That labor shortage is real....

[Laurel-in-CA]

My youngest got the first job she interviewed for last year, as a server/barista at a local bakery/cafe for breakfast/lunch crowd. She ended up quitting that job last month because they were constantly understaffed and over-managed. Today she had an interview for server at a local inn...interviewer assumed she was starting asap and didn't even *ask* her about whether she wanted to work there, just whether she could start training next week.

In our area, at least, tourism is starting back up and the job market is jumping!! How are things in your region?

[Hilltopmom]

Desperate for school paraprofessionals here. Principal has taken to visiting classrooms and personally asking staff to ask anyone they know to apply who might possibly be interested.

 

[fraidycat]

I think that the "constantly understaffed and over-managed" along with underpaid plays a huge part in creating this labor shortage. On top of that, customer facing jobs have always been challenging, but the last two years seems to have really done a number on "the public's" ability to not be a-holes toward service staff.

[fairfarmhand]

6 minutes ago, fraidycat said:

I think that the "constantly understaffed and over-managed" along with underpaid plays a huge part in creating this labor shortage. On top of that, customer facing jobs have always been challenging, but the last two years seems to have really done a number on "the public's" ability to not be a-holes toward service staff.

For real. My dd16 works at a freaking Burger King. She is getting used to the fact that people can be incredibly obnoxious about a THREE DOLLAR HAMBURGER. She typically just rolls her eyes mentally and moves on, but there are SO MANY jerks that she has to deal with on a daily basis. The stories are just unreal.

Her first month there, a dude stormed into the dining room who had been in drive through. He was so ugly to her that she cried and one of the men from the kitchen had to run out front to get the man to leave.

Seriously?

You're going to make a 16 year old girl cry because you didn't get the stupid $6 meal you ordered?

[fraidycat]

Just now, fairfarmhand said:

For real. My dd16 works at a freaking Burger King. She is getting used to the fact that people can be incredibly obnoxious about a THREE DOLLAR HAMBURGER. She typically just rolls her eyes mentally and moves on, but there are SO MANY jerks that she has to deal with on a daily basis. The stories are just unreal.

Her first month there, a dude stormed into the dining room who had been in drive through. He was so ugly to her that she cried and one of the men from the kitchen had to run out front to get the man to leave.

Seriously?

You're going to make a 16 year old girl cry because you didn't get the stupid $6 meal you ordered?

My DD quit McD's and has chosen to be unemployed for a few months because of the customers (and one shift manager). She got on well with all the other managers and staff and was actually in training to be a manager herself. She would have put up with the one shift manager being unreasonable and not following the basic routine of the restaurant, but the customers pushed her over the edge.

That manager might be an example of over-managed. She micro-manages. Each shift & duty station has a basic routine that they follow, such as when to re-stock supplies for that particular area, when to wipe a machine vs. when to take apart and bleach at the back sink, etc. Everything ran fairly smoothly with each person knowing how to clean and stock their areas to keep things running well when that particular manager wasn't working. When she was, she would randomly assign tasks to random workers that had nothing to do with that duty station - like sending the drive-thru order/money taker to bring cups to the front, or send the front cash person to grab burger patties for the kitchen staff. Not on an as-needed or emergency basis because of a rush, but because she was "the boss" and had a whim. They actually asked DD if she would reconsider and stay if they demoted her (the random-tasker) because she had brought it up to the store manager and the owner a few weeks prior to her quitting. But as I mentioned above, it was the customers who eventually made her leave.
 

I imagine that probably plays out in "low-skill" workplaces around the world.

[Indigo Blue]

18 minutes ago, fairfarmhand said:

For real. My dd16 works at a freaking Burger King. She is getting used to the fact that people can be incredibly obnoxious about a THREE DOLLAR HAMBURGER. She typically just rolls her eyes mentally and moves on, but there are SO MANY jerks that she has to deal with on a daily basis. The stories are just unreal.

Her first month there, a dude stormed into the dining room who had been in drive through. He was so ugly to her that she cried and one of the men from the kitchen had to run out front to get the man to leave.

