfalls. They still have to serve clients, who will be their ultimate employers).
So, all of this begs the usual question: where do you fit in this changing workplace?
Is the idea of going back to work too risky? Or, is it going to cost you more to go back to work (commuting, day care etc.) than you would make?
In summary, workplaces are changing. Workers no longer feel forced to take, or go back to, jobs that put them at risk, will cost them more to work than not, and not get a good return from the employer(s).
Employers currently are adapting by cutting back on things that could decimate their businesses. They have to find more creative ways to entice people from multiple generations, who have different hopes, dreams and attitudes toward the workplace.
To quote Donald Lovette, chairman of the Liberty County, Ga., Commission, from the Post story: “It’s not that people are lazy. It’s that some of them are better off financially by not paying for child care, staying home for a while … It’s simple economics.”
Employers, even those in basic businesses like hospitality and restaurants, have to come up with new ways to get and keep workers.
Peter
Tag Archives: benefits
NOT BUYING LUNCH CAN CREATE $90,000
#LunchMoney #savings #retirement
On average, Americans eat out lunch twice a week.
It could be more than that, if you buy your lunch at work every day.
The average American forks over $11.14 twice a week for lunch, according to a Visa survey.
If a person skipped that meal – or made or brought his own lunch – and redirected that money into an investment account earning 6 percent, he’d have an estimated nest egg of $88,500 30 years later.
These numbers were quoted in an article by Adam Shell for USA Today, also published in the June 8, 2017, edition of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
OK, sometimes dining out for any meal is a nice treat. And, one does not want to live a life of deprivation.
But if you are having trouble saving for retirement, or you believe you don’t have the money to do so, perhaps one can find the money in places he never thought to look.
As a child, if your parents gave you an allowance, it usually was meant to teach you how to make the most of your money.
If you got a weekly allowance, did your spending habits cause you to run out of money before your next allowance installment?
Ask the same thing, now that you are an adult, about your paycheck. Are you accustomed to cashing the check and spending the money until you run out? Put another way, how much of your money do you spend without first giving it a thought?
Some people are well off in retirement because they had a great job, with great benefits and a great pension plan or 401(k). Others have a nice retirement because, from the beginning of adulthood, they earned a paycheck, and knew where every cent was going. These folks also made sure that a certain percentage went into savings.
Once they saved enough money, perhaps they parlayed it into a house, which, for them, was probably a good investment. As they kept saving, they then began to invest in other things so that, when they reached retirement, they didn’t have to worry how they were going to live.
The younger you start this process, the more you will have when you get older.
So, let’s pose the question again: is skipping a couple of lunches out every week worth close to $90,000? Some might say that $90,000 won’t go far in retirement, which is true. But eating lunch at home, or bringing your own lunch to work, is just one way to build a bigger nest egg, even if your job is hardly lucrative.
Another way is to use some of your non-work time to find, and work on, other great ways to make extra money. There are many such vehicles out there that don’t involve taking a second job. To check out one of the best, message me. Perhaps you will also find other ways to save money, besides not buying lunch.
So, it is possible to have a nice retirement, even though your income is hardly a rich person’s tally. You may have to do without some things that give you a moment of pleasure. Naturally, don’t cut ALL fun out of your life, but just take great care in your spending habits. Perhaps you could not only bring your own homemade lunch to work, you could brew and Thermos your own coffee.
Then, you have to be disciplined enough to put that money into safe savings at the start. As your nest egg grows, you can graduate into investing, without being overly aggressive at first. Then, as the money grows you can parlay it into more diversified investing – all with the help of a trusted adviser.
So, to borrow from Stephen Sondheim, here’s to the ladies (and gentlemen) who lunch – without spending $11 a pop.
Peter
WE NEED RISK TO GROW
Everything is risky.
Getting in a car, an airplane, even going to school as a child is risky. We only have to look at the number of shootings and killings at schools in recent times to realize that.
With so much risk out there, why don’t we crave it?
Growing up in the 1950s or 1960s, we learned to love security. By security, we meant a job, with benefits and a pension. Companies and employers didn’t change much during these times. As long as you worked hard, you advanced. As long as you kept out of trouble, you could work there for as long as you wanted.
Today, having a job is risky. Benefits and pensions, if they are there at all, have been cut. Because progress happens at a much more rapid pace, companies need to be flexible, and change happens more often. Job descriptions, if they exist, are not cast in concrete. They can change a lot, and often.
You could be one reorganization away from losing everything you hold dear at work. You could be one bad manager away from having a career stopped in its tracks – no matter your age or how good you are at what you do.
But, instead of bemoaning our quickly changing times, you could embrace them. When we were taught that risk was bad, and security was good, how much did it hold us back from being the best we could be?
