Sunday Evening Reads

Is There A Shift Favoring The American Workforce?

“…arguably for the first time in decades, workers up and down the income ladder have leverage. And they are using it to demand not just higher pay but also flexible hours, more generous benefits and better working conditions.”

Ben Casselman, The New York Times

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American workers are quitting their jobs in droves, and there is no one reason economists can point to, but there might be several issues combined that are contributing to this unprecedented shift. According to an article written late last fall for The New York Times, workers likely have been able to save money from unemployment benefits, stimulus payments and just staying home, to have a cushion that allows them to be picky about which jobs are good enough to entice them back to the daily grind. Others remain worried about catching Covid-19, when even now there are an average of 1900 deaths a day, and the problem with affordable child care remains a big issue for working parents.

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This opinion piece from TheTimes, written in 2019, sums up nearly every issue that has been plaguing our workforce for at least the last century:

“The United States is the only advanced industrial nation that doesn’t have national laws guaranteeing paid maternity leave. It is also the only advanced economy that doesn’t guarantee workers any vacation, paid or unpaid, and the only highly developed country (other than South Korea) that doesn’t guarantee paid sick days. In contrast, the European Union’s 28 nations guarantee workers at least four weeks’ paid vacation.”

Each of these archaic policies hurts the American worker and supposedly benefits business, at least in the short term. But the pandemic seems to have edged the bargaining power in favor of the workers, and maybe that’s why more can afford to be picky about jumping back into a full-time job.

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And then there are the union-busting tactics used by mega companies like Amazon, Starbucks and Walmart that depress the standard of living for not just workers, but entire communities. It turn, this leads to dissatisfied employees more likely to quit or not return to their previous jobs.

Here’s what President Biden had to say last year about the right of workers to unionize:

President Biden @POTUS

Every American deserves the dignity and respect that comes with the right to union organize and collectively bargain. The policy of our government is to encourage union organizing, and employers should ensure their workers have a free and fair choice to join a union.

And just last week, @jortsthecat and @SenWarren lent their combined power to the union movement. In case you haven’t heard, Jorts is a pro-union feline who’s crazy popular in the Twitterverse.

Jorts (and Jean) @JortsTheCat

WOW

Elizabeth Warren @ewarren

Bailey stands with Jorts (on all four of his feet), and I stand with the working people of America who are making their voices heard and building their power. Unions built the middle class, and unions will rebuild the middle class. https://t.co/Zp9lZrNtMV

And finally for this evening, a roundup of business trends forecast for 2022 by Harvard Business Review. It looks like employee turnover rates are likely to continue, particularly if employer policies lack flexibility.

“Employee turnover will continue to increase as hybrid and remote work become the norm for knowledge workers.”

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What are you thoughts on today’s workforce? Has there been a slight power shift to employees?

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