Seriously?

You're going to make a 16 year old girl cry because you didn't get the stupid $6 meal you ordered?

I worked at BK way back in 1981. It was my first job. I was only 16 or 17. It was my first exposure to how humans can behave over such trivial things. Even just getting the size of soda wrong….a medium instead of a large….can send someone almost to the same level of escalation as if you had rear-ended their brand new BMW. People got out of drive through to come inside for the most insignificant things. It never ceased to amaze me then, but, now, at my age, nothing surprises me. 
 

BTW the onion rings were MUCH better then. 

[fairfarmhand]

Just now, Indigo Blue said:

I worked at BK way back in 1981. It was my first job. I was only 16 or 17. It was my first exposure to how humans can behave over such trivial things. Even just getting the size of soda wrong….a medium instead of a large….can send someone almost to the same level of escalation as if you had rear-ended their brand new BMW. People got out of drive through to come inside for the most insignificant things. It never ceased to amaze me then, but, now, at my age, nothing surprises me. 
 

BTW the onion rings were MUCH better then. 

My girls and I wonder how someone has the time and ENERGY to make such a fuss. If my order is wrong, I don't have time to park, walk in, wait in line, have a conversation with the manager, and wait for the correct sandwich to be made.

Much less have the energy to get ENRAGED over something so petty. I don't know how so many people manage to find that kind of energy. If I had that, my house wouldn't be a mess and there wouldn't be weeds in my yard.

[Indigo Blue]

5 minutes ago, fairfarmhand said:

My girls and I wonder how someone has the time and ENERGY to make such a fuss. If my order is wrong, I don't have time to park, walk in, wait in line, have a conversation with the manager, and wait for the correct sandwich to be made.

Much less have the energy to get ENRAGED over something so petty. I don't know how so many people manage to find that kind of energy. If I had that, my house wouldn't be a mess and there wouldn't be weeds in my yard.

I agree. I’m so patient with wait staff because of those experiences. Unless they are being completely incompetent and just don’t care about doing their job (which is also common now), in which case I just don’t go back there. And, honestly, someone may have valid reasons for needing a large vs a medium, or may just be having a bad day and that could have been the last straw, but, generally, I got the feeling it was just an epidemic of people with very bad attitudes over small stuff, as it is now.

[Indigo Blue]

Gosh, this makes me wonder if this stuff happens at Chic Fil A, where everyone is happy and the service is perfect! 🙂

They are an anomaly, lol.

[fairfarmhand]

2 minutes ago, Indigo Blue said:

Gosh, this makes me wonder if this stuff happens at Chic Fil A, where everyone is happy and the service is perfect! 🙂

They are an anomaly, lol.

My oldest works at a CFA. She's a manager. And nope. Jerks are Jerks there too. 

[Faith-manor]

Lots of shortages here even in manufacturing. A ton of people retired early at the beginning of the pandemic, and the younger generation is smaller. Gen X is far along I to their work journeys and arena taking any lower level positions. Millennial and Gen Y/Z (can't remember what the official designation is) were much smaller birth numbers than was going to be needed without robust immigration. Most of our fast food establishments have never reopened dining rooms and are just drive through due to lack of staffing. Youngest ds doesn't know what to do. He has eleven offers for post -graduation (electrical engineering). He never expected to have that much choice. We are trying to help him wade through the details of benefits packages, COL in each area, available housing, etc. He feels a smidge overwhelmed because they all are very heavily pressuring him, and do not want to give him time to evaluate each situation and HR in each company knows he has multiple offers. They do not back down.

[Faith-manor]

47 minutes ago, fairfarmhand said:

My girls and I wonder how someone has the time and ENERGY to make such a fuss. If my order is wrong, I don't have time to park, walk in, wait in line, have a conversation with the manager, and wait for the correct sandwich to be made.

Much less have the energy to get ENRAGED over something so petty. I don't know how so many people manage to find that kind of energy. If I had that, my house wouldn't be a mess and there wouldn't be weeds in my yard.

