#tools #jobs #employers #employees #WorkingRelationships
To paraphrase a PayCom TV ad: Are you using the right tools for your job? Why would any company not want you to have the right tools?
To illustrate, the ad shows a ditch digger using only a spoon and a high-rise window washer using only a toothbrush, for example.
The questions posed by the ad, however, are on point.
So many employers throughout the years have skimped on giving their employees the right tools for the job.
Perhaps they were hesitant to make the investment. Such thinking is shortsighted. The employer will either pay now, or pay later for that mistake.
Such thinking also forces employees to “make do” with what they have. That can have varying effects. It can bring out creativity and innovation among employees. It can also create frustration among employees, even to the point that they leave.
Though it may be difficult to have ideal situations in the workplace, it would be wise for employers to see employees simply “making do,” and wonder how much better their operations would work if the employees had the right tools.
In the modern workplace, the “right tools” can change quickly. Technology can become obsolete as soon as it is first integrated into an operation.
It’s a tough ask for employers to constantly update the technology. An employer can be constantly chasing shiny new objects. But the onus is on both employers and employees to find the sweet spot among jobs and tools.
Here’s a good rule: if employers and employees have good communication among each other, and everyone knows where everyone is coming from, that’s a great beginning.
Employees who need better tools need to sell the employer on the advantages of investing in such tools. Employers have to make it clear to employees how much money is available to invest in tools, and what the best bang for that buck is.
Some employers have surveyed employees on what they would like to have to do their jobs better. Answers can vary by the job, of course. But, in all cases, good communication and good working relationships among all concerned are required.
Some unions have resorted to destroying their tools in disputes with employers. Why would any worker destroy the things that THEY work with?
Do they think, by destroying their tools that they are never going to need them again?
In short, good tools make good work and good workers. Even with limited company budgets, employers have to know what tools will give their workers the best productivity.
Sometimes, that requires investment beyond a company’s perceived limit. Sometimes, employees have to innovate and create to compensate for the unavailability of certain tools.
No one wants ditch diggers to only have a spoon, or a window washer to only have a toothbrush. But finding the appropriate tools for various jobs can be a fluid process. Good communication and relationships among all concerned can facilitate that process.
Peter
Tag Archives: employees
GREAT RESIGNATION ENDING?
#GreatResignation #jobs #workers #employees #employers
Recent reports have said the so-called “Great Resignation” is ending.
Presumably, that would give employers more leverage, since people aren’t quitting their jobs in droves anymore.
Part of the reason The Great Resignation is ending may be that employers are taking better care of their employees, so they are staying put.
A warning to employers: Don’t get to confident in the leverage you may think you are getting back.
There are still labor shortages in lots of areas. New jobs, particularly in clean energy, electric vehicles and other new technology, are being created in good numbers.
Still, people staying with their employers can be a good sign for employees. Job hopping, though sometimes necessary, is not fun. A good stable work environment makes life better for most workers.
A warning for employees: Don’t presume your good, stable work environment will last as long as you want it to. In fact, other reports are showing employers going back to converting full-time positions to part time.
Today’s companies have to be flexible, and change with technology. They will be looking to shift costs and find efficiencies daily. Therefore, today’s stability can be tomorrow’s uncertainty. And, you won’t know when that change occurs, until it does.
The pandemic taught everyone that good jobs, and good employees, are both desirable. Employers constantly are working constantly to find the sweet spot of happy workers, happy customers and good profits.
Many employers have stepped up – most out of necessity – to take care of their workers as best as they can.
If you are happy with your work situation, keep it for as long as you can. But, have an eye out for changes that you can anticipate. Remember, if you see waste and redundancy in your workplace, it won’t be long before your boss sees it, too.
If you find yourself becoming no longer necessary, look for something else.
Remember, too, that there will be changes you cannot anticipate. Therefore, have a plan for the day you walk into work, only to find you are being laid off.
One such plan may start as a so-called side hustle. Income diversity eases unanticipated change. And, some side hustles can turn into full-time endeavors, or better.
While you are in your current job, try to be as useful as you can be. Show your employer – not necessarily in a flashy sense – how much you can do and how well you can do it.
In the past, workers were often advised to keep their heads down, lest they be chopped off.
That does not work today. As an employee, visibility is essential. Remember, too, that just being seen is not enough. Be seen and be useful to the maximum extent possible.
By most accounts, today’s workplaces are better than they were a few years ago. Still, that doesn’t mean anyone – employers or employees – should be complacent.
In today’s world, good situations seldom last for as long as the people experiencing them want them to.
Therefore, be visible, be diligent and be wary.
