"Why aren't people returning to the workforce?" ~~Out of touch people

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[@ZogDaMegnivizint]

List is as follows: - Many people moved out to the country if they could, because viruses are basically an urban problem, and they are now employed, just not in their depressing cubicle farms in the city. - Many cubicle farm inhabitants spent 2020 realizing whatever job they were doing was totally unnecessary and when the economy collapses because of the last four years of nonsense (and it will) they'll be the first to get the pink-slip anyway. - The businesses that once employed all those service workers either closed down, or implemented a requirement not only to wear a surgical mask for eight hours straight, but to harass customers who refuse, and be punished when traffic goes down because even compliant customers aren't exactly having a great time there. Who needs that? - I hope some of them found a way to go into business for themselves. Good luck to them if they did! - Some of them got a cold, so now they're scared to death of interacting with other people which eliminates most work opportunities. Every time one of these health scares happens there's a faction of people who become a little more like Howard Hughes. - Some of them developed alcohol and drug habits during the three years to flatten the curve, or they developed emotional problems of one kind or another and are now unemployable, at least by most employer's standards. - The rise of remote work means the fall of the middle manager, not that there was ever much justification for employing middle management other than keeping unhinged power-tripping narcissists off the street, but yeah those jobs are gone. - Some entry-level or low income workers took the opportunity with all these jobs floating around to finally get that "better job" their employer is always yakking about. I hope they're happy in the cubicle farm... - Oh and... a lot of people died. Not just from COVID either: Mysterious heart attacks; Mysterious lung infections; Untreated illnesses; Drug overdoses; Suicides; and the occasional murder. They're dead. They're not coming in on Friday.

[@MaximilianonMars]

Excess deaths from untreated illnesses while hospitals were shut up, and excess deaths from health services that are now understaffed and playing catch-up for the last 2 years while they're missing a large chunk of workers they couldn't afford to lose, at least that's what happened here in the UK. I'm one of the 1 in 9 nurses countrywide that resigned in 2022, I don't regret it at all but I have to get something goin before I eat up all my savings.

[@uss-dh7909]

Oh they're not dead, don't you worry, they'll be back to vote democrat in 2024.

[@mamapillow8365]

Excellent comment. I attended the funeral of a 19 year old who died suddenly with no apparent cause of death. I am so angry, I can't say anything else. Pray for these people, they have no idea what's going on.

[@davidgoodnow269]

@@MaximilianonMars I've heard there's a good deal of business in medical practices that do not accept public aid; strictly cash. Mostly pure banker-class clients. Because much of the administrative overhead does not exist, costs of maintaining a practice are far lower.

[@lindac6919]

I stopped working in retail sales because over the last 3 decades the public has grown too rude, dirty, contagious, violent, and disrespectful to tolerate. I'll starve in dignity, rather than suffer interface with the vulgar. People don't deserve to be served.

[@gabrielfair724]

Nobody is trying to fix the root problems we have in this country. Everyone is trying to make enough money so that the problems don't apply to them anymore

[@JJ-vp3bd]

This is a pin comment

[@JamesStakerWin]

Yes IE no political solution, but we've also been bred to be subservient pacifist cattle, so there is actually no solution at all.

[@wadu7205]

Why would Congress help us when they can tax and print money

[@itsirrelevant4565]

We have to eat… food has to come from somewhere. Can’t grow food in concrete jungles.

[@JeffCaplan313]

Money IS the root of these problems. More specifically, the feminine love for it.

[@trolly4233]

It’s almost as if sitting in your house for 2 years makes you rethink how you want to spend your limited time on this earth

[@rumfordc]

and the solution they reached was... to work from their houses 🤔

[@Supreme-King]

@@rumfordc I know right? Its almost like losing hours everyday commuting is a stupid waste of time.

[@rumfordc]

@@Supreme-King Thankfully, self-driving cars are on the way so we can work and commute at the same time!

[@larkan511]

Yeah, I'm very happy I'm no longer expected to go into an office and pretend like I enjoy the company of people. I can make more money, not use gas, and do my job in my pajamas.

[@markwhite8332]

💯, companies always complain, review us but if we review them omg, they are always later on project but if your late to work they complain. Hypocrites

[@publicguy1664]

You're somewhat correct. People aren't working because they are tired of being exploited. People want to work, but they want to work for a dignifying livable wage.

[@gm08351]

and voice your opinion on that and boomers will call you lazy and tell you how hard they and everyone they know work

[@darthvader6533]

Which does have merit to it. Its just much harder to work, go to school, and pay rent in this era than it was for them

[@bradley6386]

Part of it for me is I spent most of my time in construction working for myself anyways. Given a task then working solo on the site. I realized I might as well work for myself for a higher wage since I'm doing everything but the business side anyways lol

[@hiflyer000]

I've actually talked to many people who dropped out of the workforce, and the most common reasons are: 1. Decided to take early retirement 2. Can not find or afford child care so one parent needs to stay at home 3. Re-evaluated their life and realized they can get by just fine with one salary if they make a few changes 4. Can't find a job despite the supposed high amount of openings It amazes me how companies still continually ignore the real problems and do nothing to try and fix them, then are dumbfounded when things don't change or improve.

[@ZodiacEntertainment2]

"Re-evaluated their life and realized they can get by just fine with one salary if they make a few changes." This is huge and something me and my partner are considering right now. Both of us work and we barely get a chance to hang out together because of it, but we are still so far away from our bigger financial goals (i.e. owning a home) that it probably makes more sense for just ONE of us to work instead. We can still pay the rent and afford groceries and we'd probably be a whole lot happier and healthier for it.

[@Schnipah]

@@GunShark0 “we need 5 years of experience for this $15 an hour job”

[@csc1641]

1. and 4. apply to my situation.

[@GilmerJohn]

@@GunShark0 -- Well, if you take your marriage oath seriously, it shouldn't be a problem. The "stay at home" partner can sometimes make it possible to buy a modest place "on the cheap."

[@triot2127]

I've definitely noticed a lot of woman became stay at home moms in and after the pandemic.

[@jacopoabbruscato9271]

Workplaces demanding degrees, experience and qualifications for entry-level jobs anyone could learn in a week is probably among the issues.

[@someone-ji2zb]

Well they are able to do that because too many people chose to not learn a skill. So businesses have the luxury of receiving that which they ask for. Welders are one of the most in demand things in the US right now.... but so few will go learn it. Plumbing in cities is also in huge demand (even smaller cities). Again, hardly anyone will learn it. Instead, majority of people go to college with NO PLAN, and then leave with a scrap of paper claiming they are "educated" with no real specialty. Ok... why would a business care now days about that?

[@greer2402]

That's the trick to get you to go to school

[@Christopher_Giustolisi]

they´re looking for young, qualified people with decades of experience for the wage of an intern.

[@ZeroKitsune]

@@someone-ji2zb People don't learn these skills because everyone tells them it's not a valid career path. I was told that all throughout my entire life. "Don't learn a trade, go to college and get a degree in Engineering, or failing that, Business." Also, every college degree is a worthless piece of paper. Mine is in Computer Science. I could easily have graduated without even knowing how to type. Getting an actual education with your degree is optional no matter what you go for.

[@someone-ji2zb]

@@ZeroKitsune Unfortunately, your parents didn't do you a favor in your upbringing then. Either way, that being the case doesn't change that even a man in his 30s can go pick up a trade over the course of 2~ years while also working a full time job. It will suck for 2~ years, but it can be done. Lack of guidance would no longer matter in your 30s... you can change if you really felt like it.

[@joeschmo622]

There's no such thing as a "labor shortage". Companies piss'n'moan that _"We can't find qualified people willing to work!"_ but what they really mean is _"We can't find qualified people willing to work... at the paltry salaries we're willing to pay!"._ People liked working from home, and they want to continue to do that. Make them do the daily slog, costing them the waste of both time and money, and they won't want to do that, either.

[@riel0563]

Forget the salaries. They don't even want to do proper training, so they will just put ridiculous requirements.

[@HelloKittySGTC]

Or they refuse to teach people to be qualified. If more jobs spent time training no experienced people it would help

[@HelloKittySGTC]

When we get robots we need to release the tension/control that money has over us. Robots should lesson the cost down to the customer costs

[@GhostRangerr]

But higher wages "CaUsEs InFlaTiOn" right right??

[@ADreamingTraveler]

We 'technically' kinda have a shortage because over 1 million workers died from covid. People think it was just old people who weren't working that died but most of the people who died were workers. Tons of people aged 30-60 died

[@stickyfox]

I fall into the "crushed hopes and dreams" category. I trained solder technicians and assembled spacecraft parts last year. I quit my job and will likely not return to STEM because my coworkers made less than $20/hour and couldn't even afford to fix their cars or take their pets to the vet, while our customers were taking cowboy hat selfies in orbit. I myself made enough to pay the rent and electricity, but there was virtually nothing left over to do home repairs or have any life of my own. I'll certainly never have any meaningful kind of "retirement." I'm fine with menial work that doesn't require me to use my brain from now on. Worker exploitation is out of control in this country and I just don't want to be a part of it anymore.

[@daviddebroux4708]

@RERAMUG I'm not a trucker but based on what I've read upon the deplorable conditions as a trucker, it is. It's god-awful work for little, and most trucking employers are just literally horrible people.

[@AuthorityCat]

@RERAMUG Trash pickup sucks but it can pay well... At least a CDL is something. You need some kind of paper or you're in the bottom 50% who pays rent until they die with no hop of escape if you can't push through some paywall or miraculously move without savings.

[@AUniqueHandleName444]

Yup. I make almost $300k/year and I still struggle to afford an actual house in an area with decent weather. It's not just the worker exploitation, it's also the laws we have that have been basically prohibiting building for about a decade. The whole system is just busted.

[@vincentadultman6226]

@@AUniqueHandleName444 I feel terrible for yall, such devastating issues, politicians doing the politik tango+back patting instead of helping their constituents. The problems are clear, the solutions less so, but it will make no difference if the leaders are blind. The culture War and Woke+anti-woke bullcrap is frustrating, as is the hold corporations and plain old money hold over the lives of the average Joe's. I feel we're looking at America's last stage of virtual prosperity. When the hens come home to roost, if politicians continue their bullcrap, America will finally achieve dystopia

[@SuperTime2Change]

Not only is the exploitation out of control, but the prejudice as well. People with impairments are commonly stereotyped, labelled and rejected in the workforce. I've been dealing with it my entire life. Many say they have no problem hiring, but when it comes to the crunch - denied. It's always the 'don't call us, we'll call you' scenario. They have no intention of hiring and it's their way of saying it in such a way they don't look bad. Even gone in to apply at places, left the establishment, looked through the window while leaving and see the owner throw my resume into the trash. Prejudice and discrimination in the workforce is a very, very real problem.

[@scoodler]

The people that complain that "no one wants to work anymore" are most often talking about a labor shortage in local service jobs, which frankly, doesn't even pay enough to rent a single room in a place like the SF Bay Area if you factor in additional expenses like food and utilities. If you reply with some basic numbers, they look at you like you are talking in a foreign language. They simply don't want to know. They just want to feel superior.

[@nomobobby]

What ticks me off here in suburbian OH is that new house prices contiune to climb despite the fact most jobs barely get +$1/hour raise over the last 3 years. IDK who keeps buying houses in OH but I seriously doubt its the locals, few I know make more the $70k/person a year against +400k new and ultra tight resale. Everyone is starting to hunker down and clutch what they have, because jobs won't pay enough to give you a house and newish car. Either a lot of businesses are only running on cheap labor or we're getting bought out for rent in USD for somebody...

[@indulgence42]

"no one wants to work" - *laughs in hundreds of dead job applications* 😶

[@smoothitalianleathereater6045]

I can tell you exactly why I'm no longer welding. I went to school, trained for two years, and every company I have worked for wants to try and pay $18 an hour where I live, or make you travel constantly, or work nights. I worked at one company for five years with no raise. I'm a hard worker, I don't complain and I show up on time, and if I'm getting paid this little then I decided I'm not doing it. I'll work at a coffee shop for $15 an hour and enjoy what I do, this industry can suck it.

[@tomlee3084]

You were probably the perfect worker for that position then and no one wanted to change it. I’ve seen temps or new hires come in looking junky and screwing up jobs yet get promoted and get bounced around from position to position hoping they will be good at something. Anyway, hope you are doing better with your new life. Far too many times I’ve seen good workers overlooked and it’s just disappointing for all involved.

[@salj.5459]

Did you ask for a raise?

[@getinthespace7715]

Start your own friggin business. Set your own prices. The guy paying you $15/hour is charging over $150/hour for your services. I'm an Engineer but figured this out right away. As an entry level engineer I was making $25/hr the company I worked for was billing me out at $200/hr. Friggin McDonald's pays $18/hr in my town. It's nuts.

[@tankiller9638]

@@getinthespace7715 19 for mcdonalds here with our guys starting at 19.50 in a warehouse, they cant figure out why we are always short staffed yet think we are worth 15 to 16 dollars an hour…yeah they are morons

[@windhelmguard5295]

@@salj.5459 completely irrelevant question.

[@camolotthe42]

Japan is experiencing this exact thing, where their populace is not just checking out of the workforce (or even not checking in in the first place), but straight up checking out of life. Hikkikimori basically just board themselves up in their rooms and wait to die because there's no point to doing anything else- no point to seeking relationships, having families, trying to have a career. It's all become so difficult and has so little reward to it that they all collectively decided "I'm done" and unplugged. Now, a version of this is happening in the US, where people are just giving up and disengaging, and companies are panicked and confused because all of the tried and true manipulations don't work on somebody who's blackpilled. You can only abuse someone for so long before they just stop trying, except that the abuse of corporations was never designed with people just *giving up* in mind.

[@MrKing-771]

You have to keep in mind that Japanese work culture is waaaay worse than the US.

[@dashaott849]

Yes I am one of those done being abused by the corporation. Nothing works. They don’t put money into training or keeping the staff. Plus they allowed a boss that is a narcissist to be my direct report. And I am done.

[@moosehead482]

People are just tired of working for companies who treat them as disposable, while expecting more and more. COVID really opened people's eyes about what is truly important in life...

[@bromine6072]

@@moosehead482 I keep saying that to people. We got several weeks even months where we just spent time with family and lived a more healthy lifestyle while at the same time hearing and seeing so many people die. People realized that life shouldn't be spent kissing corporate ass for some pennies.

[@Spacemonkeymojo]

Also happening in China with people "lying flat". I don't blame them. This is late stage capitalism and the rich won't share any of their wealth.