If I had that kind of time and energy, I would have written five symphonies and twelve sonatas in the last few years. Nope. So I am with you. I do not get the enraged crazy over not much.

[wintermom]

I think the American "customer is always right" motto is partially to blame. Try the French method of being rude, or the "golden age" USSR method of having no stock and making people wait in long lines for hours. It sure limits expectation of perfection. 😉 😅

Edited March 17, 2022 by wintermom

[Tanaqui]

I actually do, usually, have both the time and mental energy to go back to the store and request my sandwich be  made correctly (or refunded, whichever makes more sense) - but you know what? This is one area where you really do catch more flies with honey.

If you're nice and polite, they'll redo it, no problem, maybe even toss in an extra fries or something. If you're a jerk for no reason? Oooh, hope you like that spitburger!

And it's like this with *everything*. There's almost never a benefit to starting out screaming and yelling, cursing people out, even if only because that leaves you with nowhere to escalate. I used to see it on the bus all the time, people chewing out the driver. What's the point? I pointed it out to the kids, every time - all that happens when you do that is the driver stops the bus and refuses to move until you exit. If it's bad enough, they call the police.

[itsheresomewhere]

6 hours ago, fraidycat said:

I think that the "constantly understaffed and over-managed" along with underpaid plays a huge part in creating this labor shortage. On top of that, customer facing jobs have always been challenging, but the last two years seems to have really done a number on "the public's" ability to not be a-holes toward service staff.

Understatement of the year.  People are just being flat out rude. I am having trouble not biting some customers heads off with their nastiness.  I keep saying the pandemic gave people a chance to really show off their a-holeness in person like some do regularly behind a keyboard.  

[fraidycat]

5 minutes ago, Tanaqui said:

I actually do, usually, have both the time and mental energy to go back to the store and request my sandwich be  made correctly (or refunded, whichever makes more sense) - but you know what? This is one area where you really do catch more flies with honey.

If you're nice and polite, they'll redo it, no problem, maybe even toss in an extra fries or something. If you're a jerk for no reason? Oooh, hope you like that spitburger!

And it's like this with *everything*. There's almost never a benefit to starting out screaming and yelling, cursing people out, even if only because that leaves you with nowhere to escalate. I used to see it on the bus all the time, people chewing out the driver. What's the point? I pointed it out to the kids, every time - all that happens when you do that is the driver stops the bus and refuses to move until you exit. If it's bad enough, they call the police.

I will usually notice the order is wrong when I get home and unpack it, so I don't go back, but I will call and nicely give them the benefit of the doubt. Something like "Maybe it's a new staff member, or somebody is just having one of those days, but FYI we're missing XYZ from our order." Usually what ends up happening is a gift card/free items for next time we go there.

[Tanaqui]

9 minutes ago, fraidycat said:

I will usually notice the order is wrong when I get home and unpack it, so I don't go back, but I will call and nicely give them the benefit of the doubt. Something like "Maybe it's a new staff member, or somebody is just having one of those days, but FYI we're missing XYZ from our order." Usually what ends up happening is a gift card/free items for next time we go there.

 

I try to remember to actually open the bag and check before I leave. My family, mother and kids and all... they want what they actually ordered, not something else or - gasp! - half of it and the rest missing. And I'm the same way, so.

[Sweets]

My niece, aged 28, has an associates degree and before the pandemic she was happy to find a job making $10 an hour. Now, after the pandemic, she is MUCH happier making $24 an hour. She went through several jobs until she found this job as an IT apprentice. She is so upbeat about her future. Before the pandemic shut down, she was working at a warehouse filling online orders. (BTW, she tried being an Amazon delivery driver. She has PTSD from that job. She was used and abused basically.) The labor shortage has given her a chance at a job she never would have been able to get in the past.

I was at Dunkin Donuts the other day standing in line for coffee. ONE PERSON was working drive thru and walk up counter; probably all of 16 years of old. She was trying her best to go quickly but everyone was ordering specialty drinks. These two big men in front of me starting loudly complaining at her:  Hurry up! What is taking so long? We've been waiting here!  These guys had to be in their 40s and yelling at a teenager!