Peter
WORKERS, PAY AND JOBS
#workers #pay #jobs #employers #employees
A local company was looking for “medical professionals” for $12 to $15 per hour, according to an electronic billboard.
Just down the street, at Buc-ees, they are paying non-professional labor up to $16 per hour.
And, Buc-ees has 401(k) matches, paid time off and other benefits.
It’s unclear what else you would get at the local company looking for “medical professionals.”
This contrast illustrates today’s labor market. In fairness to the local company, it’s unclear what type of “medical professionals” they are looking for. If they are looking for nurses, for example, it’s doubtful in this market that any nurse would work for so little, unless there was some other, overriding benefit to working there.
Buc-ees, a chain of highway rest stops that tout clean restrooms, loads of gas pumps, electric charging stations and an array of food and other items, is more like a Wal-Mart, in size and variety, than your basic convenience store/gas station.
Buc-ees makes no bones about wanting to take care of its work force as best it can.
More employers are encouraged – perhaps being forced – to be more rewarding to its workers, given the staffing shortages in nearly every industry.
It’s worth noting that some of the higher paid professional classifications, as in technology and media, are laying off people these days. These folks are likely to land on their feet in this labor market.
The COVID-19 pandemic changed the labor landscape perhaps forever. As businesses closed to prevent disease spread, workers lost their jobs in large numbers, or had to work from home. As they are now gradually coming back into the workforce and workplaces, they are re-evaluating what’s important in life.
It’s dangerous, particularly for employers, to give workers a lot of time to think.
The workers who are re-evaluating their situations are not, for the most part, lazy and just want to stay home. Their safety, their children’s education — kids had to go to school from home, too – and other factors are causing them to calculate whether what they were doing before Is worth going back to. As day-care options dried up during the pandemic, parents are now left looking hard for affordable child care, so they can go back to work.
Couple that with new, post-pandemic demand for goods and services unavailable for a long time, and they add up to more choices for workers.
More choices for workers mean more competition by employers.
This is good for all concerned. Certainly, we are all paying higher prices for things largely because employers have to give workers more. But, in the long term, both employers and employees will benefit.
Employers will have to try to find the sweet spot between not alienating customers with higher prices, and attracting and keeping workers.
This effort should create better places to work, and, ultimately, better products and services.
The employees will be compensated better on the job, although they may lose some that benefit through higher prices for things they need. Still, they will, as a whole, be better off in the long run than they were.
If you are a worker, evaluate your options with care, now that you have more of them. If you are an employer, find that sweet spot quickly, hire good people and your business should thrive in the long term.
Peter
ARE YOU ‘QUIET QUITTING’ AT YOUR JOB?
#QuietQuitting #jobs, #employers #employees #GiveItYourAll
The phenomenon is called “quiet quitting.”
Workers do the minimum at their jobs so they can pursue other things outside of work.
Michael Smerconish featured at segment on this on his CNN show Aug. 20, 2022.
He interviewed a young engineer who was doing this at her job, so she could pursue an entrepreneurial side hustle outside of work.
Smerconish asked her the obvious question, to paraphrase: if your side hustle doesn’t work out, how do you think your current, or future, employer will feel about you?
Though it’s advertised as something relatively new in the workplace, it’s very likely that others have done this in the past.
It’s been said that if a job were not work, they wouldn’t pay you. It’s also been said that a worker, particularly a young worker, should not expend the entirety of his or her energy at a job. Instead, he or she should do what he or she needs to do at work, and save energy for activities at home, hobbies or, yes, even side hustles.
To be fair, some jobs pile more stress on workers than the compensation covers. Some employees resent that, but stay in the job anyway, for whatever reason.
On the other hand, as an employee, you should feel enough dedication to your work, and, yes, to your employer, that you give that employer your all – within reason.
Some jobs with narrow descriptions often expand into other duties, and an employee might resent that. “It’s not my job, man.”
Still, employees should feel enough dedication – not obligation – to their employers to do what needs to be done, if they have the ability, even if the duties are not spelled out in a job description.
Make no mistake: some employers will sense such dedication and take advantage of it.
The solution seems to be an employer-employee relationship in which both parties are not just satisfied, but enthusiastic. The employee will do what is asked, expected and more, while the employer happily compensates them well. That compensation may not be entirely financial. It can include creating a work environment in which the employees feel not just appreciated, but cherished. The employer-employee relationship should be less transactional, and more of a bond.
Such environments don’t exist everywhere. In fact, some may say such environments are rare.
Today’s tight labor market makes it incumbent on employers to make their workplaces such that people want to come and stay. And, while they are there, the employees WANT to give it all they have.
