Wake Up Call

I was talking to my friend last night, who is currently out of work and looking for a job, and she was telling me about some of her job interviews. Some of the people out hiring and looking for a job are primarily looking for people who are reliable and show up on time.

What a difference a shift in the economy will do. I remember reading an article about a year or two ago... it was talking about how business owners are finding themselves having to bend over backwards to cater to the new 20somethings entering the job market. What really stood out to me was what one girl said (I'm paraphrasing):

"If I don't get what I want from this job, I'll just leave and go find another job."

Wonder how that's working for you? The official unemployment figure right now is 4.8% right now. Maybe it's just bad here in Arizona, but I can say anecdotally that things are not as bright as that might seem. My husband just got a job after being unemployed for almost 3 months, a friend of mine is looking for work after about a month of unemployment, and another friend of mine is working, but only 2 days a week, when she would like a full time job.

All 3 of these examples probably wouldn't show up on the unemployment figures. Both my husband and my friend had accepted lower-paying temporary assignments to keep some food on the table while looking for a permanent, better-paying job. My friend working 2 days a week won't show up on the unemployment statistics either, because she is just underemployed, not unemployed.

Who are the people that are going to get (and keep) the jobs when there are fewer of them to go around? The people that are going to work hard and be dependable, or the people who want their employers to bend over backwards to keep them happy?

Perhaps our sluggish economy will serve as a wake-up call to people who want to have it their way on the job. Like... say... the people who can't do math and can't figure out how to make change while working at McDonald's, so you either have to have correct change or pay with a credit/debit card (that's a recent story I heard). Or people who want special hours, or special benefits? While all that stuff might be nice if the boss can swing it, sometimes it's impractical.

If we as a country do not develop a work ethic, how can we expect to achieve the greatness that our country used to have when we did know how to work? I'm not saying that there aren't plenty of people that do know how to work, but if the article that I was reading a year or two ago is any indication, there is a large segment of the population that needs to learn. Perhaps the increased competition for jobs with people that do know how to work will be their wake up call.