I got so mad. Normally, I just ignore this behavior, but there was obviously NO ONE else in the store working, or management was in the back hiding or something. This girl was really crying and apologizing:  I'm sorry, Sir. I'm doing the best I can.  Finally, I told those two guys to shut the hell up. Can't they see she's just a kid and working her butt off? They whipped around at me like they wanted to hit me! But I guess they must of seen their Mammas in me because they said:  Yes, ma'am. You're right. We're just in a hurry. 

And I got a free cup of coffee after they left. She was such a sweet kid. But I bet she quit. People are such jerks sometimes. 

 

[Guest]

6 hours ago, Indigo Blue said:

Gosh, this makes me wonder if this stuff happens at Chic Fil A, where everyone is happy and the service is perfect! 🙂

They are an anomaly, lol.

As the mom of a chick-Fil-a server, I can tell you, every place has its awful people. The best thing at that job for ds seems to be the camaraderie of the other teens and pretty good-hearted managers. But some customers are jerks. Or addicts. Or…whatever.   

[Guest]

2 hours ago, wintermom said:

I think the American "customer is always right" motto is partially to blame. Try the French method of being rude, or the "golden age" USSR method of having no stock and making people wait in long lines for hours. It sure limits expectation of perfection. 😉 😅

My dd had some very different experiences in France, that’s for sure. 

[fraidycat]

1 hour ago, Tanaqui said:

 

I try to remember to actually open the bag and check before I leave. My family, mother and kids and all... they want what they actually ordered, not something else or - gasp! - half of it and the rest missing. And I'm the same way, so.

I feel like you took my continuing of the discussion as an argument or judgement. I was agreeing with your honey vs. vinegar assessment and adding my "I have the energy to..." experience. 
 

I'm sorry if it felt like I was judging you as that was not my intent at all.

[Tanaqui]

Oh, gosh, I definitely did not read it that way and didn't mean my response to be read that way either! I'm not sure where that interchange went off the rails, but I totally understood your comment the way you now say you meant it, fraidycat! I'm so sorry for the confusion.

[Lady Marmalade]

I'm working at least 60 hours a week because we can't get anyone to interview, let alone hire.  

[Lady Marmalade]

8 hours ago, Indigo Blue said:

Gosh, this makes me wonder if this stuff happens at Chic Fil A, where everyone is happy and the service is perfect! 🙂

They are an anomaly, lol.

I think it's probably worse because we get the super condescending people who go off  with "this is not what we have come to expect from CFA... "  Dude.  Everyone makes mistakes, everyone has a first day, everyone has bad days.    I had a lady a few weeks back who literally complained because she didn't appreciate the way the cashier LOOKED at her when she gave her order.  

 

[Katy]

8 hours ago, Faith-manor said:

Lots of shortages here even in manufacturing. A ton of people retired early at the beginning of the pandemic, and the younger generation is smaller. Gen X is far along I to their work journeys and arena taking any lower level positions. Millennial and Gen Y/Z (can't remember what the official designation is) were much smaller birth numbers than was going to be needed without robust immigration. Most of our fast food establishments have never reopened dining rooms and are just drive through due to lack of staffing. Youngest ds doesn't know what to do. He has eleven offers for post -graduation (electrical engineering). He never expected to have that much choice. We are trying to help him wade through the details of benefits packages, COL in each area, available housing, etc. He feels a smidge overwhelmed because they all are very heavily pressuring him, and do not want to give him time to evaluate each situation and HR in each company knows he has multiple offers. They do not back down.

DH (an engineer who just switched to data science) says to take the job that isn't pressuring him (Assuming this is daily not two weeks for an answer).  Because he can already see the culture is awful.  And if they are all pressuring him, take whichever one he wants but don't buy a house.  Rent a cheap apartment and update his online resume in a year.  He can get a better job with a big raise with one year experience. DH hasn't updated his in ten years now and he still gets recruiters contacting him many times a week.