[@LifeBindeR222]

I was working 60-70h/week and was paying off debt rapidly in hope to save for a down payment to get a condo or something afterwards and have more stable life, the prices for homes just kept going up and have doubled, my rent has been hiked a substantial amount every year and there's nothing cheaper around me. I felt like I just burned out physically and emotionally, I simply don't have the energy to keep going because I'm not motivated at all anymore.

[@Nick84525]

Nobody needs to be working that much anyway

[@wilfriedvomacka1783]

Well, I know exactly what are you talking about. I was in same situation. But I thought about it and came to the conclusion, that I have time (I'm 33yo) and during last 100years prices was like on roller coaster and I guess it will continue to be this way. I will work hard, save, invest and wait. I have place to live for now and I will just pile savings and investments, working on being better, smarter, better paid etc. There will be at least two crashes in my lifetime, so I will be able to buy something somewhere in future.

[@mykeprior3436]

it's called being a slave to your LL. And it's completely wrong and bullshit. You. Paying this higher rent. Is why the house continues to elude, because they can take that much from you, it drives up that home's rent value. It's a disgusting thing that needs to die a vile gruesome death.

[@madmattlikesgreen]

⁠ 2 crashes? Brother you need to take another look at how the economy works. If you are only 33, you will probably see another 10-15 if America keeps going in the same direction

[@midnight_yota]

A lot of people in my circles (mid to late 20s and some early 30s) had sort of a crisis. They realized (due to covid) life is too short and valuable to spend all day everyday being miserable and not progressing in life. Exactly what Louis explained. When you have to work 60 hours to just barely afford an apartment and now houses have double or tripled in price, you lose all motivation to want to move up and just focus on surviving where you are. If I'm going to be stuck in this apartment I might as well reduce the stress from my day to day.

[@longbeach225]

Also remote work is changing the game! I know a guy who quit that was making 90k a year but the high taxes in California and cost of living made it not worth it. He was working 60 hours a week and still struggling. He quit his job and took a remote job for 40k per year and moved to Ecuador and now lives comfortable and has more time for himself. He works 35 hours per week and he says he feels healthy. I'm planning to do the same as well.

[@ambiarock590]

I've definitely realized that already, about a year into full time work. What's the point of working insane hours for the chance of getting a slightly bigger raise, when you become miserable in the process? I work with some people who are active in the work chat from morning until night, and it's not healthy. Take some time to enjoy life, see the world, do things that make life worth living, you are worth more than your paycheck.

[@gokublack8342]

May as well just go on welfare and do what you want 😂 people only complain about it because deep down they are jealous they can't do it

[@TND1483]

​@@longbeach225 except he lives in Equador lol. I mean being comfortable in the 3rd world isn't exactly what people brag about.

[@longbeach225]

@@TND1483 That is the idea. US salary even not much can allow you to live comfortable elsewhere. Honestly US is close to third world status. Look at US cities San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Portland and so on. Its bad.

[@JamesTDG]

Honestly, it's funny how people freak out about high retirement rates, but neglect to ask why

[@alf3071]

the probably know why they just don't want to admit it

[@cl1cka]

@@bhsiwh7373 It doesn't you cartoon character. It has to do with people being proud of not having children and less and less people having one. Which leads to inflation cause the number of young people buying stuff falls. When you combine this with the insane price of housing - you have a simple answer to the question. In order for the economy to function EVERYONE should have 3 children. It's not happening. So you need mass immigration. But the same people who don't want children, don't want immigrants either. Hence you end up with constant inflation. What's wrong with you? Always seeking insane conspiracies, when you have a VERY simple and logical answer.

[@utubenewb1265]

Well one reason a early retiree may stay unemployed is our mess of a medical and medical insurance system. Once people realize they can survive on a lower amount of money, and because of their new "poverty" they get cheap or virtually free medical care, and subsidized housing, they soone find out that a extra $2,000/month will raise their rents by $400-700, their taxes by 400-700, and their medical expenses by $400-700 with the added chance of a $3,000 ambulance ride, a $8,000 ER visit, and a $50,000 hospital stay. When rents on 1 bedroom apartments have gone up over 100% in 5 years to 1,000-1,800, and multiple prescription drugs available worldwide for $100 are here $750. The consequences of a elderly or disabled person attempting to return to work are incredibly great especially when they may lose $800 for earning $700. The number of people on VA disability pensions, and military pensions who rejoin the workforce is far higher than for other EARNED disability pensions. The reason is that VA and military pension benefits ALLOW success. Almost ALL other disability or old age pensions REQUIRE FAILURE.

[@indescribableemptiness4104]

What? The fact that the average baby boomer (largest age group in US history) retired 2 years ago and subsequently gen x one of the smallest generations has to fill that gap? It’s also the reason that we’ve seen the highest wage growth in recent history because of it? Edit: I was mistaken on the real wage growth part of it, it was just flat growth, but I included that to show that not all the effects are necessarily bad. Also that error still doesn’t detract from my main point that, this is majorly a demographic hole and not necessarily a Covid/work politic thing. Maybe for the extremely high cost of living areas the Covid policies had more of an impact because it caused people to move, but this was going to happen anyways. Just a little bit later.

[@ffwast]

@@indescribableemptiness4104 "wage growth"? Did inflation leave any actual growth there?

[@masonr1666]

There is a segment of the population that was hit very hard. From my personal experiences: 1) Graduated College in 2004 2) Great Recession 2008 - lay off, no jobs available. 3) Work a minimum wage job to pay off debt for 8 years. 4) 2015 finally get out of debt 5) 2020 lock downs, reduced hours savings used, debt used to survive. 6) 2022 whatever savings that was left, destroyed by inflation; also interest rates on debt eating away at earnings. 7) High debt, companies laying off & reducing the work force I wonder why people are falling out of the workforce? - They don't have hope.

[@midwestlakelife]

Similar experience here. We were definitely born in a f-ccked up time and our parents/grandparents who had it pretty easy finding good work don't understand.

[@FreelanceDev4life]

I lost 20k of wealth during the lockdowns. It's why I'm leaving for a country that doesn't care about that crap

[@marciamartins1992]

Yep, and you are not alone.

[@drakoan]

@@disruptapps Agreed the people who created these problems want to stay in charge but don't want to admit their mistakes so nothing is improving.

[@MikeTheD]

Meanwhile fat boomers sitting back with their multiple small homes going through the roof tell yall to buck up son. I’m between the both of you and man I hear you. It’s sucked for you guys, sucked less for me, and anyone over 60 needs to just pipe down on the subject.

[@brandoncontreras4909]

This was an issue beforehand, but the pandemic really brought out the worst of it and brought it to light. Employers treating employees like the employees should be grateful they have a job and that the employer is going out of their way for your sake. A gas station I worked at literally instilled the mindset during training that you are replaceable and you shouldn't expect more than what you signed up for. While true, that makes people question from day one "why should I put effort then?" That mindset also lowers morale, and gets you worse results. Another reason is employers undercutting you to maximize their profit. Wage/salary negotiation is no longer a thing, and employers will often turn you away at the interview if they detect even a hint of self-respect as they don't want valuable employees, but rather tools incapable of thinking for themselves. Companies will either hide deal-breaking information from you, or tell you outright that their terms are absolute and if you don't like it, you can find another job. So, after being turned down or dealing with so many red flags from many employers during the interview stages, people come to the conclusion that employers don't value them in this current workplace environment and fall out.

[@Val.Kyrie.]

Same thing in our kitchen. Told repeatedly do x y z you get raises. Line told this so many times. No raises. Got more and more responsibilities, manager duties, no raises. Was told you’re lucky you get the hours. Had to keep labour around 9% it was brutal. Was told multiple times I’m replaceable and not special. Except I’m one of the best sautés in the city and it takes 2-3 cooks to replace me on my nights off. 4 on a busy night.

[@TechnoSpice]

The workforce was already at the breaking point when the pandemic hit and hemhorraged just enough people to bring the whole system to one knee. All the things employers were ignoring because they could sweep it under the rug suddenly had no space left under the rug.

[@ACertainGuy0]

Had an interview at a restaurant a few months back, showed up 30 minutes early for the interview and told the hostess I was here for an interview with the hiring manager. She says okay, walks off and informs the hiring manager that im there early. She lets me know its gonna be a little bit cause im early and theyre in the lunch rush. Im like "thats fine, Im just being punctual is all." 30 minutes pass, my interview time arrives. No manager shows up. 1 hour more later, STILL no manager shows up and the hostess I spoke to originally walks past and tells me "the manager does this to everyone, she likes to test peoples patience". Mind you I had been out of a job for over 4 years so I was....patient as I didnt get interviews often. TWO FULL HOURS AFTER MY INTERVIEW TIME, the manager walks up like they arent two hours late and we go into a secluded area for the interview. I applied for a middle management position and we go through the usual process and stuff. At the end of a full hour interview (which she left 4 times by the way!) she offered to hire me........as a waiter...........what? I applied for a Flex Manager position and was offered......a waiter position........I was also offered a position at.......the downtown location? That is an additional twenty MILES drive when the place I applied for was 4 miles away, an easy car drive. .......I made up an excuse, walked out and never came back or called back. And my parents wonder why I dont want to go back to work in food service.......

[@Winspur1982]

A gas station in Chicago just burned down the other day (it had been very warm and dry for a while). So not only does that mindset destroy employee morale, it ends up destroying the physical infrastructure of the company too.

[@gokublack8342]

Night shift at Gas Stations definitely isn't worth it even before Covid. It's not safe (lots of crazies at night) they usually only have 1 person working the entire store that has to handle all situations on their own (you think the manager is going to help you at 2am??? They done turned their phone off lol) gotta solve whatever issue yourself so you're essentially a manager without the pay and you're at higher risk of being robbed and/or killed in fact when I worked nights the only thing I didn't do was write schedules. Edit: The one year I did it (I quit because I didn't get the raise I was promised for taking that position) I had to deal with a domestic violence situation, a angry drunk dude, another angry drunk dude that I had to call the cops on to get him out Teenager's partying in my parking lot causing noise complaints so I had to call the cops to remove them...Had to throw a Karen out of my store because she was yelling at the top of her lungs preventing from hearing the other customers.....I could go on but I can promise you it's not worth minimum wage

[@hwlovell]

I personally know two people that left the workforce. One of them was a talented writer. Presently people pay her to edit documents and she writes a blog. She was working for the government. She was talented and hard working. However she was a threat to those above her. She could do thier jobs with ease. So they made her life miserable. They kept promoting people who were both untalented and mean. The second person I know is brilliant. He was working for a couple companies and they picked on him. He just wanted to get the job done. He actually had co-workers punch him because he could draw better than them. So now he goes on to Reddit and gets freelance jobs to draw things for companies and people. He is pulling in six figures. Both of them had a lot to offer the workforce. The workforce turned them off. Bosses need to see and retain talent rather than feel that they are competition. It would be my dream to make money at home as well. Both of these people are laid back, travel, read a lot and are living thier best lives. I wish I had thier skills and connections.

[@Winspur1982]

As a writer, and someone who likes to draw baseball scenes for fun sometimes, I completely understand these anecdotes.

[@hertzwave8001]

i hope the second guy has a subscribestar/patreon for that sort of thing as a backup plan too

[@StrenkoB]

Low-income employees starting treating companies the same way that companies treated low-income employees. Like they don't exist.

[@sicsempertyrannis4104]

The world we grew up in no longer exists

[@eligefashion]

🎯🎯🎯

[@bonzaibrownie2853]

There's no labor shortage. Employers are way too picky on who they want to hire. Even qualified and skilled workers get ghosted or turned down for a job that they're qualified for. Therefore, employers have absolutely no right to complain about not finding workers.

[@Teddy-hp9zy]

I work at a grocery store and I honestly really like it. My coworkers are kind, the customers are customers but we don't have to endlessly cater to them, the environment is good, I actually do something that genuinely helps people (feels good to help carry groceries to lil old ladies cars and stuff. you know, helping people :D) if only i made enough money to live. The devaluation of cashiers/line cooks/waiters/etc is mindboggling to me and the conditions of most low wage jobs are even more absurd

[@nickpavia9021]

One of my first jobs was as a line cook. I really enjoyed it, but I only worked there for a few years because it didn't pay even close to enough to live on if I ever wanted a house, children, to go back to college, etc. It was a fine enough job as a young adult living with a roommate though.

[@aerialpunk]

Sometimes I'll wait in line at the till with a l cashier, even if it's inconvenient, because I like those little human interactions during the day. Who wants to interact with robots all day? Not this lady.

[@wintersprite]

I work in a grocery store too. I also still live at home with my parents (which works as it allows me to have my two cats.

[@ambiarock590]

Imagine if all grocery store workers quit, we'd all be fucked. We would all starve! You guys should be paid way more, you are highly valuable in society.

[@SinTeller]

I don't work grocery, but I work retail. I'm in a similar position where I like my coworkers, even some of my leads are nice, and I like organizing things around the store. But I'm one of the hardest workers there and my raise didn't even cover inflation. That means my coworkers got an even worse raise and they're dropping like flies. Then we end up with so many new people who can't finish a whole work load (not their fault), and stay later to finish their workload. I need a second job and I imagine they're going to be upset when I can no longer put in extra hours. They can blame corporate greed for that.

[@mxslick50]

Main problem is that employers have treated employees as liabilities rather than assets. They constantly demand output not even remotely in line with the slave wages they pay, then create a hostile work environment to punish "poor performance". They also don't care about the simple fact that employees are human, and have (need) lives outside of work. My last employer touted themselves as "a family" which is one of the major red flags of a toxic workplace. If you were in any way different from their idea of "family" you were always treated very poorly. Lack of respect for knowledge, no thanks or recognition for anything unique or valuable you brought to the table, assigning you work tasks at a higher level than your job title or trade license was, then refusing to pay accordingly or even acknowledge the "extra mile." When I lost a family member my "family environment" employer acted like I was disloyal to ask for bereavement leave to attend the services out of state. So yeah, fuck it. I am restarting (at age 60) my own business where I am the one responsible for my fate, no longer subject to the mood swings of a boss who stabs me in the back repeatedly and expects me to be grateful for the "honor" of working for him.

[@bwest-yq3uc]

I think I worked at the same company..no, this is the way companies are nation wide. Our Labor laws are outdated.

[@mxslick50]

@@alysa121 Yep and guess who that was in my case?