Today, being good, or the best, at something may not be appreciated. The thing you’re good at may become expendable. A company that gave you glowing evaluations yesterday may toss you out as excess tomorrow. It’s not your fault. But you can control what happens next for you.
One cannot grow without embracing risk. You don’t have to jump from airplanes, if that’s not your thing, to embrace risk. But you may have to do things that previously were not comfortable for you. Yes, you have to do it afraid.
If you are young and just getting out of school, don’t expect to get a job, or join a company, and hang around for 40 years. It could happen, but it is less and less likely as time passes. Expect that any job you take will be short-lived. What you were hired for yesterday could change even before your first day of work.
What to do? First, if you are young, take a job and manage expectations. Presume your job will change often. You may not get rewarded for all the change you endure, but presume change will happen often.
Secondly, keep your eyes open for opportunity. If you see an opportunity to use your skills and work for yourself, that would be ideal. There are many of those opportunities out there. To check out one of the best, visit www.bign.com/pbilodeau. It may or may not be for you, but don’t be deterred just because it seems uncomfortable. Remember, you can do this if you see it.
Thirdly, embrace risk and forget security. Today’s relative pillars of security can collapse on you in a heartbeat. Take what the world gives you, for as long as it gives it to you, as long as it works for you. But if something is working for you, don’t presume it will ALWAYS work for you.
Remember, too, that no one has achieved great success without risk. There are some great, true stories out there from those who started with nothing but an idea, and made it work for them. That’s not to say you should risk EVERYTHING all the time, or that you should be reckless with your circumstances. But don’t let discomfort alone deter you. Don’t let a full plate of activity keep you from seeing the bigger picture.
Don’t be trapped into “security.” It could be all gone tomorrow.
Peter
YOU’LL NEVER BE …
When you were young, even now, were, or are, there people telling you that you’ll never be whatever it is you want to be?
Are they telling you to accept your station in life, even if YOU believe you don’t have to?
Are your (pick one: parents, relatives, teachers, friends) telling you that you should stop dreaming and start thinking practical thoughts — a job, with benefits, pension etc.?
Is all the talk about finding your passion being blown off by those closest to you?
First, there are some things you might never be. For example, to be an opera star, you have to have both the natural voice and the rigorous training. You might have the drive and passion to go through the training, but without the natural voice, it might be futile.
But, more likely, those close to you are telling you things like, “you’ll never be rich.” Or, “you’ll never go on a trip like THAT!” Or, “you’ll never live THERE!”
Perhaps you grew up in a working-class household. Your parents wanted a better life for you than they had, but their goals for you may have yet been limited. After all, they are working-class parents. They see what the kids of rich families have, and didn’t want you to aim too high. Parental wealth begets privileges and opportunities that you don’t have.
There is nothing wrong with the working class. We certainly need people to do certain jobs. They make the world a better place. But if you have something inside you that tells you that you can do better, don’t brush that aside. Don’t think yourself unwise to aspire higher than those close to you have mapped out for you.
Here’s the thing: in today’s world, having a traditional job is risky. Most in your parents’ world found safety and security in working for someone else who paid them a decent salary, benefits and pension. They made a life – even a good life – out of their 40-40-40 life. They worked their 40 hours, for 40 years and believed they could retire on the 40 percent of the income they earned. It may not have been a luxurious life, and there may have been things they believed they had to do without, but in their minds, things worked out.
Those set-for-life circumstances are hard to come by. Jobs come and go. Technology and cheap overseas labor are making the secure jobs of your parents’ era nearly impossible to find. A college education is certainly desirable, but, if college isn’t right for you, you should not be forced into it. You should not be forced into accruing the debt it takes to get through college. Depending on what you study in college, the time and work you spend on education may be as futile as operatic training without the natural voice.
But that doesn’t mean you can’t fulfill your dreams. With a computer, a good idea and a little knowledge of the Internet, you can do lots of things. Even without a lot of knowledge, you can do lots of things if you are willing to explore non-traditional income avenues. For a look at one of the best of those, visit www.bign.com/pbilodeau . If you have the dream and the drive, and don’t want to listen to those who would limit you, you might find just the thing to change your life.
So when someone uses the words “you’ll never be …” referring to you, listen with the proverbial third ear. Are they saying you’ll never be … because they weren’t? Would THEY be more comfortable to see you limit your potential? Would it make THEM feel better if you followed their advice? If you hear that in your third ear, take heed. They may not necessarily be talking about YOUR best interests.
Remember that if you want something badly enough, unless you’re an opera buff without the voice or have some other God-given limitation that will keep you from certain pursuits, you can get it if you find the right thing to be passionate about.
If the naysayers try to stand in your way, tell them you are doing today what they won’t, so you can do tomorrow what they can’t.
Peter