Nobody wants to work anymore? Some job seekers getting fed up with applying and not hearing anything

[ck4829]

For the past year, Tim Glaza has been managing inventory as a contract worker for Stellantis, helping the automaker navigate unprecedented supply-chain challenges.

If the headlines are to be believed — record job openings and an urgent need for supply-chain experts — Glaza should have his pick of prospective employers.

Glaza is one of dozens of job seekers who told Insider they had been ghosted by employers during the past year as business leaders across the US rang the alarm over a growing labor crisis.

"It's just throwing résumés into the void and not hearing anything back," he said.

https://www.businessinsider.com/job-seekers-frustrated-sending-hundreds-applications-resumes-no-response-shortage-2021-9

[SmittyWerben]

1. I think the "nobody wants to work anymore" trope is about low wage employees

Companies want their cheap, exploited labor force back, not employees who demand better salaries and working conditions.

[LonePirate]

2. I share your opinion here. Employers do not want to pay their employees a decent wage.

If an employer cannot find employees, it's because they don't want to pay a respectable wage for the work being offered or they shouldn't be in business in the first place if paying respectable wages makes their business unprofitable.

[jimfields33]

30. I don't know. Some places are starting at 18 dollars an hour

With some benefits and a signing bonus. These are entry level jobs. 18 dollars is way more then the 15 a lot wanted just a year ago. Something else is causing this.

[LonePirate]

33. Your example is an exception and not the rule.

If someplace is offering $18/hr for a starting wage, there already is competition for those workers. If that wage is geared toward college graduates, then that is laughably low. If that wage is for non-college grads, they might have better luck, although I suspect that company already knows that.

[Midnight Writer]

7. If a soul has to arrange and pay for childcare and transportation to and from a job

and they are making ten bucks an hour to do a crap job, or even worse $3 an hour plus tips, then why would they go to work?

Biden is trying to throw employers a lifeline with child tax credits and expanded pre-school and childcare programs, but business owners don't seem able to understand that.

[CrispyQ]

8. There's a tweet going around on Facebook that reads something to the effect of--

Affordable child care is as important a factor in my ability to work, as the highway I take to get there.

I knew families who paid almost one entire salary for childcare. They made just enough more than daycare to make it slightly worth both parents working. And yet one political party claims to be the party of family values, & we let them get away with that claim, unchallenged.

[luv2fly]

10. They are the "patriots" as well

And we are the "traitors," all of which goes unchallenged.

[SKKY]

20. An acquaintance of mine, who is a small business owner, was complaining about...

...not being able hire enough workers and was losing business to competitors. When asked what starting wage he's offering, he told me a number which was a good bit lower than what I would consider industry standard. When I suggested he raise his wages to attract better talent, he told me, "See!? You have no idea how to run a business." He's clearly enjoyed a surplus of cheap labor, and now doesn't know how to navigate this new dynamic where workers have the bigger bargaining hand.

[groundloop]

3. Sadly this is now normal.

Once upon a time employers would send out honest to goodness letters thanking you for your interest in working for their company, then they switched to rejection emails, and then a few years ago most just ignored you.

And I too am sick of hearing employers whining that there aren't enough job seekers as a justification to bring in cheap labor from overseas. The truth has always been that there aren't enough skilled employees who are willing to work for peanuts.

[area51]

9. +1 n/t

[RobinA]

29. Oh, They've Been

ignoring people since forever. I graduated from college in 1980 and they were doing it then. I've never had problems getting a job in my various fields, but job hunting has always been a shit show. The rules have changed, but the degradation remains in every era.

[doc03]

4. I thought maybe the money people were getting on

unemployment was part of the problem. That is gone but they still can't find workers. I am at McDonald's right now
there is a help wanted sign out front. The Chic f la next door, Panera Bread, KFC, Long John's., Bob Evans, Cracker Barrel and Starbucks also have help wanted signs?

[The Revolution]

5. Is this new?

Have employers ever responded to everyone that applies? If they called you in for an interview, yes, but I don't recall usually getting a reply otherwise. It's been a while since I've looked for work though.

[ck4829]

6. It's not new, but it's always worth seeing in this day and age of "Nobody wants to work anymore"

Last edited Mon Oct 18, 2021, 02:02 PM - Edit history (1)

We shouldn't be hearing that if employers want some magical unicorn to work for them.

[hamsterjill]

12. Yes.

There was once a time where it was deemed very rude not to provide some type of response to every applicant.

Yet another “because it’s the right thing to do” protocol that we’ve lost.