[@alwaysyouramanda]

I hurt my back and the manager ran away to another building (he told me he didn’t even have a diploma from h.s.) went on to make 6 figures while I got 6k to quit and stfu. US Heath works “lost” my X-ray when I asked for it. I was 27. These logistics companies are running through bodies. My shoulders are even messed up. Got mild symptoms of arthritis in my fingers.. all by 30. Chronic back pain they called it but that was all they’d do for me.

[@vocalityovertime]

You foolish entitled millennial. Oh, 60 years old. Maybe it's true employers are treating people like crap? Nah, he must be an outlying data point, ignore him.

[@shanpatrickbaker988]

They will just replace cry-baby employees with perfectly functioning robotics and/or AI machines. Why would a business value expensive employees that have terrible output?

[@stortacus]

Housing has doubled within the last 3 years. Food and energy has pretty much doubled in the last 3 years. Wages have not doubled in the last 3 years. Employers want tons of experience for beginning level jobs. The math doesn't add up. That's why people are dropping out of the workforce, along with businesses just going out on top of it.

[@RM-xs3ci]

I've been jobless for the last 10 years, even after going for computer science. I have a slight verbal communication issue (not even that bad of a disability), but it seems to make me a bad candidate. And now with the lack of job exp, my resume reads like a red flag.

[@seanclark8452]

The value of the dollar has halved after the Fed printed trillions

[@Holycurative9610]

@@RM-xs3ci Mine too, as soon as I put down my age (55) prospective employers chuck it in the bin🤣🤣

[@killerboybe1515]

but how are these people surviing tho i mean you still need money to eat and have roof over your head. are there that many people straight up picking to be homeless not a american so have hard trouble understanding if so many people leave the work force entirely how are they surviving? i could understand people migrating to other job sectors or becoming self employed by some side hustle they had. but completely not working not everybody has parents willing to foot the bill for somebody stuck in there basement

[@maweitao]

Wages have risen and in some cases considerably. It's just that those increases aren't evenly distributed across the economy. The tech industry in particular has seen a lot of growth, in large part because demand for workers has been high. Prior to the current wave of layoffs there has been an insane hiring frenzy across the industry. Even now, I know plenty of people still getting inquiries from recruiters. Inevitably those people end up spending more. It's why so many consumer products, from laptops to collectables were constantly sold out through early 2022. They also helped feed the real estate market. Even now, in some parts of the country the market is still overheated as yuppies look to move into more affluent neighborhoods. It's crazy. Of course, the working class the working class is getting screwed. Unfortunately, their plight is being ignored by everybody.

[@csc1641]

I worked my whole life and ended up with nothing in the end. Throw in cancer 3 years ago and my age and I was thrust into taking social security at 62-years old. I worked full-time and educated myself at night to get a degree so being lazy wasn't part of my vocabulary. It just never added up for me. I decided I couldn't send out another resume in the new year and thus, I decided to start my own business which I am passionate about. I couldn't leave my future up to another human being any longer. I am a hard worker and that will be invested in my own interests now and not some cold corporation that expects 50-hour work weeks with no raises. I have the best boss in the world now (me) and the raises are fantastic!

[@liberty.b.r]

Glad things worked for you, and God bless! :)

[@jakepokemonman1227]

Hey man could you explain to me how difficult starting your own business was? I have to try this at some point. I don't know the process or the challenges.

[@nickpavia9021]

@@jakepokemonman1227 It depends what kind of business you want to start. All you really need to do is file articles of incorporation with the Secretary of State in your state (I live in the US, not sure how it works in other countries) and open a business account at a bank with the business tax ID that the Secretary of State assigns you. After that, it really depends if there are any licenses/certifications that your state requires in order for the type of business you want to open to operate. Also, I would highly recommend that you learn some accounting basics. There are a lot of good resources for that on KZbin. You will also want to be familiar with employment laws in your state if you are going to be hiring employees. If you plan for your business to have more than a few people working there, then I would highly recommend hiring an HR Rep to manage your employees. It is a job that is much harder than it looks and is not appreciated enough in my opinion.

[@tbotalpha8133]

@@jakepokemonman1227 Start a cooperative. Give your workers a say in how the business is run and a share of the profits. Otherwise, you are just another exploiter of labour. The exact same as the vampires that have sucked away people's lives up to this point.

[@cosmicllama6910]

It means a lot to me to hear all this coming from someone who is not in my generation or younger. I have become seriously bitter from older people claiming complete obliviousness to young people's burnout despite the housing situation on top of everything else.

[@taylor943]

Yeah, Boomers sucked the system dry and left us with the dead husk

[@cosmicllama6910]

@@taylor943 then they mastered gaslighting like a form of art. I want to know who they think is going to take care of them? Probably not the CNA's that the boomers would say don't deserve a living wage. These people will complain that their houses are too big for them to keep clean, then they complain when the pet sitter who can barely afford a single room raises the price by two dollars. My sister asked the client to her face "do you think i deserve my own place for how hard i work?" Of course to my sisters face she exclaimed "of course!" 🙄

[@distributin]

@@cosmicllama6910 Even most of the boomers don't have money. The real problem is that we allow uber rich parasites to exist. So long as the parasites exist, the body social will continue to decay. We have to accept that having a real living wage is a HUMAN RIGHT, not a nice to have, or whatever. Once we all agree on that, then the proper laws will follow.

[@runswithraptors]

@@cosmicllama6910 lol nice, boomers are literally incapable of thinking about others

[@shelleythompson-brock6412]

@@taylor943 No, they didn't. Grow the fuck up.

[@233kosta]

The whole point of being an employee is certainty and security. When you show people that those promises are bullshit, they begin to rethink their priorities. Cue surprise Pikachu face...

[@VideoGameStarChannelSupreme]

Life after layoff made a really good video on how company loyalty has been destroyed entirely. First they came after the pensions, but I didn't cry out because I didn't receive a pension Then they came after the benefits, but I didn't cry out because I didn't have any benefits Then they came after the blue-collar workers, but I didn't cry out because I wasn't a blue-collar worker But when they came for me (the white collar worker), there was no one and nothing left to save me.

[@tbotalpha8133]

No, the whole point of being an employee is to generate profits that fill someone else' pockets. That's the way it's always been. The only reason any corporation has ever shown any loyalty to any worker, is because the workers formed labour unions, and fought for labour protection laws and social safety nets. Corporations "cared" for their workers, because the workers had a metaphorical gun to their heads. And the instant the unions, labour protections and safety nets disappeared, corporations went straight back to squeezing workers dry.

[@233kosta]

@@tbotalpha8133 So if there are no benefits to being an employee, why the fuck wouldn't people just do their own thing?

[@tbotalpha8133]

@@233kosta Because under capitalism, "not dying" is deemed a privilege that must be paid for, instead of a human right. People have to pay for their own food, water, shelter, clothing, healthcare, and so much more. Meanwhile most of the wealth in society, and the means of producing more wealth, is in the hands of business-owners, who will only share if the non-owners (that is, the common workers) do their bidding. This is the foundation of employer-employee relationships under capitalism. People become employees because the alternative is starvation, homelessness and death. And people accept awful, dangerous jobs, because they are in no position to refuse their employers. Most people do not have the money to "just do their own thing". Because being forced to pay for their right to live leaves them with very little to put into savings. And people often suffer unexcepted injuries, illnesses or property damage, which introduce heavy additional costs. When people have to pay those costs out of their own pockets, such incidents can easily wipe out their savings, and put them back at square one. It is extremely hard to escape poverty. For every standout individual who manages it, a million more perish in the attempt. That's why socialists advocate for things like welfare systems, council housing and publicly-funded healthcare. These policies remove the price tag on staying alive, allowing people to accumulate their own savings so they can "do their own thing", whatever that may be. And they undermine the power that business-owners hold over their workers. Without welfare systems, the threat of being fired is effectively the threat of death. Do as your boss says, or starve. But with welfare systems in place, such threats become a lot more toothless. Employers can't just threaten their workers into compliant service, when being unemployed holds no danger. Welfare systems strengthen the bargaining position of all workers, and force employers to justify themselves to their employees. Business-owners have to start offering workers better deals than their competitors, because the workers no longer "need" employment. The workers can afford to say no to shitty offers. That's why working conditions in European countries like Germany are so good. The presence of strong unions and welfare systems forces business-owners to bargain with their workers on a more level playing field. ...And this is also why corporations back political legislation and policies that weaken welfare systems. They are trying to undermine the bargaining power of workers, so they can extract profit from their labour more freely.

[@SoaringMoon]

This carrot analogy is excellent. Because if a carrot is moving away from me really quickly. I'm going to eventually be like, "screw it, I'll just grow my own damn carrot".

[@terrywert6587]

That would be called "self-employment".

[@SvengelskaBlondie]

"hydroponics intensifies"

[@logans3365]

People are just getting tired of using 100% of their effort to get 30% of the profit that it generated, while the rest goes to someone who allegedly owns the company and likely doesn’t actually produce any value themselves.

[@dakotaheeren7468]

ive seen CEOs waste millions on bad decisions that any spatula jockey could have told them was a terrible idea. those people dont exist in the realm of reality, they surround themselves with yes men and never accept criticism as valid.

[@fumothfan9]

​@@dakotaheeren7468 and those companies usually end up failing. But i agree. We need the opp of yes men people who will scream and downplay you. Also neopitism or whatever it is called is also a factor. Higher positions going to family and friends. Who you know. Then you see most of who you know ended up going to the same ideas and knowledge. Thus any "good" idea is an echo chamber when anyone on the outside can see wtf is wrong with you lot? It's honestly how my job works. We have a board of multiple people who make the rules and policies. They may not all 100% agree but they all agree to voice their opinions. It is sorta what has saved our butts a lot from bad decisions and investments thus we all keep our jobs.

[@tbotalpha8133]

@@fumothfan9 Are you in a worker's cooperative? Did you and your peers elect the people on that executive board? Because if you're not... yeah, that board is going to wind up full of idiots and scumbags eventually. It's the nature of top-down power structures - they select for quality of bootlicking, not merit.

[@SinTeller]

​@@dakotaheeren7468 They do that, then tell HR to lecture us about how our "lazy work ethic" (aka not being able to finish the 8-hour workload of 2 people in 6 hours) caused our store to lose profit.

[@jesseteixeira6284]

@@fumothfan9 No they don't. Not if they're big enough. In a functional economy, they would collapse. But they've captured the levers of government through lobbying. So now they can just bail themselves out by asking the government for money. And taxpayers foot the bill.

[@jonholston1080]

Love your message. I've been saying the same thing for a couple years. When the system stops working for people, people stop working in the system.

[@stephensays8726]

The system stopped working in the 90's (and was set on its path in the 80s), it's just taken this long for things to get bad enough that people lost hope.

[@amanofnoreputation2164]

"Why aren't people returning to the workforce?" Because owning a home, a basic human need, can be called a "dream" with a straight face. That's why people aren't returning to the workforce. That's why people are anxious and depressed. It's not because we don't beileve in God anymore. It's not because of climate change or politics. It's not because of social media. -- None of those things help, but the simple, obvious reason people are giving up on life or what has been socially inculcated as the normal pattern of life, is because their lives are fundamentally not livable. It's like locking a plant in a dark cupboard and wondering why it doesn't pull itself up by it's own bootstraps and photosynthesize without any light.

[@windhelmguard5295]

the simple "issue" (not really an issue in my opinion) that capitalism goes both ways, so now that there is a high demand for workers and a low supply of workers, the workers don't need to be beggars any more, they're the choosers now and the companies are the beggars and the companies fucking HATE that.

[@purplenights1]

Owning a home is simply a roof over your head. The difference is that home ownership comes with a lot more expenses and headaches involved in doing so.

[@howardbonds5106]

@@purplenights1 not when the home is 1200 month plus expenses and a room goes for 1400 plus expenses...in dc anyway this is literally the case...in california you can rent a garage for around 3k in some areas...its really really bad.

[@whitneygmabry9345]

@@windhelmguard5295 yes!! Absolutely. The way I see it, I'm offering a service through my life, body, and mind. I am the one who gets to decide who gets to benefit from this. If I am not treated as such, good riddance. I know my worth. I will not stay where I am not of value. My life is more important than anyone else's business. It is strange to me that many people dont see it this way. If a business cant afford to pay their employees a livable wage with a set schedule, they need to go under.

[@nickm5419]

Good

[@joshy5lo]

Honestly any time I meet someone in a trade that isn’t union, I let them know how much money I make and let them see my paystub so they know that companies make enough to pay them appropriately for there time. And they should demand it. I feel like we are in the early stages of another labor movement like we saw in the 1920s. People have to just be fed up enough

[@joshy5lo]

@@menjolno agreed. I don't think capitalism is bad. I fall somewhere between capitalist and socialist. But capitalism left unchecked by workers isnt a game I want to be a part of.

[@chadhinkley7532]

I work in a trade for non union and get better benefits then a union one and a far more cheerier work environment, everyone is good to each other, excellent pay, I’ve never seen a medical bill despite my heart condition and needing regular check ups for it, and my schooling is paid for. Meanwhile union companies have all these dues and they make you buy your own tools

[@ArthurTheUnbrokenBlade]

@@joshy5lo I don't think it's the system, but the people. A lot of this stems from greed. The people in power are morally poor and value paper more than people; and this can be true whether it be capitalism or socialism. It's a moral problem, not a system problem. In my opinion.

[@inuendo6365]

​@@chadhinkley7532what field do you work in? Do other companies in your field have unions? I worked survey technology before the pandemic for ok pay but utter garbage benefits. Rival company (I had applied for but didn't get interviewed) had a union and their employees got paid more, more vacation and better benefits. Unionized company survived the pandemic with most of its employees returning happily. Mine had to downsize significantly and those who remained are WFH or else they will leave. So even for higher end work I think unions are more beneficial than not but I am curious what fields this might not be true.

[@Winspur1982]

Yes. The UPS strike on Aug. 1st (it seems 99.99% certain to happen now) will yank a lot of people's eyes open like no number of surveys or studies ever will.

[@Agent_Butterman]

I'm one of these people. My gf and I had just started home shopping in 2019. We had good jobs and an ample savings for a very substantial down payment on a house in pretty good neighborhoods around town. The pandemic hit and prices skyrocketed. The longer we tried to wait it out the worse it got. Now interest rates are through the roof and prices aren't coming down. I got laid off last year and since then I've just been doing remote freelance gigs here and there. At age 39 and after the lockdowns - now that I've seen I can easily get the same amount of work done from home, I can't justify killing my body every day with 12-15 hour door to door LIRR rides to and from the city anymore just so middle and upper management can feel more secure physically seeing me at a desk. I no longer want to deal with the corporate politics and bs. And for what? Home and interest rate prices have gotten so out of control, we can barely afford a small apartment or cottage in a sketchy neighborhood. We are considering leaving our careers to start over somewhere much cheaper so we can afford a decent home and make ends meet with more simple local jobs and remote work.