[wintermom]

3 hours ago, Quill said:

My dd had some very different experiences in France, that’s for sure. 

It's all about expectations and cultural norms. What seems rude to us is completely normal there - that or once your drop a ton of money buying clothes in the store the staff adore you. The French do love their clothes. 😄

Edited March 18, 2022 by wintermom

[ktgrok]

11 hours ago, fairfarmhand said:

My girls and I wonder how someone has the time and ENERGY to make such a fuss. If my order is wrong, I don't have time to park, walk in, wait in line, have a conversation with the manager, and wait for the correct sandwich to be made.

Much less have the energy to get ENRAGED over something so petty. I don't know how so many people manage to find that kind of energy. If I had that, my house wouldn't be a mess and there wouldn't be weeds in my yard.

If I have kids with me, I'll check before we leave, because ending up without enough food for all of them, or not getting a gluten free thing for the one that needs it, etc is a real problem. But I'm super nice about it - I just say what is missing and they fix it. No big deal. 

Now, if it is for me I just suck it up and deal, lol. Even at the one place that was near the old house where the guy working there in the morning messed up my order EVERY SINGLE TIME. I swear he was stoned or something.

[kiwik]

13 hours ago, fraidycat said:

I think that the "constantly understaffed and over-managed" along with underpaid plays a huge part in creating this labor shortage. On top of that, customer facing jobs have always been challenging, but the last two years seems to have really done a number on "the public's" ability to not be a-holes toward service staff.

Yes.  I always wonder if what people are seeing is actually a shortage of people willing to work long hours with low pay in businesses where they simply aren't willing to pay for enough staff or protect their staff from customers or other dangers.

[DawnM]

On 3/16/2022 at 6:33 PM, Hilltopmom said:

Desperate for school paraprofessionals here. Principal has taken to visiting classrooms and personally asking staff to ask anyone they know to apply who might possibly be interested.

 

Our school has 900 students and only 20 teachers.   One AP, one counselor (me), etc..... this is a PUBLIC middle school.   We have about 15 teacher openings, and we are hoping next year to get at least one more AP and one more counselor.
 

Our state has something called "visiting teachers" they are trying to hire.    You only need a HS diploma!   You are hired at $150 per day, but full benefits, including retirement benefits.

It is crazy out here!

[Soror]

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1111113452762831?fs=e&s=cl

Seen this and thought of this thread. I know ds had a real crappy boss this summer- flat out told him he'd get no breaks or lunch no matter how long he worked. Threw a fit when ds sat down for 5 minutes when they were dead to eat a sandwich (other boss said was fine). Same guy complains  he can't get people.

[Hilltopmom]

2 hours ago, DawnM said:

Our school has 900 students and only 20 teachers.   One AP, one counselor (me), etc..... this is a PUBLIC middle school.   We have about 15 teacher openings, and we are hoping next year to get at least one more AP and one more counselor.
 

Our state has something called "visiting teachers" they are trying to hire.    You only need a HS diploma!   You are hired at $150 per day, but full benefits, including retirement benefits.

It is crazy out here!

Remember 20 years ago when there would be 500 applicants for one teaching job posted and it was so hard to get a position?!?

those days are gone-

[Scarlett]

19 hours ago, fairfarmhand said:

My oldest works at a CFA. She's a manager. And nope. Jerks are Jerks there too. 

How could anyone be a jerk to those employees?  I love that place.  Every time I go, I find myself saying ‘my pleasure’ for days.  

[Pawz4me]

19 hours ago, Indigo Blue said:

Gosh, this makes me wonder if this stuff happens at Chic Fil A, where everyone is happy and the service is perfect! 🙂

They are an anomaly, lol.

Nah. They have plenty of jerks, too. Or so a family member who worked there for a year or so says. She's one of those truly naturally nice people who always tries to do her best, and she left in tears many times.