But, employees have a part to play. They have to create their own happiness at work. In some places, that is not possible. But, if the employer is making the effort to create a good culture, the employee has to make the effort to embrace it.
There is nothing wrong with side hustles, or having cherished activities outside of work. But, if you have a job, give it your all – again, within reason.
Another lesson here may be that if you are a “quiet quitter,” don’t advertise it to the world.
Peter
JOB MARKET HOT, BUT WORKERS STILL HAVE TO BE AT THEIR BEST
#jobs #JobMarket #employment #employees #employers
Despite talk of recession, layoffs among tech companies and others, the job market is still hot.
In fact, a remarkable 517,000 jobs were created in January 2023, according to reports.
“Employers are having to work harder – in some markets – to attract talent.”
So says Sarah Johnston, founder of Briefcase Coach, as quoted in an article by Andrew Seaman, senior editor for Job Search & Careers at LinkedIn News.
“You are seeing shorter job applications, more recruiter outreach and in some cases compensating candidates to interview,” the article quotes Johnston.
Still, she says in the article, applicants have to put their best foot forward.
Sure, jobs are plentiful at most levels. Walmart plans to hire 50,000 associates. Dell plans to hire 5,000 workers, Raytheon needs 3,750 more employees and Wells Fargo says it hires thousands of entry-level people each year, the article says.
In other words, yes, employers need workers. But they are still particular about whom they hire.
Therefore, as a prospective employee, you can perhaps be more confident, but you still have to impress.
Employers need more bodies, but they also need dependable bodies.
There are many stories floating around about workers reporting for work one day, then not showing up – in some cases, ever again.
In previous times, employers would leave a position open until they find just the right person. Some likely still do that, but many may be a bit more flexible in today’s market.
But, if you, as a prospective employee, find a place you’d like to work, show your prospective boss that you have what it takes, that he or she can count on you to be there day in and day out and put forth a good image for the company.
As employers, it’s best not to overpromise and under-deliver to attract workers. If workers find that what you told them doesn’t match the reality, they likely will not stay long.
As employees, know that job descriptions change. Sometimes, things you were promised when you were hired can be altered. The job you thought you were taking can turn into something a bit different. Don’t let that bother you, if you like where you work. You may have to roll with the changes, because, to stay competitive, companies have to evolve – often quickly.
If you have to leave an employer, do so with as much notice as possible. Be aware, also, that employers may not offer you the same courtesy. You could show up one day, and immediately be shown the door. But, as an employee, you have to be a good person. You may need that employer to give you a reference someday.
Yes, there are laws and company policies in which previous employers can verify your employment, but that’s all. It’s best to have the best relationship you can have with any employer, so that he or she can personally recommend you.
In short, the job market is great for most people looking for work. But, as a potential employee, you still have to be at your best to land a good job.
You have to strive to not only be a good employee, but a better person.
Peter
CHANGING COMFORT ZONES
#ComfortZones #ChangingComfortZones #FindingComfortZones #CreatingComfortZones
To borrow from a Regions Bank TV ad, one does not get out of his or her comfort zone, he or she changes comfort zones.
Comfort zones are not always comfortable.
You may have a job that earns you a paycheck, and that you can do relatively easily.
But, it’s not necessarily getting you where you want to be in life.
Therefore, to get what you want, you may have to change comfort zones.
In this labor market, there are certainly available options for job changes.
So, what should you change to? It may depend on your education, experience and other things about you that employers may like.
It also may depend on how willing you may be to do something that perhaps you had never thought about doing.
Once you’ve decided on your new comfort zone, then you have to show your new employer that you are more than capable of doing the job.
That may not just entail doing the job correctly or smartly. It may involve doing it with enthusiasm.
Certainly, it may be difficult to be enthusiastic about some jobs. But, if they are rewarding enough in terms of pay and perks, you may need to use those rewards to ignite your enthusiasm.
If neither the job nor the rewards are stellar, you may have to consider doing something else.
Being happy at work has been an elusive goal for many. For some, the job is a means to an end. For others, the job could be simply a dead end.
Still, for others, a job may enable a person to do something outside of work that gives him or her joy. Perhaps one works for a living, but lives for children, family, hobbies etc. The work enables the other.
For some others, the work is the pleasure. It’s been said that if it were not “work,” they would not pay you. But those who love their jobs certainly want to get paid, but still love their work.
So, what, in work and life, gives you comfort, or makes you want to get up in the morning?
Are you not feeling either pleasure or comfort in your life? Such feelings don’t always come naturally, or serendipitously.