[@saxman112]

Good luck! With the way housing is pretty much everywhere right now still, it's a jungle out there so it's no wonder why everywhere there's empty plots of land, townhomes have now sprang up on them. I too did some home shopping last month the weekend before memorial day weekend, and before even getting to that, it was a little discouraging with seeing places that were listed anywhere from a few days to a week or so and being gone just like that. Either that, or just knowing that there would be some places that would end up selling for insane amounts over the list price. That weekend came and went though, and thankfully I was successful in my home shopping with a realtor as at the end of that weekend I had an accepted offer on a very well kept 2 br/1.5 bath/2-car garage townhome that I now close on in 2 weeks from this Friday. Ended up being very lucky as said place was on the market for just 2 weeks at that point with no other offers shockingly, and said offer I put in I put in a few thousand than the list price.

[@waultz4143]

Move out of the u.s.a if you want relief. Seriously, that country is garbage.

[@discman15]

Last I heard every major tech company was laying off 20% of its workforce during record profits, that doesn't sound like a labor shortage to me

[@deadcatbounce3124]

I think they realized how many BS jobs they really had.

[@kspfan001]

@@Wilhelm4131 Most of the automation that significantly impacted the labor force happened in the 50s & 60s. Almost every company in the entire tech industry didn't layoff 10-20% of it's workers because of automation. It happened because our political-economic system is controlled by a handful of people with almost all of the capital, they decided the tech industry was no longer capable of the delusionally high returns demanded of them, and they started pulling their money out enmass. I work in the tech industry as a Site Reliability Engineer, IE: I automate things. The joke is that SREs are basically trying to automate themselves out of the job. But, I guarantee you there is still tons of stuff that remains to be automated at even the biggest tech companies, and that list will continue to grow. I also got laid off a few months ago along with many others where I worked. It had nothing to do with automation and everything to do with investors demanding more profitability. The easiest way to do that for companies is to throw workers overboard and give their wages & the fruits of their labor to investors. Our political-economy is a profoundly sick system with a deranged amoral compass.

[@verigumetin4291]

@@Wilhelm4131 Well I hope those robots are going to consume instead, because the people laid off sure as hell can't afford to anymore.

[@someone-ji2zb]

@@verigumetin4291 Well yes and no. Record number of single people have record high amounts of disposable income. Doordash and other similar businesses are skyrocketing this last year despite the inflation rates, and it is because a bunch of single people can't be bothered to cook for themselves even if it would save them 600 a month on food. Same applies to electronics, many other luxury items and even vehicles. Meanwhile toy stores are going out of business as well as family oriented places due to the low birth and marriage rates. So it is more like we will see a huge shift in what is being produced; many businesses will fail, but others will emerge doing other things. Bottom line is that most men and women wont develop a skill that is valuable, so the pool is massive for entry level work... even to the point where they can demand experience for entry level and still find workers to fill it.

[@eddier155]

@@Wilhelm4131 More like it's called reality, they didn't need those people to begin with but hired them for some other reason.

[@Drn10n]

the disconnect of the people on top is incredible sometimes. my father just bought a fast food chain out of bankruptcy and needed about 80 workers, and apparently when you pay something people can actually live of and provide a possible way up you can get 80 workers in a month.

[@darkzeroprojects4245]

If it's not them, it's the socialist and progressives.

[@basilman121]

​@FALL1N1 what is greek minimum wage?

[@thumper84]

​@@fall1n1chan so money laundering and tax fraud. Plus your dumb enough to post it online. Too funny

[@LilacMonarch]

I'm convinced it's not a disconnect, it's a charade. They PRETEND they can't get workers because they know intentionally understaffing lets them pay less for the same amount of work and line those pockets.

[@tissuepaper9962]

@@ta-software-solutions you clearly don't understand the state of the Greek economy, my friend. It's not doing great, 5€/hour is very solid compensation there by itself, and the other half of the wage is under the table in cash.

[@hillaryvasquez9651]

It should be "people don't want to be slaves anymore!" instead of "people don't want to work anymore" Many people particularly the younger generation, use the range of unconventional methods of earning a living these days. I worked in the retail for over 10 years, so I'm quite happy that this is taking place. For too long, retail bullied me and a lot of my employees/colleagues saying things like " if you don't like it, go; another like you is waiting to get in your position" since the COVID, I found a job that helps me grow, pays me more and Values Me Social Media cleared the way for a rapidly expanding market, and it taught us a lot. 2020 was my turning point, and investment helped alot!

[@bashirauwal5825]

The majority of this new generation loves working remotely and prefers to be their own boss

[@hillaryvasquez9651]

Yeah the 2020 pandemic gave everyone a big rethink! I tried a lot of things I realized I shouldn't just let my savings sit in the bank, try side hustles. It paid

[@bashirauwal5825]

Speaking about investing, what Worthwhile investment are you making ? And how do you do it ? I can learn and put my savings into good use

[@hillaryvasquez9651]

There's various profitable ways to invest. Starting out you need to work with experienced hands to work you through. As a rookie I dabbled on and made mistakes till I got a mentor to put me on the right track. You can search one too, read books and do your own research

[@bashirauwal5825]

I appreciate your reply. Please suggest a financial expert so I may start my search from there

[@RobertWGreaves]

Born in 1951, I entered the job force in 1970. By the time I had reached 32, I had worked for 17 companies that no longer existed. My résumé looked like a joke. It was a listing of who used to be. At the age of 40, I decided to quit and became a self-employed full-time musician. Certainly it was a rough road at times. But I managed to make it work. I became a session musician and a freelance audio engineer. COVID brought it all down, fortunately I was ready to retire. It was true for me that when a résumé is filled with a bunch of jobs for companies that fail, that can make it difficult to land a solid job.

[@runswithraptors]

That's the way it should be, businesses are meant to end, give someone else a chance at it 🙏✌️

[@aidanwow1593]

See, asking people would mean that journalists would have leave their ivory tower and interact with the general population and nothing is more horrifying than that.

[@powerpcmac]

It would get them answers they don't want. The whole point of "media" and "journalism" at this point is to make sure everyone thinks the Potemkin village is in great shape.

[@trowawayacc]

Journalism is death. All news are feed tru coorporate owned news. The late show did a montage one time. All 50 or so news networks same script.

[@master74200]

Ironically, going out and studying the population is exactly what journalists DO to write proper articles of the kind talked about. It just happens that these journalists aren't doing their job, or aren't allowed to.

[@thedopplereffect00]

It's cause they don't want their feelings hurt by real people

[@MonkeyJedi99]

@@master74200 Or they aren't really journalist, just Twitter copy-paste specialists.

[@Delimon007]

It's almost like people started to understand that time is something they can NEVER get back or something and started spending their time doing things that they care about more.

[@FlyboyHelosim]

That's all well and good, but how do they afford it? Especially in the U.S. where the consumer is getting fucked left, right, and center.

[@DetectiveRackham]

It is an unfortunate fact that it is much easier to get an affordable firearm and ammunition than affordable healthcare in the US…

[@CD-vb9fi]

@@FlyboyHelosim They stopped being "keeping up with the Kardasian" types of people where they have to have all the nice things and sign up for stupid as it gets financial debt to try.

[@Delimon007]

@@FlyboyHelosim If I can work part time, take half the year off and enjoy life making 15-18 an hour, I'm sure that people can find a way.

[@Delimon007]

@@CD-vb9fi This. Instead of thinking "I need to buy a house" I bought a condo instead. My mortage is sub $500. Instead of thinking "I need a car" I have my things delivered to me now, the insurance costs ALONE for a vehicle is at least THREE times my delivery fees so I'm saving a TON of money and I'm very happy to be doing so. I decided to make moves to set myself for early retirement, not for being rich. Get with the program already.

[@EpixOrBust]

nobody pays enough to be treated poorly, stand all day, or ignore your own physical health over the needs of corporations. I've done a lot of service and manual labor and I'll never be properly compensated for the loss in quality of life.

[@westonf8779]

In my mom's situation, she got laid off during the pandemic and was on unemployment / seeking employment. Things got to being more normal and now she's got a gapping a resume which made seeking employment difficult, which furthers that gap of unemployment

[@jdedrington]

"Why you no work?" "You spent the last two years paying me to stay home and then I realized how much I was spending eating out 8 times a week during my commute. I now live on half of the salary and have twice the disposable income."

[@verigumetin4291]

Smart man. I live frugally and only need to work two or three months a year. Why bother doing more.

[@someone-ji2zb]

@@verigumetin4291 Family

[@TheYoutubeUser69]

@@someone-ji2zb mate who the fuck has kids when ther world's literally going under atm

[@gatriemacleinn1976]

I'm filling out applications left and right, but no one will interview me. I'm sick of being gaslit that there's an abundance of jobs needing filled urgently

[@LongLostYellowRanger]

I've applied to over 100 jobs in the past two weeks here around the Houston area. I'm looking for remote jobs actually because it's easier on me since I have family that always needs to go to the doctor, and I'm in school. I get one or two responses, I respond back, then they disappear or remove the job. Then they put it back up weeks later. I've been looking and applying for jobs for the past several years, before covid. I'm starting to think they're doing this shit on purpose. Something is definitely going on.

[@chadbugansky]

Entry level retail work requiring degrees. No one is gonna take on years of unforgivable debt to get yelled at by Karens or Stans when their ipad got a crack in it after their kid threw it at the wall in a sugar rager. These businesses have the capability to lower their work requirements; they just don't.

[@LongLostYellowRanger]

@@chadbugansky I randomly saw an entry level job that required no degree but 25 years experience. It pisses me off because that means I would of have to of been employed at the age of 12 lol - and these are call center jobs. FUCKIN' CALL CENTER!!!

[@captainhakob814]

A person came to the car dealership for a job. We were busy on a weekend, so I told him come back on Monday. An hour or so later he comes back up and says, he says, here is $4000 that couple likes the red one. Hired him on the spot. I tried to shrug this guy off and he goes and sells a car. Don't ask for a job. Get a job.

[@weareorigin]

There's dozens to hundreds applying for the same job. Some jobs require 5-15 years of experience and a college degree to stand out...but a random 14-year old WITH TRAINING can do the jobs.

[@Thinginator]

My personal experience with it was that when I tried to enter the workforce post-COVID, I was hired by a machine shop that had gone from 30+ employees to just five over the course of the pandemic, with the understanding that I was a total newbie and was going to need training. Now, I was actually looking forward to this, machining is interesting - but everyone was far too busy to actually train me to do anything, so I was stuck doing repetitive tasks that are mind-numbingly boring but also possible to mess up in a way that costs hundreds of dollars so you still have to be attentive. This was going fine for about three days, until I had a misunderstanding about a particular machine, made a mistake, and cost two other employees three hours of their time to fix their mistake. From conversations I've had with other machinists, this shouldn't have been a big deal, that's to be expected when training a new guy - and I certainly wouldn't have made that mistake again. But given how few people they had and how much they were trying to do to keep the business afloat, they considered my rookie mistake such a problem that I was fired because anything less than perfection was too big of a risk for them. I wouldn't be surprised if this is the case for other businesses as well, training new people is important and necessary, but for businesses that lost a lot of workers, it could be considered too big of a liability when they're already in survival mode. They might say they're hiring, but they want someone with experience because nobody wants to train employees anymore, and if you make a mistake you're out.

[@gordongekko2781]

If I owned a chair like that one, then I don't know if I would ever stand up.

[@liamjohnson8000]

Pretty sure it’s the opposite reason video game addiction has increased so drastically. Video games guarantee progress and rewards for hard work, something that was always promised in America. Working hard at maybe 80% of jobs will get you nowhere even after dedicating your life to it because of inflation, taxes, greed and corruption. I think a lot of people realized while they weren’t working that their hard work was fruitless.

[@LegioXXI]

"Video games guarantee progress and rewards for hard work" Good joke, nowadays many games are pay2win or at least pay2impress and sometimes as stressful as real jobs. At least when it comes to the AAA titles. Video game addiction is simply a side effect of people having too much time (first covid lockdowns, later the dropout of the work force) and being increasingly lonely.

[@Tat011]

​@Legio Rapax No one is forcing you to play shitty games lol.

[@Shteven]

When I worked at Fry's, most of us had roomates, lived with their parents, and were on food stamps, while working full time. Then corporate decided to send monthly emails detailing how profitable the store was. They were clearing 1 million on profit a month and spent roughly 50k a month on their employees. I quit not long after and have opted to shop elsewhere.

[@TheEpicPancake]

I think it's more likely people are playing video games because they're fun and accessible when people aren't. Likening the popularity of video games to a void of personal gratification present in jobs is a baffling take.

[@gokublack8342]

@LegioXXI Just don't play garbo games there are more amazing games out there then you will probably live to play as long as you're willing to play older stuff

[@ZetaCancri]

I can't imagine why people don't want to return to bad workplaces with bad management and get paid badly for it 🤔

[@mrcalzon02]

exactly! it's almost like middle-of-nowhere crap employers think they can get away with murder just because they happen to have cash and don't think consequences and rules are things that apply to them! Ge i wonder why !

[@abisummers6789]

yeah, I'm trying to find a new job bc of the management at where I'm at now. they are super out of touch and I'd be better going somewhere else

[@someone-ji2zb]

So many places abusing salary workers with overtime. Who wants to spend their frickin life at work with no extra reward?

[@GeorgeBobeck]

To quote The Bloodhound Gang: "If I want to be repeatedly shit on I'll go make Dutch porn"

[@fkagamingcrafts6756]

The major issue is Most places of work have a hostile environment. People get targeted, discriminated against, and harrassed In alot of these places. I just left a job where people actively yelled I want this person fired, Gossiped on company radios and even groped me on the stomach, and threw tempertantrums when things were caught up. The major reason is in my views the hostile nature of most business workplaces. You should not have to feel fear or paranoia in a job site!

[@HelloNotMe9999]

I can’t speak for everyone, but I’ve been TRYING to get back into the workforce after being out of it for a few years for various reasons. I can’t even remember how many jobs I’ve tried for in everything from fast food to long haul truck driving (since I still have my Class A CDL), only to be told to pack sand because, “you don’t have any recent work experience.”