[Soror]

Ds has worked at McD's for nearly a year and a half. He's the best or worst person for customer service because he doesn't get bothered by bad customers. Even if they are yelling at him, he just rolls with it. Fixes it if it is their mistake, lets them know if it wasn't, oh you didn't get 6 fries because you ordered 3- look at the order.  Dd would be very bothered, she's not going into fast food for her first job!

Edited March 18, 2022 by Soror

[Faith-manor]

6 hours ago, kiwik said:

Yes.  I always wonder if what people are seeing is actually a shortage of people willing to work long hours with low pay in businesses where they simply aren't willing to pay for enough staff or protect their staff from customers or other dangers.

Bingo. Locally, fast food, gas station owners, etc. still want people to work low pay, no benefits, and no regular hours, posting the Monday-Saturday schedule on Sunday night at 5 pm, and never scheduling people in any reliable way. They want them on call 7 days a week, and will always work them 1 hour less than full time every single week so they don't have to give them any benefits, and treat human beings like rental cars. Local business owners feel very entitled and feel that their employees should be loyal to them for absolutely nothing in return. Well now that there is a labor shortage people have options so they are not willing to take these jobs when they can work for larger businesses with corporate policies and HR departments that respond to complaints or at unionised jobs. I have said to the owner of the local hardware who is a very unkind, mean employer, "You reap what you sow." He was not amused, but he and his wife now have to work constantly, are exhausted, have no time off, etc. and I don't have sympathy. They treated their former employees like rented mules, and they all left during the pandemic and now have much, much better jobs in a small manufacturing plant that opened here, better pay, regular and reasonable hours, health insurance, and vacation with recourse for addressing concerns. Who wouldn't jump ship!

I think employers who are known for treating employees terribly will continue to face inability to hire. 

Dh's employer is being really smart. They know that a wave of retirement is looming in the next four years with their highly trained IT personnel, and though they do have employees who have the skills to be promoted up the ladder, they do not have enough to then take those positions vacated and the department needs to grow, not contract. So even though right at this moment they do not need a whole bunch of newbie college grads, they are hiring them anyway, and getting them them trained. These are really excellent jobs for newbs to IT, and not remotely stressful because they are doing a ton of job shadowing, and assisting under seasoned workers, but do not have a ton of responsibility yet. It is a very gentle introduction to their career with good pay and benefits, excellent health insurance, and very generous 401k matching. 

I also think we needed a course correction in certain industries. A McDonalds and Taco Bell every couple of miles in every city was just not a sustainable model when looking at birth and population demographics. We have seen the change in shopping habits for the last 20 years, but that didn't stop new malls from popping up even though that model of business was already on the wane. On a lot of not great corporate decisions have lead to this in terms of food service and retail.

The county seat of my area is a town with a population of roughly 4200 people in a county of only 50,000 total. There are six auto parts stores, and someone is opening a 7th! Two of the six were already struggling. Literally all of these stores are less than two miles apart. So when I saw the sign for "future home of auto parte X", I just 🙄. That is a bankruptcy waiting to happen.

[Soror]

3 hours ago, DawnM said:

Our state has something called "visiting teachers" they are trying to hire.    You only need a HS diploma!   You are hired at $150 per day, but full benefits, including retirement benefits.

It is crazy out here!

I'm thinking sub pay here is now $90 a day, up from $70 ($100 if ex teacher). You can make more at fast food or retail. It equals out to about 10c an hour more than minimum wage and few jobs pay that low. Heck, dd- 12 yrs old has a little job helping with TKD and her pay is equivalent to $2 per hr more than that. 

[Faith-manor]

3 hours ago, DawnM said:

Our school has 900 students and only 20 teachers.   One AP, one counselor (me), etc..... this is a PUBLIC middle school.   We have about 15 teacher openings, and we are hoping next year to get at least one more AP and one more counselor.
 

Our state has something called "visiting teachers" they are trying to hire.    You only need a HS diploma!   You are hired at $150 per day, but full benefits, including retirement benefits.

It is crazy out here!

What? I would sub! My local district keeps calling and begging me to sub. Here is what they are offering. Work day 7:30-3:30, half hour lunch with the kids actively supervising so a working lunch. No benefits. $85.00. I would get $12 an hour at fast food and not have the responsibility of teaching children.