Sometimes, YOU have to look for them. In some cases, you can find them among your existing activities. In other cases, you have to find new activities to give you those feelings.
It’s OK to talk to friends or family – or a professional in more severe cases – to find out what may be missing in your life.
Often, the people you know best can either make you see the good things already in front of you, or spur you to find something different, or better.
So, if your comfort zone needs changing, it’s OK to change it. But, before doing so, figure out what you want from life. That will guide you toward either a comfort-zone change, or finding the comfort in your current zone.
There’s no need to slog in a fog when you can have fun in the sun.
Peter
EMPLOYEES NEED TO EVALUATE EMPLOYERS, TOO
#JobInterviews #interviewers #applicants #skills #employers #employees
In any job interview, the applicant wants to impress.
In the past, it was thought that being conservative, looking good and answering questions politely was the way to go.
The applicant’s posture was, more or less, quiet confidence. The interviewer held most of the power.
In today’s job market, the prospective employees have more power. They should size up the employer as much as the employer evaluates them.
Experts say that employers need the employees as much as the employees need jobs – perhaps even more so.
So, when approaching a job interview, an applicant should ask as many questions as he or she answers.
The applicant may have quiet confidence, but can be more demonstrative with his or her confidence, experts say.
Employers, too, are looking for “soft” skills – friendliness, the ability to work with others etc. – as much as they are looking for job talent.
Applicants should demonstrate those soft skills as well as their talent.
Remember, the employers who just want you to be grateful they are offering you a job are probably not the ones you want to work for.
A job is not just a paycheck. It is a lifestyle. If the expected lifestyle doesn’t fit your needs, walk.
Therefore, employers have to be tuned in to the expectations of employees. If one hires someone who ultimately doesn’t want to be there, or is hampered by outside obligations, like children, they may not give the employer what he or she wants from him or her.
Given the worker shortage and people’s need to earn a living, both sides have to be flexible to match the proper job with the appropriate worker.
Most employees want to be good, productive workers in good work situations. Employers have to, perhaps, be less rigid in their requirements and compensation, and more adaptive to the needs of workers if they want to keep good people.
Certainly, not everything can be determined by resumes and interviews. A person can look great on paper, say all the “right” things in an interview, and either be a total bust or bolt after a couple of days.
Applicants should presume that, if they take a job, it will work for THEM, as well as their employers.
The lessons here are that potential employees, in today’s market, have choices. Employers need help, in most cases.
Job applicants should be themselves, to a great extent, in an interview. Interviewers should not just be box checkers when analyzing applicants.
Flexibility on both sides finds good fits.
Peter
NOBLE PROFESSIONS FACE STAFF SHORTAGES
#teachers #PoliceOfficers #nurses #NobleProfessions
Police officers, nurses, teachers and other noble professions are facing chronic staff shortages in many locations.
Some are resorting to going on strike. In fact, a strike was recently averted among railroads and its workers, which would have devastated the economy.
These jobs are the go-to professions for those seeking security – or, at least it used to be that way.
Now, they are having trouble filling these jobs.
There are many factors here. Among them: relatively low pay with relatively high responsibility; unnecessary scrutiny – some might say abuse – from politicians and others; a general labor shortage, meaning workers are able to find better security in other professions.
Often, those in these jobs are asked to do more with less. But when they are asked to do more than one person’s job because of staff shortages, that can be the last straw for many.
The onus is on the employers to make working in these situations more palatable. Remember, no one who takes these jobs expects to get rich. They do these jobs for security, and other, non-financial reasons.
A certain amount of dedication is expected of these professionals. But, they are also keenly aware of the limits to that dedication.
In the case of the rail workers, the dispute largely centered on time off – when they could take it, whether they will get paid etc. Reports said their time off for illness, medical appointments etc. had been restricted. When you have hard-to-get appointments that are necessary, restrictions can wreak havoc with one’s health and well-being.
The lessons here are numerous, and relatively easy to understand. They are much harder to put into practice when there are not enough people wanting to do the jobs.
The first lesson is to treat professionals with the respect they deserve. Certainly, some will abuse that respect, but the vast majority do not.
Secondly, they need to be paid at a level that does not insult the education, knowledge and sacrifice they bring to their jobs. They may not expect to get rich, but they should be able to have a decent life for what they give to a community.
Teachers certainly want parental, administrative and Board of Education involvement in the schools, but they don’t want to be micromanaged for reasons that have no academic merit.
Police officers want all the tools that make their life-risking job as safe as possible.
Nurses want to feel safe in their work environment, and have the necessary equipment to treat patients.