[@stevedavenport1202]

Hmm, where do you live? Trucking companies are desperate to get butts in seats. You can also try your local school district and become a bus driver.

[@HelloNotMe9999]

@@stevedavenport1202 Ha! No. Suffice it to say that me stuck in a bus with a bunch of kids would be... less than ideal.

[@dr.watson8880]

@@stevedavenport1202 I have a Class A CDL with passenger endorsement. Drove semi first then city job. The city job was bullshit. In my fifth month of probation, had one left to go. Some ass wipe gave me eight points. 5 points in probation is enough to get fired. So I had to resigned from the bus job. I have zero trust on city jobs now. I used to give 110%, now just enough to not get fired. Do not give them your best. Fuck them.

[@runswithraptors]

@@stevedavenport1202 lol drive a school bus for a whopping 15 hours a week, that'll pay the bills!!

[@joeMW284]

People with average incomes can't afford to buy a house because we let corporate real estate investors run amok. There's zero hope of any kind of regulation because said corporations can buy any politician that stands in their way. It's incredibly disheartening.

[@messwithhelpy]

Irrelevant

[@joeMW284]

@@messwithhelpy ok.

[@machinist7230]

Except it's not true - last year, corporate investors made up just under a quarter of home sales. That's the highest it's ever been in the last 25 years. I think corp investors make up less than ten percent of homes nationwide. They're not the cause, they're a symptom - home prices have outpaced wage growth going back to the late 70s.

[@lf1977]

​@Machinist 72 By a quarter, do you mean enough to successfully 'move' the market value for a successful pump and dump? Because that appears to be what is happening

[@Delimon007]

Buy properties that are not allowed to be rented out and it says so on the terms and conditions of owning the deed. Thank me later.

[@The_Forge_Master]

My view on the "worker shortage" is that most applicants are being filtered out by AI with way-too-high standards and never get the chance to be seen by a human.

[@McMyerz223]

Yeup, Indeed may not be the best place for me to be looking but I can't believe how many jobs are asking for people with degrees to work for under 20 bucks an hour. Seems like wishful thinking on their part lol.

[@jasonwebb876]

That's a very interesting perspective. I've not thought about that

[@KyriosHeptagrammaton]

I've had automated systems straight up say they're not taking my application. Only twice for government jobs, but it's definitely happened.

[@hellboy19991]

gotta love the kind of job that expects 5 years of experience with something that has only existed for the last 2 years

[@paolaanimator]

@@McMyerz223 LOL I'm looking at entry level positions, I have a BA degree, been updating my resume and website, and the requirements are crazy but I apply anyway because it's entry level... so far no luck, emails saying I didn't get the position. At this point I feel lucky being able to do small gigs or internships lol. However I see an abundance of Senior positions even when I put the filter, I wish there's more entry level positions. At this point I'll just be working on my own projects and see if I can build something. I do animation but learning to code on the side.

[@matthewboyd8689]

Boomers: The value of my house doubled over 5 years this is great Millennials and Gen z: f it, I'm buying a tiny home

[@LegioXXI]

Nah, i will fix that for you: Millennials and Gen z: f it, I'm staying at my Boomer-parents "worthy" house since i can't even afford the garage.

[@matthewboyd8689]

@@LegioXXI also very true

[@erNomic]

By 2018 my wife and I had accumulated our financial goal and had plenty of liquidity to get into a modest house with a low, or I had hoped no mortgage. We just wanted an acre of land and 2 bedrooms. I wanted a fixer upper as I'm handy and have tools. I hated my job and was just trying to hold on long enough to get this house and minimize my bills. We practically homestead out of our over priced apartment so I was excited to see what we could with our own property. All we wanted was a spot of our own that we could slowly improve and to be free from the pressures of overtime and long commutes. I worked in appraisal and thought it would be no problem to take our time and find the perfect bargain. We got outbid every time, even when we got aggressive and bid over the appraisal by 25% with all cash and zero inspections. As an appraiser I saw many homeowners between 2009 and 12 who were under water with their mortgages and lost their homes. My fear of that situation and the stress that would come with it is why I played my cards the way I did. Prices by 2018 were already back up at new highs, I had no idea they were going to continue and double again. We never won a bid, still live in the same apartment, I quit my job and had a serious case of the fuckits for a couple years. And now I'm back to work starting all over.

[@simpson4237]

Exactly the same thing happened the to wife and I. 2019 we were looking at houses and then boom, the plandemic happened and we were priced out in a matter of a month. A fixer upper went from $200k and shot up to $700k. Even still the same kinda of fixer upper is asking $400k then a bidding war to $550k by flippers, they slap some paint on it and re list it for $700k+. The entire house flipping BS has taken away all the homes first time buyers look for to fix up over the years. Im a general contractor it disgusts me the amount of good stuff people throw away. I could literally remodel a home a no cost other than my time

[@erNomic]

@@simpson4237 I genuinely feel for ya. People greatly underestimate how corrupt this country is. Volatility benefits investors, but harms communities and family planning. If the plandemic didn't happen it would have looked real bad for wall street to come crying for another bailout. Especially after so many companies took loans out to buy their own stocks. They funneled as much money as possible, recklessly, to their shareholders knowing that they need not save for a rainy day, that the taxpayers would cover them.

[@kielbasamage]

I guess that’s what happens when John and Jane Doe try to outbid Blackrock and their money printer. If they want it, they’re buying it and turning it into a giant cockroach motel.

[@bretticeman07]

When Walmart is the best option for employment. I'm not playing this game anymore.

[@messwithhelpy]

Let Them Eat Cereal, Says The Wealthy

[@CrazedCorgi]

In CA, you'll have to get multiple jobs since big companies won't give workers full time or even 36 hour part-time. This is due to high minimum wage and covered California (aca) regulations.

[@syko2164]

​@@CrazedCorgi and that's why I've been voting against all that crap here in California. I make decent money, enough to raise a family in the 90s/00s. But i spent so much time working my ass off to get in the position i am now to be financially stable I'm going on 40, single, no reason to buy a house, and nothing to show for my work but my cars, motorcycles and guns... To anyone in your 20s reading this: don't believe their lies. YOLO, so you don't end up depressed because all the hard work on your career ended up with the one thing that makes you satisfied... looking down at your first born and knowing "now i have a purpose". If you thought dating was bad in your twenties, don't wait until you get older... i was working today and a really cute girl was flirting with me and i navigated a way to find out her age. 20. Wtf can i do to entertain a 20 year old, can't go clubbing, parents would be concerned at my age (basically theirs), and wouldn't know any of the cool things from before social media ruined the world.

[@InfernosReaper]

@@CrazedCorgi That's because 40 hours isn't the minimum for full time, it's like 32 or something. That's why most places won't put people above 28.

[@midwestlakelife]

@@CrazedCorgi This is a bigger issue than most realize. The ACA regulations screwed workers.

[@Adrianzx]

When I made $350/week as a mechanic I got put on probation for a week for a come back on a car with a leaking coolant system that I had noted on the repair estimate but got declined to be fixed. I was upset until I bought a broken down car for $150 and after a day of work sold it for $1500. I never went back to that job

[@transitionsnc]

Good for you.

[@ominousbiscuit]

When were you only making $350/week as a mechanic, the 1980s?

[@turtleswithbombs]

Right? Also who tf can buy a broken down car for $150?

[@danielhady3021]

Mechanics get absolutely shafted by employers. Low wages, having to provide all of your tools. It's insane.

[@Dalzedur]

A Finn here. Growing up, I was always given the same mantra 'work hard and you'll be successful'. Well, that's a lie. The better mantra is 'get any kind of job experience that you can put in your CV before you become an adult', so basically work when you're 13-17 years of age, be it mowing lawns, painting fences, delivering mail, chopping firewood. Because, once you are applying for positions as an adult, the first filter that gets used when there are too many applicants is 'previous work experience', and if that's your first job/unpaid internship you are applying for, you'll get automatically rejected. You'll never get to the part where you 'get to work, hard or not', so to speak. Regardless of what degree you have, how good your grades were, how good a person you are, how much profit you would earn your employer if they were to hire you. No matter how excellent you are, your success is always dependent on other people. You cannot lift yourself up by yourself. You'll need that HR recruiter who say yes to actually giving you an interview out of hundreds of applicants. You'll need customers who will purchase your services if you 'employ yourself'. Working hard is not a requirement. It can help, after you clear the first hurdles, as can working smart, but neither will carry your first steps from the starting line. Catch-22, you need to have work experience in order to get work experience - is a very real thing. I am 37 years of age right now, I've been trying to leave the uni behind and get into working life, but it's always the same story. Send an application, if lucky get a written reply where they state how unfortunate that their choice wasn't yours truly this time... if unlucky, get no reply. It wasn't until last autumn that I landed a part-time job through the city's summer jobs for youths program, 900 euro for a month working as a translator for an IB school to translate official documents (official jargon, sentences longer than 50 words one after another) or course materials in Finnish into English for the international students. The lowest entry level salary for an official translator doing such work should be 2300 euro a month, since it requires academic expertise. After the first month, I got out of the summer job programme and continued for 3 months as a subsidized worker, with the salary going up to 1600 euro a month. The school didn't pay for my salary, the city did. Then the subsidy ended, and so did my work. The principal of the school said that if they don't have a translator working in the staff, one of their English teachers has to do it pro bono with their free time, or they are mandated to request translations from a partner company, which charges them 1000 euro for a nightmare document I translated in 8 hours... because their status as an international school forces them to have the legal city documents available in English for their international personnel, even if the city only ever provides them with Finnish versions. So, basically, I wasn't even close to meeting the lowest level of salary that a translator should have, I was saving the school thousands of euros during my stint there, and they cannot work their budget to fit a translator among their payroll to save them the translation fees that they otherwise have to cough up as per their contract with their partner company. I was translating like... 600-1000 words per hour depending on the complexity of the text I was tasked with, so actually pulling weight. This 4 month employment was basically my first and last hurrah. Had the contract continued, I would have kept working there - it was a nice place with cool people, even if I felt like an impoverished outsider with my student background among the teacher staff. But bouncing back to application hell after that has just left me drained and unable to send a single application more. This was basically the only employment I've had in the last 10 years or rejections and refusals. I just don't have the energy anymore to start bashing my head against the brick wall again. Even if I did somehow miraculously get a job matching either of my studied majors (English and IT), I would be missing out on ~20 years worth of career with highest salary I would ever rake in during that career. I wouldn't be able to own a house until well in the retirement years, and a lack of employment for the last 20 years has basically gatekept relationships from me, so I don't even have a family started and I fear I am too old now to start one. All because I didn't have the foresight as a 14 year old to seek summer jobs, and because no one in the family took the time to do it with me when the prospect escaped my young self. A bit different take to why people are not returning to work force. It's because the job market didn't (ever) want me.

[@shawnpatrick6038]

College is unaffordable, Homes are unaffordable, Healthcare is unaffordable. Electricity is unaffordable, even FOOD is now getting unaffordable. Then we wonder why the average young person no longer sees the point in a stressful gig where they cant get ahead anyway.

[@eeverett2]

It's depressing to see journalists not interviewing or speaking to people anymore. It used to be common for me to get asked by a journalists about something while just walking around town or shopping at the mall. They used to send surveys in the mail all of the time too. And these surveys were not fundraisers. Now we just have talking heads getting information from other talking heads. They are just son completely out of touch.

[@hongo3870]

Yellow journalism is back. The Jungle is barely 100, and here we are back to it again, our food is packed with unknowns, our air and water is polluted, and we are told over and over that its all fine, but its clearly not. Its gas lighting on a national scale

[@darkzeroprojects4245]

Hey we could just use A.I. to generate the "boring" parts of work.

[@Ved000000]

They're stenographers for the ruling class. Especially these more financial "news" outlets like Bloomberg, they don't care to speak to the working class, they simply parrot the points of view and interests of their owners.

[@fench1234567]

That sort of journalism has been rooted out by govt and media giants in order to kill as much criticism of bad policy as possible.

[@darkzeroprojects4245]

​@@fench1234567 Because they can get away with it knowing none of us are going to retaliate in some way that would harm them. Not even non-violently.

[@Peter-ex9ve]

You are on the treadmill, you scurry along, secure and happy in your progress . Then one day COVID comes along and you are unceremoniously booted off the treadmill. After the initial shock wears off, you look around and see the sky, the flowers, and you realise that you were never actually getting anywhere despite all your efforts on the treadmill. So after a while you visit family and freinds, and you realise that the city actually isn't that great and you find something else to do that you enjoy. Then one day your old boss rings you up, 'you can come back to the treadmill now'. When you tell him 'no I'm doing something else now' The boss has no idea what to say, he can't understand why you don't want to go back to the treadmill so tells his boss you have become lazy. Up and up the chain this goes until a CEO gets an interview, and tells the reporter 'people have become lazy because of the COVID we need to get them back to work' The politician hears this and thinks how can I benefit from this and devises devious Taxes and impediments to 'encourage' people to get back on the treadmill. You don't have to imagine their surprise when they find people don't want to know, because you can see it now.

[@Yonah_144]

Same here. The 9 to 5 thing was a prison, and getting out is absolute freedom.

[@nobodythenobody9779]

The main issue is big government getting involved in economics They always ruin it Leave the free market alone

[@Zombie1Boy]

Its funny but at the end of my first year of Business Administration (way back in 2009) they had a test where you had to present it to a bunch of business type people; CEO's and high end managers and the like. Long story short the problems they presented in the test were very similar to this -- unhappy and unmotivated lower-mid level employees, how do you fix this? Needless to say they were looking for very specific answers that did not involve paying them more or giving them more leeway on how to do their jobs (empowering them). They wanted more useless "we care and value you as an employee" type seminars and team building exercises -- rock the boat but not too hard. Motivate our employees but without any tools beyond natural charisma and the threat of firing them.

[@azareii]

​@@nobodythenobody9779I would say the issue is the reverse: the corporations, or economics, sticking their hands in government. Companies will do their best to pay the least people the least money for the most time with lowest costs. They have very few lines they won't cross. They only don't monopolize because it's illegal, though some might as well have. They bribe - I'm sorry, lobbying - government officials to make policies to their benefit. They commit wage theft. They create planned obsolescence. They cut better services because they're "not profitable". Companies can get away with far too much. The US is the only nation in it's wealth class to offer a whopping zero days paid maternity leave, one of few to not guarantee PTO, to have a minimum wage so low that the average rent is more than what many make in an entire month. The standard of living in the US is far lower than its wealth would indicate because 6-8 people have as much money as half the population combined. And people pretend it's fine.