I don't sub. And I have a bachelor's degree and at one time held a full teaching license in this state. (Let it lapse during my homeschooling years.) Crazy, crazy!

[Clemsondana]

I think one issue is that companies want what they want, and so do the employees.  Our nearest grocery store has been posting openings for ages - checkers, stockers, deli, bakery, etc.  I stopped by the office and asked them what their youngest age was (16, but kid was still 15) and how many hours was their weekly minimum.  Kid is willing to work and would be reliable, but during the school year, with extracurriculars, they'd love to do 1 4-hour shift each week.  In a perfect world, they'd work 1 morning or night each week, maybe when the trucks arrive, and help unload and stock.  Kid could work more summers and holidays.  They said that they wanted everybody to work multiple shifts each week.  That's fine, and I'm sure it helps with scheduling, but there is also the reality that they have openings that are unfilled and they could fill some of them if they'd be flexible.  It's like the time that I went to CFA and was debating between a 4 pack and 8 pack for a kid and the worker said 'well, the nuggets are 50 cents a piece...we can sell you 6'.  They knew it was better to sell 6 than 4, and you'd think that companies could figure out that filling some shifts is better than filling none.  

[ScoutTN]

35 minutes ago, Soror said:

I'm thinking sub pay here is now $90 a day, up from $70 ($100 if ex teacher). You can make more at fast food or retail. It equals out to about 10c an hour more than minimum wage and few jobs pay that low. Heck, dd- 12 yrs old has a little job helping with TKD and her pay is equivalent to $2 per hr more than that. 

I sub in a private school occasionally and it is $100/day.  It is not hard work and I do it to be helpful, but…. Target is hiring at $24/hr! 

Edited March 18, 2022 by ScoutTN

[Danae]

23 minutes ago, ScoutTN said:

I sub in a private school occasionally and it is $100/day.  It is not hard work and I do it to be helpful, but…. Target is hiring at $24/hr! 

$160/ day here.  Still less than Target, but the flexibility to only work the days you want is nice.  And the shortage means you can work every day that you want.

[Hilltopmom]

$90 a day for subs here and our school is a 30 minute drive from town- no wonder we can’t get subs. No benefits.

[mommyoffive]

$115 a day for a sub here in a small town. 

[Tree Frog]

Subs here in a large south central city in Texas earn between $130-150/day depending on the day of the week (Mondays and Fridays pay better) and educational level. No benefits. The school board increased the pay for this year because there was such a shortage. Teachers are now complaining that subs got a raise, but teachers and IA's didn't. IA's here start at $14k annually. Last year when my dd worked at Chipotle and before the sub increase, she earned more hourly than I did as a sub.

Edited March 18, 2022 by Tree Frog
added location

[Jaybee]

4 hours ago, Clemsondana said:

I think one issue is that companies want what they want, and so do the employees.  Our nearest grocery store has been posting openings for ages - checkers, stockers, deli, bakery, etc.  I stopped by the office and asked them what their youngest age was (16, but kid was still 15) and how many hours was their weekly minimum.  Kid is willing to work and would be reliable, but during the school year, with extracurriculars, they'd love to do 1 4-hour shift each week.  In a perfect world, they'd work 1 morning or night each week, maybe when the trucks arrive, and help unload and stock.  Kid could work more summers and holidays.  They said that they wanted everybody to work multiple shifts each week.  That's fine, and I'm sure it helps with scheduling, but there is also the reality that they have openings that are unfilled and they could fill some of them if they'd be flexible.  It's like the time that I went to CFA and was debating between a 4 pack and 8 pack for a kid and the worker said 'well, the nuggets are 50 cents a piece...we can sell you 6'.  They knew it was better to sell 6 than 4, and you'd think that companies could figure out that filling some shifts is better than filling none.  