Certainly, not everyone wants to be, or should be, a police officer, nurse, teacher or any other professional.
But there are many who do, and should. But unless they are treated properly, and get the proper support, they will stay away.
As every employer in every industry and profession faces shortages of labor, the security that may have lured people into teaching, nursing and police work is increasingly available in other less risky, perhaps more lucrative jobs.
Regardless of the type of work one does, he or she needs to feel appreciated. When he or she no longer feels appreciated, he or she will look at other options.
Peter
EMPLOYERS WANT WORKERS BACK IN THE WORKPLACE, BUT …
#employers #employees #WorkFromHome #WorkRemotely #workplaces
An office building in downtown Atlanta is going into foreclosure.
Companies want their employees who’ve been working remotely to come back to their workplaces, but many employees don’t want to.
Working from home has many advantages. Given the high gasoline prices today, cars parked or garaged at home are not using gasoline.
Since the pandemic forced a lot of child-care operations out of business, parents can work AND care for children from home. That’s money in their pockets.
Many workers have set up nice, comfortable workspaces in their home offices. They may not want to go back to the dingy, cold cubicles in their company’s workplace.
It’s clear why the companies want people back to their workplaces. They are paying for space that isn’t occupied. They want an easier way to observe what their workers are doing, how they are doing it etc. They don’t want workers distracted by home life.
The employers also want to rebuild team cohesiveness. That’s tough to do on Zoom, or some other remote communication.
But the workers have every reason to like working from home. If for no other reason, it gives THEM more control over their lives. It’s not that they, in most cases, want to be lazy, not do what they are supposed to and still get paid because no one is watching.
Let’s face it. Going to work is expensive. Commuting, day care, lunch in the cafeteria all costs money.
Any worker who is able to work remotely and save those costs will want to keep doing it.
Sure, they may miss the interaction with coworkers. They may miss happy hour at the end of the week. They may miss the retirement parties and other office gatherings, though they certainly can come into work on those days.
Bottom line is workers want options. Companies may lose good people if they take those options away entirely.
In this labor market, companies need to be very careful. Good workers are in demand, whether they work from home or not.
They will go where they will be treated best.
Of course, some workers don’t have the option to work from home. They have to make things, repair things, serve things and greet customers, which they can’t do from home.
But companies that force the issue of coming back to the workplace may discover that workers will rebel.
If they want the workers to come back, they will need to lure them back with some sort of incentive, be it money or something at the workplace that will make their cozy home offices less attractive.
It’s not necessarily an easy choice for employers or employees whether to go back to the office.
But options are always good to have, especially for workers.
Peter
BEING A ‘NON-PLAYER’ NOT PRODUCTIVE
#Nonplayer #jobs #complainers “LaborMarket #employers #employees
A line from a Dilbert cartoon, by Scott Adams, says. “I’m a non-player character. I can only complain about my job and comment on the weather.”
The cartoon was published July 14, 2022, in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The purpose of the line is to humorously illustrate how people think – or don’t think – at work.
People may complain about a job, but take no action to improve their situations.
In other words, “I’m here. I’m stuck. And I hate it!”
One may not be able to do much about the weather, but one can certainly do something about his or her work situation.
If you like WHERE you work, but don’t like WHAT you do, perhaps there are other jobs in that locale for which you can apply.
If you like WHAT you do, but don’t like WHERE you are doing it, you can look at other employers.
Today’s labor market is the best in decades. There are employers begging for help. Your options are probably greater than you imagine.
One should not feel he or she has to stay where he or she is, because there is nowhere else to go.
Employers in this market have to be creative to not only find the help they need, but also to keep the help they have.
This kind of labor market, plus disruptions in supply chains, oil markets, the food industry etc., coupled with post-pandemic pent-up demand for goods and services, are causing inflation today.
In the Dilbert cartoon, the question posed before the non-player statement was, “What do you think the government should do about inflation?”
The government has little control, and few available actions, to curb inflation. Politicians like to blame opponents for problems no one can really control single-handedly, but the reality is that foreign wars, pandemics and other phenomenon can dictate our terms of living.
Given how good the job market is, employees can be fortunate that they are getting raises that can help mitigate inflation, though most raises are not enough to make those employees feel significantly better off in these times.
Regardless of the uncontrollable problems in one’s life – the weather, inflation etc. – being a “non-player” and just complaining about things is not an option. YOU still have some control over your life. Work on the things you can control, and work around things you can’t.
Complaining and blaming are not strategies. You may not like someone or something, so you either improve your own situation, or move away from it.
Here’s hoping the labor market stays strong, inflation eases and storms are minimized.
Peter