[@salj.5459]

@@nobodythenobody9779 Crazy that you say that when the Gilded Age happened. Also, the "free market" without the government protecting private property

[@itsragegg]

That rat vs mouse thing rings true. As a kid, if I beat my brother in a game too many times, he wouldn’t play; but if I threw a game every so often and he would win, he kept playing.

[@runswithraptors]

Yep and in America FDR was the last rich person to realize they gotta throw the workers a few bones or they will quit! Now we don't seem to have anyone smart or caring enough to make the playing field more equal again... guess we'll find out how this game ends soon

[@janelleg597]

Basic psychology. This happens with rats too!

[@dustinadamson833]

I left a typical W2 job right before the pandemic because I hated the treatment. I started a business and was much happier with the work I did. We were even busy through the pandemic because my work was considered "essential."

[@worshaw]

I’ve been saying this for years. They keep moving the field goal of success over and over. Makes people want to give up. I can only work so many jobs and have so many skills, and still be a human.

[@automaton111]

It’s true a person can only stuff so many skills into their head in a certain amount of time. Plus who is paying for all that education? Especially when employers are not willing to train on the job. Also, those skills used to be spread over five different roles/employees and now they want one person to do them all in a downsized megajob. And the tools keep changing so quickly.

[@ireallyreallyreallylikethisimg]

We should make that goal be 10 thousand dollars and immigrate to a developing country. Everything costs so much less over there.

[@The987654321andy]

I'm sorry. what does that mean exactly?

[@joshwillingham4592]

​@@The987654321andyIt's pretty simple. Cost of living, particularly just having a place to live keeps outpacing increases in income. The standard response to this is develop more skills and get extra jobs, but there's a hard limit to how much of that you can do based on your resources and a hard limit to how much companies are willing to pay for it, and so it doesn't solve the problem.

[@yuvanraj2271]

@@ireallyreallyreallylikethisimg I'm in India and in developed state. 10k won't get u anywhere even in here if u want to live the same lifestyle u have there. 100k maybe. Many places where the dollar is too high won't have even many basic necessities.

[@ChadAV69]

I guarantee you that if companies started providing paid training and a CLEAR path to a certain POSITION AND PAY RATE, millions of people would go back to the traditional workforce. No one is born knowing how to fucking write Javascript, work on cars, build houses etc.

[@ArDeeMee]

Clear path to position and pay rate? Unionize. But first learn about what that actually means. ;)

[@revengenerd1]

Pre 2020 I remember a local factory owner being asked why he didn't hire local youth and train them up, he outright admitted that he can get foreign labour who work for minimum wage and are already qualified, I don't think he was a bad person or employer as much as to him it made sense to get as much value as possible from your workforce, it's more bigger employers that report record profits in the millions or even billions that do things like fire staff saying they can't afford to keep them and close down factories/stores etc

[@elenabob4953]

In any other normal state, to bring foreigners they need to prove that he has actively looked for an employ on internal market for at least 6 month and he didn't managed to find it. In addition he must pay the Foreigner with the industry branch wage.

[@Slateproc]

@@elenabob4953 we have those regulations, the problem is that it doesn't consider the quality of candidates being turned away. Only that interviews are being done.

[@revengenerd1]

@@elenabob4953 Not that way in the UK sadly, about 8 years ago a food production factory was bought out by a European owner, who "advertised" by putting a small banner on their factory for a few months then closing factory and moving production to their own country, they claimed they wanted/needed thousands of new workers, and its not that the migrant workers got lower than legal wage as such but they just hired people at the literal minimum rather than pay extra, factory work was undesirable so they had to pay more to get workers in, and it was mainly students especially in summer months. now they can pay far less and have no shortage of workers who were desperate. I know of 2 different towns where within a year of the influx of migrant workers that they had no British born workers, one factory made admin staff learn basic Polish as that was where their staff came from, also building sites and such fired British workers as they claimed the language barrier was dangerous, I even know a factory that had new owners who told British staff their wages would decrease, they no longer had paid breaks, overtime was no longer double pay so their staff went on strike and were fired and replaced with migrant workers, finally jobs aren't even advertised in the UK and were only advertised in other countries and even had travel and accomidation arranged for them, I mean if someone doesn't even speak a word of English how can they pass a job interview in the UK!

[@icestationzebraassociates2460]

Louis, I always appreciate that you get right to the point. It's a rare thing. I worked three jobs during the pandemic and left two of them during the mandates. Never was unemployed. Never stopped paying rent. But one of the jobs I left was my "career" that I went to school for. Now I'm (I guess) underemployed but put on a few more hours at the part time that I kept. I'm just so disgusted with the behavior of the people I worked with before. If they pulled that crap once, they'll do it again (to clarify, we didn't fall under the large employer part of the mandate, but the union "voted" away my right to medical privacy, anyway - we'd been working from home for two years at that point as well) and it will probably be worse next time. In short I guess I'm just tired of this ridiculous, vacuous society and don't want to pay taxes that get spent making it worse anymore. I'll probably never own a house. I'll probably never own another new car. I'll probably end up _living_ out of the car I do have in a couple of months because over the pandemic, rents doubled and my income halved. So no, I'm not playing anymore. No desire to go back to my "career."

[@icestationzebraassociates2460]

And don't think I'm not doing anything at all. My part time is at a local small business. My boss there is awesome, but not tech or computer savvy, so I feel useful and appreciated, at least. More than I can say for some other jobs I've had. I'll say that the experience of the last few years has left me really jaded.

[@dylanhinkel3548]

@@icestationzebraassociates2460 A job with coworkers you enjoy being with is worth as much as pay, after all you do spend most of your day with them. Tradesmen, mechanics and such are the salt of the earth.

[@viddotts44]

I'll write my story out. I live in the South, left-leaning individual. Mental illness runs in my family. A lot of unfortunate events beat me down on a personal level, but the world has also just gotten worse. Jobs aren't paying enough, or the ones that do want you to have no free time outside of the job. Hard to get out and date if you don't want to go to a bar. I've had deaths in my family as well as basically being told I was too poor to get help with my mental health/medical conditions. Not to mention, going back to it, how much these jobs demand from you and how little they want to give. Whether it be money, or even just treating you like a human being. I'm lucky that I have family that I can stay with, and they see that I'm trying. But so many aren't that lucky.

[@ethannelson8656]

Before I got into software engineering, I worked at a popular fast food restaurant. The year 2020 for the company was notorious for initiatives designed to maximize profits at the direct expense of minimum wage employees. Less employees per shift, less pay, less breaks, longer shifts, multiple shifts a day, a shitty online ordering system, etc. Naturally, people started to quit. Upper management was bewildered. One day they came into the restaurant for the first time in months complaining that we were all quitting. They then pulled us aside one by one and asks us why we were quitting. All of us told them the same thing (we peons talked about it after). The upper managers response to all of this was that not only were we wrong, but we were not intelligent enough to understand why our co-workers (and ourselves as well) were quitting. They then said it was our fault we were quitting, that we were all lazy and entitled. Long story short literally everyone from that restaurant quit within the next two weeks. I go by every so often and I never see the same people that I saw the last time.

[@TROBassGuitar]

Wouldn't be surprised if they went into Fox news to cry about how lazy workers are despite demanding more and more

[@sunpsyco7073]

"Am I out of touch? No, it's the workers who are wrong"

[@climbingcasually]

Bingo. Was chef.

[@jamesoquinn9168]

Why are business owners such blithering MORONS? They used to be smart. After being hit in the face with a brick, they didn't DENY the existence of bricks, or the right of bricks to hit, they fixed things. Why have the business class become so stupid?

[@divinegon4671]

@@sunpsyco7073 “no, it is the children who are wrong.” - Seymour Skinner

[@CobaltLobster]

I am a physician. I went on dialysis. If I work, I’ll literally be financially punished. So, not going back to work anytime soon, if ever.

[@soulbreakerthelastmanalive]

I know the feeling I am a ex train mechanic I was diagnosed with seziers and Tremors related to military service it's not fun.

[@The987654321andy]

I am sorry to hear that. that is awful. physicians are needed now more than ever. but how can you make ends meet if I may ask?

[@user-qr8ki8ue4i]

Dialysis RN here. First, I'm very sorry that your kidneys are not cooperating with you, and second, I have seen so many folks reduced to near ruin due to this spend-down rule. We have a system that in many situations 'rewards' a person if they are not working, and 'punishes' a person if they do. It's so counterintuitive that I cannot wrap my mind around the absurdity. Infuriating.

[@richmendelson8194]

What I wouldn't give for access to an under-the-table doctor

[@Nirrrina]

Understandable. I'm disabled & have never been able to work. Luckily for me I was under 22 when disabled & draw from my mom's ss. I've looked into working but I can't do enough to make it worth actually trying because I'll lose as much as I gain. So why bother even trying to earn a little bit while causing myself untold amounts of pain. I'd rather stay home & craft, watch KZbin, read etc. Especially since I really don't think I could do it for very long anyway. My friend who is elderly is in the same boat. He wanted to work again but would lose as much as he gained. Instead he's been volunteering. I did get him into OHFA housing to help him out. So of course he immediately lost his food stamps completely. Damned if you do damned if you don't.

[@FolkFaninMA]

Let’s see, I was laid off at age 59, have a disability, and my appearance is a bit unusual to some. My ability to get a job even when I was young was not great. At almost 60, I figured my chances were pretty darn slim to non-existent. I was on unemployment, then spent a little over a year living on savings and am now retired at 62. Never planned on retiring this early, but there ya’ go.

[@Teabaggersgaming]

Frankly, I'm sick of: Hired for a job doing multiple jobs im not paid for because reasons, working long shifts because a company is constantly "behind" because "insert corporate bs reason here" yet never catches back up, ROTATING SHIFTS (days to nights, nights to days) theres no gain working for someone. No pension, no future, no home life, healthcare takes a good portion of my check, management and higher gets a good home life, yet the workers are forced to work 6-7 days a week. I was fired from the railroad because my voicemail "misrepresented the company" because I stated "I work on railroad, I cannot answer my phone on live track, I will call you back in a safe place". F*ck the job market. Im burned out on JoBs. Im putting effort to working for myself.

[@stevens1041]

Recruiters. Companies outsourced hiring the past five years. It's now extremely difficult to get a job. Eight interviews, four hours later, they offer me very low for my skillset. And then get surprised when I reject it. And get even more annoyed when I tell them I am already employed full time. Used to be considered a good thing, for a job candidate.

[@elenabob4953]

Sorry but are you trying to become a CEO? 8 interviews are an enormous waste of time for you and them.

[@stevens1041]

@@elenabob4953 Exactly.

[@rawsaucerobert]

As someone who wants to GTFO of NH and leave the public sector for private money and skills, this makes me feel a bit better. I completely avoid this world but the gov has its own issues as well..

[@Disasterpotato]

You are lucky to get interviews, I have applied for the same position that I am qualified for, multiple times over several months without even an interview.

[@stevens1041]

@@Disasterpotato Yeah, strangely, I get many calls for jobs I am not qualified for, and no call backs on jobs I am perfectly and even uniquely qualified for. Its frustrating. Some jobs have called me for the same listing for SIX months now, six months. Can't make this up.

[@rpospeedwagon]

And when the employment rate excludes people who "aren't looking for work," the statistic is absolutely meaningless. Infuriating.

[@ArDeeMee]

Same here in Germany. I‘m not even IN the statistics. They want prettier numbers, so they look who they can exclude from counting as jobless.

[@arvetemecha]

Wow! Just the same here in France. Many people are no longer part of the "unemployed" stats because they have been unemployed for more than 2 years. So they just vanish, and our gvt can claim that unemployment is decreasing. Brilliant!

[@timothyjohnson6258]

And they count even tiny jobs e.g. delivering Sunday newspapers for 5 hours a week as a "job". They always deliver the "jobs" report as though 285,000 jobs opened up. How many of those "jobs" would one have to have to make enough to live...................and what kind of life would you have even if you worked all of those "jobs"?

[@rpospeedwagon]

@@mitchellcouchman6589 Yes, agreed it's useful to a degree. But like you said: the way it's perceived and purposely used by political types is a disgrace.

[@nigeltheoutlaw]

Governments often lie about negative statistics to obfuscate them. Changing the definition of "inflation" overnight, lying about the demographics committing crimes, lying about the past, lying about their actions, lying about everything.

[@GearGolemTMF]

I was like an abandoned house pet when I had my "moment". After years of effort and time nothing I did was good enough so I was doubting myself a lot. I finally had enough and got a new job. They had a position for a BA that I knew I didn't qualify for but considered for a bit. When the guy I got hired in with got the job, the lead/only other person in that sector approached me personally and asked why I didn't apply. I told her why and she professionally berated me for not trying. She vowed to pop me in the head if I didn't apply when the opportunity came around again. I took her up on that offer a year and a half after that and changed my life. She's still kind of my boss still at another company but she saw in me what I didn't see myself at the time. She elevated me and the other guy then and again three years later. I always dreamed of working in the IT field since I first built a computer at a job shadow in 2008. After I didn't get my degree, I thought that dream was dead but 4 years later, it came true and blossomed more than i'd anticipated. Give someone a chance, and they can at least get the opportunity for success. Beat someone down and shun them and they'll become resentful and either leave or make their own fate.

[@jessielynn]

If one more person asks me, “So are y’all gonna get house?” I am going to scream. We are trying but the housing market here is insane. Every time we feel like we have enough to start looking again, we clearly realize we don’t. The market here is so ridiculous, buyers are waiving inspections and appraisals just to win a bid. We aren’t willing to do that so we’re out of market again. I feel like giving up on buying a house all together.

[@someone-ji2zb]

I love my family, but I am at the point where I want to punch all of my aunts, uncles, grandparents and even parents. They are so out of touch with current problems it is insane to me. The whole "oh just work a job and you will be fine" mentality no longer is enough and they don't realize it. Use to be able to buy a home on a mason's income, but now you wont even be able to afford living on your own with it. It is insane how bad everything is right now in most places.

[@theladynextdoor313]

Don’t give up hope. The collapse IS coming. They’ll tell you it’s not but the writing is on the wall. Have faith and stay on your path, preparing, and that perseverance will serve you well. You will have a down payment on a home you want. Speak what you want into existence and realize God is real. Don’t become hopeless, that’s what they (the evil ones) want.