Several years ago when dh was between jobs, he worked at a grocery chain. It wasn't enough to live on, and he would have worked another job as well, to help us make it, but for this crazy schedule thing. He never knew ahead of time what his schedule for the week was going to be, so we couldn't make plans even for fun things. It doesn't make any sense to me. If I had my own store (not obligated to follow a chain's policies), I would discuss with my potential employees the schedules they wanted, the time slots I needed, and work from there. Then you might have a lot more college or high school students available, moms who want part time work, etc. It gives the employee a feeling of being "owned" by the store, because you can't plan anything and have to be free at all hours. It also messed with sleep schedules--one day you'd close, the next you had to be there for opening. It isn't healthy. And this is a well-regarded chain.

[LifeLovePassion]

16 hours ago, Lady Marmalade said:

I'm working at least 60 hours a week because we can't get anyone to interview, let alone hire.  

If the job can be done remotely, PM me as I am looking to transition jobs. 🙂

[fairfarmhand]

14 minutes ago, Jaybee said:

Several years ago when dh was between jobs, he worked at a grocery chain. It wasn't enough to live on, and he would have worked another job as well, to help us make it, but for this crazy schedule thing. He never knew ahead of time what his schedule for the week was going to be, so we couldn't make plans even for fun things. It doesn't make any sense to me. If I had my own store (not obligated to follow a chain's policies), I would discuss with my potential employees the schedules they wanted, the time slots I needed, and work from there. Then you might have a lot more college or high school students available, moms who want part time work, etc. It gives the employee a feeling of being "owned" by the store, because you can't plan anything and have to be free at all hours. It also messed with sleep schedules--one day you'd close, the next you had to be there for opening. It isn't healthy. And this is a well-regarded chain.

And I don't understand why a manager would want to manage that way anyhow. It seems that knowing that mornings, these certain people would be there would be easier to manage. Not to mention that your employees would be WAY happier and they would call out less if they knew with reasonable certainty things like " I'm always free Thursday afternoons so that's when I'll schedule my dr appointment."

[Jaybee]

42 minutes ago, fairfarmhand said:

And I don't understand why a manager would want to manage that way anyhow. It seems that knowing that mornings, these certain people would be there would be easier to manage. Not to mention that your employees would be WAY happier and they would call out less if they knew with reasonable certainty things like " I'm always free Thursday afternoons so that's when I'll schedule my dr appointment."

Exactly! It makes no sense. An employee can't plan around the schedule for any regular activities because of it. No Monday evening Bible study, no regular date night, no Thursday morning coffee time with Mom, etc. I wonder sometimes who came up with this and why everybody thought it was a good idea. Was it to try to spread the "busy" times out among the employees? Or if a restaurant, the higher tip times? I can't figure it out. I mean, not that I spend a lot of time and energy thinking about it 😀, but I did at the time dh was working that. There are actually some retail jobs I might consider (sort of, ha) if it were not for these crazy and typical policies. Even if there was a time of the week that was more popular/unpopular, you could keep most of the schedule regular, and rotate the those times.

[Moonhawk]

10 hours ago, DawnM said:

Our state has something called "visiting teachers" they are trying to hire.    You only need a HS diploma!   You are hired at $150 per day, but full benefits, including retirement benefits.

It is crazy out here!

Now, I'm not saying it's not crazy, and I'm not saying it's a good idea....

But where do I sign up?! Like, pick me! Pick me! I even have experience putting together classroom boards!

[DawnM]

6 minutes ago, Moonhawk said:

Now, I'm not saying it's not crazy, and I'm not saying it's a good idea....

But where do I sign up?! Like, pick me! Pick me! I even have experience putting together classroom boards!

I would check your local districts.   Several around here are doing it.

Or you could relocate! 😅

[KungFuPanda]

On 3/17/2022 at 3:27 PM, wintermom said:

I think the American "customer is always right" motto is partially to blame. Try the French method of being rude, or the "golden age" USSR method of having no stock and making people wait in long lines for hours. It sure limits expectation of perfection. 😉 😅

I lived in France for only a month in the early 90's but nobody was rude to me! Is this because I was nowhere near Paris?