{"id":23327,"date":"2021-12-28T10:38:35","date_gmt":"2021-12-28T15:38:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sherweb.com\/blog\/?p=23327"},"modified":"2022-01-10T14:39:17","modified_gmt":"2022-01-10T19:39:17","slug":"labor-shortage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sherweb.com\/blog\/partner\/labor-shortage\/","title":{"rendered":"What the labor shortage is really telling us\u202f"},"content":{"rendered":"

North American employers are dealing with a unique type of desperation that few would have seen coming just a couple of years ago. By late April 2021, job openings increased to an unrivaled\u202f<\/span>9.3 million<\/span><\/a> in the U.S. alone. In June the number of employees\u202f<\/span>choosing to quit their jobs<\/span><\/a>\u202frose by 164,000 to 942,000.<\/span>\u00a0Similarly, in Canada, t<\/span>he number of job vacancies jumped by\u00a0<\/span>a staggering 22%<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Many economists predicted<\/span><\/a> that as the economy reopened and more people got vaccinated,\u202fpeople would hasten to get back to work.\u202fBut that\u2019s not how things have gone, which<\/span>\u00a0isn\u2019t all that surprising. After all, even <\/span>before<\/span><\/i>\u00a0the pandemic, there were signs of unrest, to put it lightly.\u00a0Turnover rates rose from an already problematic\u00a0<\/span>54.5% in 2016 to a mind-blowing 69.7% in 2020<\/span><\/a>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0In this article, we explore common misconceptions and show you how you can deal with the ever snowballing labor shortage. Stick around until the end to learn how\u00a0 Sherweb can help your MSP offer consistent support<\/a> during these turbulent times.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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The myth of worker laziness<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

In an attempt to combat the ongoing worker shortage, many states have chosen to cut or vastly reduce Covid-level unemployment benefits, which run anywhere from\u00a0<\/span>$300-$600<\/span><\/a>\u00a0weekly. The primary belief here is that reducing benefits will make people want to go back to work. And yet, states that have cut unemployment benefits have\u00a0<\/span>not<\/span><\/i>\u00a0seen a rebound in hiring.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The thing is, the majority of unemployment beneficiaries (those in 47 states) still received less money via benefits than they made at work, so\u00a0clearly\u00a0it\u2019s not all about the money.\u00a0Plus, according to a\u00a0<\/span>BTIG<\/span><\/a>\u202freport, only 3% of people were making enough with unemployment that they didn\u2019t have a financial need to go back to work.\u202fInterestingly, the report also found that just 6% of unemployment recipients would be motivated to return to their jobs when their benefits ended, and that, lo and behold, after better wages and quality benefits, job flexibility was the top motivator for luring someone back to an hourly wage position. Guess it wasn’t as simple as curbing benefits after all.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The question remains, what\u2019s really behind the current labor shortage?\u00a0What message do we\u00a0<\/span>need<\/span><\/i>\u00a0to hear about employment as a whole?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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What does a worker\u00a0<\/span><\/b>want<\/span><\/i><\/b>?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

This (not) just\u00a0in:\u00a0the answer is less about worker pay and more about worker\u00a0<\/span>rights<\/span><\/i>. Until the pandemic ravaged the economy as we know it, few employees were well-poised to make demands. As such, many went without benefits packages and put up with all sorts of terrible treatment. Hell, few even fewer workers had time to take stock and come to the conclusion that their jobs weren’t worth the low pay, bad treatment, and overall exhaustion\u2014to name just a few. But now, there are larger numbers of people with bargaining power and <\/span>motivation\u00a0<\/span>to boot.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So<\/span>\u2014<\/span>what exactly\u00a0<\/span>do<\/span><\/i>\u00a0workers want?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Better pay<\/span><\/b>\u00a0is undeniably\u00a0<\/span>one<\/span><\/i> of several factors in the equation. Static wages have been deeply problematic for many decades. In a nutshell, wages haven\u2019t kept up with inflation\u2014not by a long shot. For instance, in 1968, the minimum wage was\u202f<\/span>$1.60<\/span><\/a>\u202fan hour.\u202f\u00a0T<\/span>he\u00a0equivalent\u00a0<\/span>of this in 2021\u00a0<\/span>should be $12.38<\/span><\/a>, but it\u2019s only $7.25. So even pre-pandemic, workers were being grossly underpaid. The only difference is that now they have some actual leverage.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Better working conditions<\/span><\/b> are also on the menu. One noteworthy indicator of this is the fact that union enrollment grew\u00a0in 2020 after decades of steadily declining. People no longer want to put up with employers who prohibit them from pursuing claims via<\/span>\u00a0collective action<\/span>, instead of forcing them into individual arbitration to resolve employment disputes<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Better work-life balance<\/span><\/b> and scheduling flexibility is right up there on workers\u2019\u00a0wishlist\u00a0as well, and rightly so, which surely explains why some have dropped everything to start their businesses (hello\u00a0<\/span>YOLO economy<\/span><\/a>). Since Covid forced many businesses to offer\u00a0telecommuting, more workers have discovered that greater work flexibility is more than doable. So now they expect to at least have the option. And when they don’t, they\u2019re\u00a0<\/span>quitting in\u00a0droves<\/span><\/a>. Interestingly, in high-skilled tech jobs, a parallel demand is playing out: some workers are\u00a0<\/span>resigning<\/span><\/a>\u202fin a refusal to accept a shift to permanent all-remote work! Fascinatingly, workers at both ends of the spectrum are challenging the idea that they shouldn’t have a say in how to manage their time and balance their lives.\u202fMany employees now prefer a\u00a0<\/span>hybrid approach<\/span><\/a>\u00a0to achieving work-life balance.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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How do you deal with the shortage of labor?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

While dealing with the labor shortage isn\u2019t always easy or straightforward, adapting is the big idea here. Here are a few labor shortage solutions<\/a> to help you do just that.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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