[@someone-ji2zb]

@@theladynextdoor313 God does not promise us prosperity. We are promised he will always be with us and help us survive if we are faithful. The health and wealth gospel is the true attack by satan. I am not meaning to pick on you, but if you are truly interested in what an attack looks like, look no further than the very things you just uttered; a method of attack that makes believers weaker because they expect the world for merely loving our creator, when in reality we are told to prepare to persecution and hatred from the world.

[@kentbetts]

@@theladynextdoor313 So financial success is possible as soon as there is a complete economic collapse. Yeah, that makes sense.

[@runswithraptors]

@@kentbetts they are not wrong.... people get rich when the markets drop don't be so ignorant

[@mahler2112]

I think people have greatly underestimated how incompetent management is in your typical company. In order to be a manager in the modern workplace you have to EMBRACE the bullshit. Anyone that tries to improve or fix anything or actually do what is right is basically doomed.

[@DomR1997]

Saw a manager get bullied out of a company once because he'd stick up for employees, it's so fucking shit, lmao.

[@PaulGarricksride]

Isn't that a best seller "EMBRACE THE BULLSHIT" A middle managers guide to success...

[@verigumetin4291]

@@PaulGarricksride I've never met a manager trying to improve the workplace, because they all saw what would happen to any employee who tried to do so. When you punish integrity, you get dishonesty. It crushed me when I realized that I'm stuck working a mindless job that I could not even try to improve. Not only am I being paid shit, I'm not even allowed to make the work environment bearable. Any divergent thought in the company is punished heavily even if it would lead to increased profits. Fuck them all. Let them replace me with a robot. We will see how that robot will replace me as a consumer.

[@demonplague87]

I'm in my 30s and I have accepted that I will almost certainly never own a house, start a family, or retire. I work 2 jobs and make decent money for my area but it's not enough. I haven't stopped working - though I understand those who do - but I have basically given up on any hope or long term plans for the future.

[@garybulwinkle82]

Start thinking out of the box! Hint: Stop obsessing with Demonic or Satanic cults as this will get you thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone! Ever thought of visiting your local church? You may just meet someone who will be a positive influence in your life!! All things are possible through God!!!

[@verigumetin4291]

damn... when I hear people say they work 2 jobs but don't have hopes of settling down, some dark thoughts cross my mind.

[@someone-ji2zb]

Only work 1 job here, but I am pretty much the same at 35. What hope is there to get an 'ok' woman at this point who isn't bringing in a child? Family is basically a dead dream for me now, and I even spent a lot of time getting my body fit to stay attractive, and in the end the motivation is just dying. So much effort for nothing.

[@mowtivatedmechanic1172]

@@someone-ji2zb keep the body fit. It’ll keep your medical cost down.

[@doubled3962]

Please hang in there , I was the same in my 30’s , no hope , not getting paid enough , I made a few sacrifices like not having children , kept working and finding better jobs , I’m in my 50’s now and doing decent .

[@Delta9Church]

I was a chef for 15 years until the pandemic hit, and it forced me to consider my options. I think it is easy to fall into a job as a career after a couple years as your job infiltrates your identity. Most people don't plan on cooking forever, and I think the big shutdown forced a lot of us to realize we wanted more in life.

[@jessielynn]

I think being a chef is a great career if you love to cook.

[@FreyaGem]

Yes, the restaurant biz pays shit and is super stressful and hard on the body. Most jobs have no benefits, either, and expect you to have "open availability"- who has that?! I checked out of that industry after 20+ years (my entire adult life) but am still having a hard time finding work with trustworthy employers who offer benefits. 😢

[@Delta9Church]

@@FreyaGem I feel ya, it's tough. It really is unfortunate, because a strong cook is absolutely incredible for any team in any line of work. I can almost guarantee you have worked harder than most people ever will.

[@MichaelTranoid]

Take 3 grand. Get your Transit Worker Identification Card. Merchant Mariner Credential. And STCW Training. I'm about to make 12k/mo with benefits to cook on a tugboat for 10-12 people. Breakfast, lunch, dinner for $400/day.

[@justinjones3918]

Employers aren't JUST paying employees to do the job. They're also paying for the employees to NOT do what they'd rather be doing with their time and energy.

[@auridion2037]

Worked from 17-24yo at few different places and by 2020 I was burnt out already, COVID compounded that stress. Seeing propositions to raise retirement, my chances of home ownership swept away, I just felt like living my golden years now while I have my youth. Sure money is thin but it's been immensely relaxing picking up all sorts of odd hobbies and jobs.

[@ex7229]

Thats a foolish thing to do and you most certainly will have regrets. Im in my mid 30s and have little regrets but one of them was slacking off until my mid to late 20s when I became a father and a husband. I still am doing well but it would have been easier to take many risks and use all that time wasted on videos games to secure a better future by gathering more skills. Someone told it to me when I was young and I ignored it. Also wether its right or wrong or against the law employers prefer younger employees thats just reality. You dont want to be skilless in your 30s or later its so much harder. The other option is starting your own business.

[@snowsh1ne]

@@ex7229 Counterpoint: Was being lazy until i was 24. Spend time traveling and seeing the world. Got an apprenticeship after that. I think i would be depressed if i didnt take a step back and 'slack off' for a few years after school.

[@zack6192]

Almost 54 now and not employed currently looking for work. Been out of work since they let everyone go during COVID.

[@auridion2037]

@@ex7229 It sounds like you took on more responsibilities than I would, I don't intend on being a father anytime soon if ever. That frees up a lot there. I'm also not skill-less, but I'm not particularly certified in anything either, I've made good money before so I'm confident I could again. It's also not as though I've been wasting my time, I've got a brother a third of my age to help raise, we did remote work together all through 2020. Since then I've done a lot that I'll never regret, could I have spent my time differently? Sure, but I certainly won't look back on this time as ill spent on video games as you put it.

[@ffwast]

@@ex7229 cope wagie cope

[@T-Mobull]

One thing a lot of these don't talk about is the fact that employers are catfishing employees and vacancies. They'll advertise false positions or, which has been happening commonly, they just aren't *actually* hiring. I have been talking to many different people about this, recently, because of my experiences. I spent 6 months going to interviews, getting second interviews, being told they'll send on boarding paperwork, etc. Then, they just ghost me prior to actually starting. This has been happening to pretty much everyone I talked to who is looking for jobs right now. It seems like companies are content to complain that millenials are the problem due to our lack of work ethic or some some shit, while simultaneously doing nothing to fix it. They seem to have learned that they can make hand over fist with less labor overhead, make the business function with less than a skeleton crew, and take none of the blame.

[@Pistolita221]

Management never takes any blame, they take bonuses. Workers, the ones who might die if they lose their jobs, are the ones who take the blame for following orders. imo, it shouldn't be illegal to follow orders, whoever gave the orders needs to be PUBLICLY dealt with so EVERYONE knows what happens when you try to tear the fabric of american society.

[@T-Mobull]

@@Pistolita221 Well, I agree to some extent. I feel that may be a bit extreme. I do agree that all decisions made by a company on higher levels of authority should be required to have full transparency in who recommended/greenlit the actions by the company. It isn't right that at the ground level, every job I've had has logins for every employee so that if a dollar goes missing from a drawer or a phone call was made 3 years ago, they can listen to the call, see your notes, and get everything they need to throw you under the litigation bus. However, if they make a shitty decision based on nothing but greed, people can die, lose jobs, or be forced to take immoral actions to keep their job with no real way of understanding why or who was responsible.

[@Pistolita221]

@@T-Mobull tbh it was really more just wishful thinking, for some of the worst offenders like the Sacklers. But a more realistic way to go about punishing the corporations would be to take them to court for manslaughter, reckless endangerment, etc. and take all the income for however many years they get. And if the corporation, executives and major shareholders spent their money you take the assets. That way everyone knows morality supersedes profit.

[@T-Mobull]

@@Pistolita221 I mean, honestly, I'd agree. But, many of the charges you could try to bring against them require exceptionally difficult things to prove. Intent being one of the big ones. I feel that there should be new charges/laws made specifically for businesses that function like neglect, manslaughter, reckless endangerment, etc. Basically ones that would cover death and hardship caused as a result of their decisions. Before anyone corrects me, I'm aware that there technically are. But, it seems like most of them are tied up in labor law/osha and easily waived with clever fine print in employment contracts you're required to sign to start working or circumvented by state law. I'm meaning blanket protections for employees that are black and white text about what is wrong and what is right. If a CEO of conglomerate that oversees the practices of dozens of pharmaceuticals and hospitals decides to arbitrarily raise the cost life saving drug that causes the death or poverty of millions of people, that's immediate war crime level of selfishness and its weird we don't see it that way. How is Mussolini deciding to exterminate millions of people for political purposes any different than a pharma company sanctioning the death of millions of people for financial ones?

[@Pistolita221]

@@T-Mobull " But, many of the charges you could try to bring against them require exceptionally difficult things to prove." That's not as true as you might think. If a corp accidentally kills people, that's manslaughter. In the same way they're proven to pollute and cause cancer, that can be transferred to reckless endangerment of everyone exposed. Manslaughter, bodily harm, etc. all easily explained violent crimes for corporations. Bad work place practices? More reckless endangerment, with the potential to do great bodily harm. Open and shut, imo. Only expensive lawyers throw dirt in the water. " But, it seems like most of them are tied up in labor law/osha and easily waived with clever fine print in employment contracts you're required to sign to start working or circumvented by state law." Exactly, harm that is easily transferred to criminal court. Same crimes, same punishment, except because corporations are beings made of money, we take years of their money instead of fines and betty BS like that. If they're bankrupted, and an essential utility, nationalize them. The political will is the hard part, but the rational is very simple. Corporation is person? Ok, corporation gets taken to court like people, and punished in years of their lives (or business). "If a CEO of conglomerate that oversees the practices of dozens of pharmaceuticals and hospitals decides to arbitrarily raise the cost life saving drug that causes the death or poverty of millions of people, that's immediate war crime level of selfishness" Indeed, and if they do war-crime levels of damage, as in to dozens of people, they'll have centuries of income and assets seized. 1 war-crime level 'mistake' and the corporation is done, intent be damned. "How is Mussolini deciding to exterminate millions of people for political purposes any different than a pharma company sanctioning the death of millions of people for financial ones?" Fascists are trying to improve the world, capitalists are purely there for self interest. imo, it's less morally defensible than fascists.

[@Tn5421Me]

They don't want honest reasons, they want to grift.

[@robreich6881]

I’m so glad my Dad built a small business. We struggle at times since we always need cash flow to keep our employees paid but I’m just happy my family’s foundational livelihood is not at the whim of some capricious corporation.

[@tbotalpha8133]

No, your livelihood comes from exploiting workers instead. YOU are the capricious corporation. It's baffling that you can't see that.

[@glassofwater2642]

@@tbotalpha8133 so employing anyone immediately counts as exploitation?

[@Brent-jj6qi]

@@glassofwater2642don’t bother arguing with someone that blatantly dense, you’d have better luck talking to a brick wall about worker explotation

[@CherryPie0nRS]

The amount of times I've heard "they just don't wanna work" is hilarious.

[@AngryReptileKeeper]

Most of the time when I hear this, it's from some elderly person who's been checked out of the workforce for decades, people born into middle or upper-middle class families who never wanted for anything, people who are riding on family money or influence, or those who got theirs during better economic circumstances and stayed in their comfortable financial position. It's a lazy take that they fall back on because it doesn't require them to consider the fact that the average person does not share their circumstance and good fortune.

[@Phoenix0F8]

Last spring and summer had me driving a food truck for Schwan (now known for incomprehensible reasons as "Yelloh!") and on top of an hour long commute from my house to the depot, then an interminably boring meeting of about the same length, followed by another hour long commute from the depot to my area of operations- I would then drive and sell food for about another 8 hours, before driving another hour back to the depot, filling out paperwork for half an hour, then driving an hour back to my house. Rinse, repeat, 5 or 6 days a week. Every week. And let me tell you while doing that I got *reaaaaaaaaaaaaal* sick of boomers who had already made it back when the economy was good, lecturing me- the 90s kid who literally works and sleeps for all but one or two days of every week- that "the younger generation just doesn't wanna work anymore".

[@danielhady3021]

Tell me about it. I hear it everyday.

[@CherryPie0nRS]

@@neuralismgamingtv4511 I love people who show up and don't work. They are the people who truly understand the abuse the working class receives. Steal all the time you can! Boss makes a dollar, I make a dime...

[@CherryPie0nRS]

@@neuralismgamingtv4511 LOL you have been brainwashed by your boss. Fuck em all!

[@jeroenk3570]

The house pricing is not only doubling, but it is doubling to an unreachable price level that no normal person can afford any more. Going from 100k to 200k is different than going from 350k to 700k. The shirt is fine.

[@InfernosReaper]

Pretty much getting to where the only option is van life until prices actually meet what the market can afford.

[@kwl189]

Even 100k to 200k is not acceptable over a short space of time

[@cristianespinal9917]

The bubble will pop.

[@mrm8528]

Already poppin

[@burhanbudak6041]

Housing shouldn't be this expensive or even a infestment.

[@CompComp]

I haven't gone back because daycare is unaffordable. I'd work full time if daycare was more reasonably priced or I qualified for government help. What's the point of working if your entire take home check just pays for childcare

[@cfryantofficial]

I used to work in fintech, corporate world, designing software, and before that I was in web design and development. It used to be reliable to some extent, but more and more I entire departments and entire companies were getting surprise fired, to the point where I view the entire industry as unsustainable. When I put everything into my work, to such an extreme degree, going above and beyond without ever once being asked to do so and to have management lie to all of our faces the week before they fire us, say that "the rumors about us going under are untrue, everything is fine" over and over again using that same line like they all went to the same clown college, yeah, it gets to you. I can't see myself ever going into any industry again because I have to know that it won't disappear suddenly overnight. So I'm not going back. To any job. Ever again. I've started my own business and while it comes with its own issues and its own uncertainty, at least I know that I won't suddenly fuck myself over with no warning. When you don't value your employees enough to be straight with them, when you treat them like a commodities instead of people who may have people that depend on them and their income, eventually that well runs dry, and you only have yourself to blame for consistently (and PURPOSELY) acting that way. Eventually people get wise to the game, and they stop playing, or they make a new game.

[@middleagebrotips3454]

Some people are straight up broken by the society, even before the pandemic.

[@AwakenedAvocado]

We are making steps to parallel societies, there are millions and millions , billions who won't want to participate in the great reset new society so we may as well get started now.

[@InfernosReaper]

@@AwakenedAvocado The "Great Reset" is bullshit, because it banks too heavily on people who inherited wealth being smart enough to pull off something that big. No, the truth is much more bleak. These people are too caught up in short-term gains to think about the long-term and that's all finally piling up too much to ignore.

[@AwakenedAvocado]

@@InfernosReaper you need to work on your observation skills,its happening right now. But yes fight against

[@neoasura]

Some people should've been taught by their parents and teachers that society isn't meant to be easy or kind to you. If that happened, it wouldn't break you. You were raised in an era of weakness and gold star for everyone kindness. And found out in the real world it doesn't apply.

[@lindac6919]

​@@neoasura Up yours. You ignore the pain of your brothers and sisters who struggle. Let's examine YOUR attitude to the real world, real people like you. Ignorant, judgmental, avaricious, empty, thoughtless, repetitive, platitudinous people like you. Turn that back on yourself and your loved ones. Kindness. As if you had any. I'm sorry for the ways in which you make your loved ones suffer. Are you one of those people who likes to dish it out to others, but can't eat it yourself?

[@FlampyPants]

I'm out of the workforce. My family saw how much I was dreading life working my job. I put in 50-60 hours a week, couldn't get any savings since rent was so high, I was physically tired all the time, making no progress in the world. Now I'm moved back in with parents and taking online classes hoping to better myself. I have no plans to rejoin the workforce. It's an awful cycle and you gain nothing.

[@janelleg597]

You gotta work sometime though... Move it you have too

[@MrCurbinator]

I worked like a dog to fulfill a demanding and dangerous occupation. For years I risked repeat contact with life ending diseases, assault, and bore witness to hannibal lecter levels of complete decline into madness. Then I watched the kid at McDonalds start getting paid very close to what I was.

[@luddity]

McDonalds workers in some areas have to deal with a lot of those things too tho.

[@MrCurbinator]

@@luddity do they also need higher education, years of professional training, and take on insane degrees of legal liability?

[@stephensays8726]

Sounds like you're trying to blame the "kid at McDonalds" for being undervalued. The problem isn't the person in fast food getting wages that allow them to house share and buy cheap food, it's the cynical erosion of the middle class for the benefit of corporate interests.

[@grimsage5809]

toxic cope. the worker at McDonalds shouldn't struggle to make rent, neither should you.

[@ChainedFei]

@@grimsage5809 EVERYONE cannot be the captain. Someone has to be the deck swab. There is literally no system in the universe that is distributed equally, not in nature, and not in the sky. Some people have to do shit they don't want, for meager value to make society function, and have to move beyond those jobs that don't pay a living wage because they're not SUPPOSED To stay flipping burgers to afford a house, flipping burgers is SPENDING money, not LIVING money. Kids should start out with spending money and move into jobs that provide living money. Wanting it be otherwise is understandable, but that is not a system that will ever work beyond temporarily.

[@Reub3]

why are people leaving? Well ... idk about other people. I can't find an entry level job that doesn't require at least 2 - 5 years experience. I have no business knowledge to start my own business and I'm getting desperate. I'm considering moving to another city living out of my nonexistent car. I'm 37 and I hate my life.

[@yearginclarke]

I'm also 37 and going through a rough patch. I do have a job I've had for 10 years working as a logger. I've got 15 years of experience in the industry. But my issue now is the long hours and long commutes are just too much for me to deal with anymore. (4-5 hours daily commuting in my situation) I've been trying to get entry level jobs close to home that require minimal experience yet I can't get hired anywhere the last 3 months. I can't even get a basic freaking job. I'm getting really pissed off about the lack of opportunities, and the obstacles that are in the way of advancing your life here in the US. There needs to be more on-the-job-training and skill advancement opportunities that don't require schooling. School is not for everyone, it certainly isn't for me. I barely passed high school so I chose not to go to college. This apathy society has towards addressing the barriers to education/skill development is gonna continue to hurt and effect all of society by creating an artificial lack of skilled people. And it seems like I'm always hearing about people that do go to college and get a degree in something that seems to have a promising future, but they're having problems also. The solution to these problems isn't just "go to school", it's much deeper than that.

[@jessielynn]

@@yearginclarke and then there are those who got their degree and are still only making $18/hr. Like seriously, college is so expensive and you get a job barely paying over minimum wage so your money goes to paying back that student loan debt. It’s all frustrating.

[@yearginclarke]

@@jessielynn Yes that's an all too common problem. People that put all that hard work and effort into college only to wind up with a mediocre paying job, and no reasonable or realistic alternative. My message to employers is that treating our citizens like this is gonna backfire on society ultimately.

[@veiga1000]

I've lived through 3 economic crunches in my life, and two of them happened after I got out of high school and while I was in college. I have lost career path after career path due to circumstances I could not control. I'm in my late thirties now, and I am seeing what's ahead for me. Everything I have done; my sacrifices; my education; my hard work led to nothing. My ambition is about depleted and I have been unemployed for two months now. Fuck it, I just feel drained and done. Edit: That shirt is terrible

[@jrnmadsen2710]

You have learned, you're smart, you adjust. You will do fine, keep your eyes open. Relax.

[@danherrick5785]

Serinity Now - Serinity now - please repeat - serinity now.... Just think about how terrible his shirt is - serinity now...

[@danherrick5785]

@@jrnmadsen2710 Relax - serinity now...

[@joy4118]

I assumed that the USA was somewhat fair early in life and thought if I worked hard and lived modestly things would be OK. But now, after the three-year psyop, it is clear that our ruling class is pure evil - lying, thieving, controlling people that want the 95% to suffer or die. A person can work his or her entire life for low wages and be one health incident away from being homeless - even with insurance. That is how screwed up things are.

[@danherrick5785]

@@joy4118 Direct f*cking hit! It's all a scam and a setup... and they package it as the american dream!!!

[@I_am_ENSanity]

The fact that within 6 months I've seen a bunch of places go from paying roughly $3 less than what I'm making an hour to nearly every single place is offering more. I'm currently job hunting since my current job isn't anything special and they aren't willing to increase my pay.

[@caleb7674]

What you're experiencing is what a lot of people have come to find. The employee holds the cards now more than they have in decades and people are no longer putting up with subpar pay, conditions or holding apprehensions about job hopping as they did in the past. A rising tide lifts all ships as they say.

[@TheEDFLegacy]

There has been literal cases of people quitting and reapplying for the same job at the same time, just to get the pay raise.

[@Delimon007]

the best way to get a pay raise is to change jobs, it's that simple

[@juliekring7574]

@@TheEDFLegacy good god those employers are dumb as rocks

[@chronometer9931]

@@TheEDFLegacy Actually that's extremely common, what are you talking about lol

[@agdgdgwngo]

As a worker, it's pretty fucking simple. We've been trapped in these low income, low status jobs that ABSOLUTELY HAVE to be done. We're encouraged to study and get a better job, but once we've done that, who takes our old job? Now these jobs, despite essential, are both low reward, the pay is pretty much always the absolute minimum, and they are also low status, they also carry the most risk, like construction, or the most demeaning environment like customer service. So my simple solution is: MAKE IT BETTER TO WORK. Pay the little man more, take it out of your yacht budget. Try to provide some dignity to the workers and be less demeaning to people like garbage collectors, who are 100 times more essential than advertisers or bankers. A big part of this is our culture, who we look up, is it someone like the Kardashians,or the Royal Family or it is more someone like Fred Dibnah? We are also far too harsh and critical of failure or underachievement.

[@humanbeing4995]

I woke up one day and realized that I had no real ambition. I was putting on foot in front of the other since I graduated. I'm a hard worker and I love to work hard. Nothing better than looking at all the stuff I painted or whatnot and that kind of gave a sense of fulfilment... But working forever is not who I want to be. Now I paint flowers at home and my literal job even if I work hard is just waiting for paint to dry. That, for me is perfect. I don't need a partner. I don't need money. I have what I need. Occasional company and peace of mind. That's all I ever needed.

[@humanbeing4995]

Besides I'm not a life slave for the soul reason that's what the rest of the world does. I'm pretty sure all the importance people put on everyday life is totally devoid of any meaning, pretty sure it's all made up by greedy people who want to steal all of our hard work and the resources of the planet in the illusory form of money( those seem to be the only ones who win).

[@CptMarkka]

Before all of this nonsense I got myself a Bachelor's degree and thought I'd get employed within just a couple of short months. Well, I can't even get a job so I could move out of my parents' place. How in the hell am I supposed to have hopes and dreams if I can't even manage that? The last place I applied to I was competing against 100 other people, for an entry level position... Unemployed for two years and counting and turning 30 soon. But at least we 90s kids are used to having our hopes and dreams crushed.

[@EasyPeasyVegan]

Dude, I COMPLETELY UNDERSTAND. I'll turn 30 this year and I'm STUCK as I'll ever feel

[@EasyPeasyVegan]

I've been trying to attain a fucking job for at least a couple months now and last year even had the worst time ever with working because I'd finally get a job then turns out the bullshitted about the hours and they expected me to work 60 hours or 64 hours weekly. I'M ONE FUCKING PERSON.

[@LadyBoBannon]

Don't give up. Imo you need to use your connections any way you can and tweek the resume to look good. Put the title of the position you actually did. Don't lie about dates but do use friends who can vouch for you in place of old managers. Being honest never got me anywhere. Companies want job experience and demonstrated knowledge, even though folks tell you that you need a college degree.

[@innocentrage1]

Yup, I felt the same thing in the housing crisis of 09 graduating college. Was in career limbo for 12 years, just now starting to get on the right track

[@windhelmguard5295]

luckily i saw the writing on the wall back in the mid 2000s, i got a job after getting out of my military draft, although initially not a good one, but it got better over the years, and now i can put thirteen years of experience (along with various certifications i have gained from several employers over the years) on my resume, i have been earning and saving money for thirteen years i have no debt to my name.

[@jeffdege4786]

I got fired, at age 62. I'd intended to retire to a boat, and I'd bought the boat, but it wasn't ready to live on. I'd been working on it. Then I get fired, so I guess I'm retired. Now I'm prepping the boat. And selling all the crap that has cluttered my house on eBay.

[@ArDeeMee]

Crossing my fingers you get there soon. =)

[@marciamartins1992]

Start a KZbin channel Jeff.

[@PyrrhicPax]

I "stopped working" because i spent 10 years doing 12hr graveyard shifts and still couldnt afford my own place. I tried different jobs, i tried different states, i even lived in a camping tent for 8 MONTHS saving money until my car broke down and i couldnt afford to fix it. IM DONE! I'm not working for someone else only to actually GO INTO DEBT paying for my own place, or live in a tent anyway! I've been holding out for a job that can actually provide upward mobility, but without a college degree opportunities are slim to none. At the moment im doing odd jobs and considering returning to work teporarily for the sole purpose of buying a bigger tent and hunting rifle, because that's the best i can hope for. I'll Maybe attend college if i can get grants, MAYBE use the grants to pay rent. MAYBE, if possible. But as it stands right now, i would rather live in the wild with a tent a fishing rod and a rifle, than spend the rest of my life making someone else rich.

[@moodiblues2]

I too found my career as largely due to happenstance. I had what most people would say as a successful career as a Judge. One day someone wanted me to tell a group how I was able to become a Judge. I gave it some thought and concluded that it was nearly completely because of a wonderful chain of nearly pure luck. Oh I worked hard, but that wasn’t the primary factor. Nearly every step from high school thru college and various earlier careers led me to achieve more than I could ever have expected. It wasn’t because of a brilliant mind, deep scholarship or hard work. I was just a very lucky guy.

[@kriscarrdublr]

tbh this is sooo accurate. When I graduated from high school all i needed was a job that paid $15/hr in order to afford an apartment on my own and save for a house (~100k) but now I make over $30/hr and i'm much further from the possibility of owning a home which the same house is ~600k. Every time i level up the price of what I want almost doubles. It feels pointless. Then the moment you discover investing you think "this is it, this will be the solution" the market tanks beyond repair wiping away over 90% of equity in some assets. Its hard not to feel defeated.

[@Zombie1Boy]

If your saving up money for a house in the city you either need to be rich or work for the government. Better to save that money and move to a small town or community out in the middle of nowhere -- prices are half to a quarter of what you'd pay in the city, even less.

[@innocentrage1]

Or they just turn off the buy button and your 100k you would of got in GameStop is now 40 bucks :/

[@quarantinelife.]

Same here. Every time I level up, I'm back to where I started again... Over and over and over

[@Truth-of-the-matter]

Thats the unfortunate reality when housing became an investment vs a basic right. Add to that building larger and larger homes and apartments/condos so they can charge more for the square footage. Not everyone wants the 4 bedroom home when its just them and perhaps their partner or animal. Housing diversity is a big problem in the U.S.

[@Alaninbroomfield]

Can you MOVE to a more affordable place in the country? There are MANY GREAT areas of the country (low crime, fairly-good schools, etc) where you can buy a NICE home for well under $200k

[@JoeStuffzAlt]

Back in the day, my mother told me about someone that commuted for maybe 1-2 hours to work at a Kmart. Freaking Kmart. With today's gas prices, would this person be able to actually make an income with this commute a few months ago? To that worker, or any workers that did that kind-of commute, I salute you.

[@FlyboyHelosim]

I take a 2 hour bus journey each way to work in a factory.

[@bradhaines3142]

10 years ago when i worked at walmart that wasnt viable, i made a little but only because i was one of few who got 8+hr shifts. part time they would effectively be losing money

[@ffwast]

No they'd be losing money,that sounds ludicrous today.

[@goosewithagibus]

Not worth it at all. I live across the street from my job lol. But the most I've done is 10-20 minute commute depending on traffic, and I wouldn't do more than that unless I was making a good amount more.

[@WildZephyr]

Only if we're talking commuting by bike.

[@GrizzlyGamerUSA]

I actually went back to hospitality for a whole 2 months. Hotels got used to running on skeleton crews. They wanted me as a manager to staff my team paying people $8/hr in a city where rent is a minimum of $1200/month. I then realized i was supposed to be the backstop from the beginning. I was working 100hr weeks and being on call 24/7 only making 55k. Needless to say i left all their stuff on a desk. Went to sales and now make over 70k working 40hrs a week.

[@jiggerypokery2962]

What is weird is that corporations are seeing record profits during this. They have the money to prevent this but they choose not to.

[@grimsage5809]

pretty sure that's just correlations..... corporations have record profits because they choose not to pay you more. and they still expect people to be able to afford asking price!

[@cfri9332]

But if they pay you more, how are they going to have record profits?