[MissMillie]

11. Employers still looking for people w/ Masters Degrees...

...that they can pay $7.50/hr.?

[Mossfern]

18. My daughter has a PhD

and has been applying for jobs for more than a year! She does volunteer work and has an excellent employment history. She's still applying for jobs in her field, but makes ends meet by doing odd jobs for people and tending bar.

She sends out several applications a month and does not hear back at all - it's very disheartening. Apparently she doesn't mind working - but she needs steady employment. She has done some tech contract work- not related to her education and professional field-and because it's contract work, there are no health care benefits. These companies think they own you 24/7 with demands for fixing 'emergencies' that they created themselves.

She's at the point of giving up!

[Marthe48]

13. I think that we are overwhelmed by Covid etc

Even if we don't realize it. I know there are days on end, I do nothing, even if I'm healthy and don't avoid work. I just can't get going. I'm retired and don't have a schedule, so I can wait to be moved.

I'm sure there is disagreement, but people can only take so much. In WWI, they called it shell shock and gave people a pass, not a bit like Patton slapping a soldier in the hospital tent. I bet if people who are employed were offered a decent wage, flex time, and mental health days taken at their discretion, people might come back to crappy jobs.

Even the toughest people out there are struggling. There is a lot of positive leadership and good examples by people of all ages, those can-do people who keep going against all odds, but if they falter, it ripples right down to the least motivated employees. The shock of Covid-19, the attempted coup, the resurgence of blatant racism, sexism, and homophobia has rocked us back on our heels, much like surprise attacks on the battlefield. We really need a strong voice to rally the troops.

[Walleye]

15. I can really relate to what you just said. I'm also retired

In the summer it was OK because I got outside and walked and took pictures of the hummingbirds. But yesterday it was cold and dark and it really hit me. Changing seasons depresses me anyway at this time of year. But I think we are all completely exhausted. We have a national PTSD. I still don’t want to go to events with large groups. I stick mostly to my own neighborhood.

[Marthe48]

16. I don't mind the weather changes

But I grew up near Cleveland, Oh. The cooler weather, even rainy weather is better for me. I didn't go to events much before Covid, and now, I avoid most indoor places, unless I mask and take a shower when I get home. People I know have lost people they know to Covid and it seems like if I even stop to reflect the loss of so many people -- 19 not including people who lost their battle to something beside Covid) in just a year, I can't take it in.

Guess we whistle past the graveyard and do the best we can. Not ever easy.

[Walleye]

17. We do anything we can to keep our spirits up. Thanks for the reply

[Marthe48]

19. Oh any time :)

I love DU. It is my hangout.

[drexelkathy]

14. As someone that works in hiring

I have 47 open jobs on my desk right this minute. (Not low paying jobs, I do high tech and engineering hiring).

And the company I am currently contracted with has very few individuals managing recruiting across the entire US and does not have an automated system.

I am the type that used to send a thank you letter to every individual that applied to a job, but without an automated system and with the sheer volume of emails, job openings, meetings, etc. that are on my calendar and "to do" list every single day? I just don't have enough hands and time.

I believe that part of this is due to being remote. There are meetings on calendars that take up 10-30 minutes at a shot...and when we were in the office, these could have been brief conversations that lasted 5 minutes face to face. The interviewing and hiring process is also more cumbersome in a "remote" world vs. in person.

I feel for individuals that feel as though they are "throwing resumes into a void", I really do. But....there aren't enough of us on desks on the other side of the coin to get everyone processed through either. We have INCREDIBLE work loads on our desks. And...it isn't going to change anytime soon.

[SharonAnn]

21. You're saying that your workload require more staff. But businesses cut "staff" all the time.

[drexelkathy]

23. Yeah, talent acquisition and management

are often some of the first internal groups "cut" in organizations. And even when those of us in more senior roles remain (or are brought back in) we often lack administrative support staff that is necessary.

[RobinA]

31. I've Heard This Complaint

about Zoom meetings taking days to even schedule when the problem could have been solved by a 5 minute face to face at somebody's desk. What happened to picking up the phone or an e-mail? It seems like people HAVE to do the whole Zoom thing when a phone call would suffice. What's up with that? I don't work in a traditional office, so I'm truly curious.

[MenloParque]

22. There must be huge regional differences

I’m sitting on a project where I have to hire 8-10 technical sales positions in the Norcal South Bay area. These positions have starting pay of $54k with monthly commission. Bachelors degree required with 2 years customer service. The feedback we are getting is very little interest in younger people who want to work in a cubicle office setting, even in a firm where vaccinations required.

[drexelkathy]

24. in general

finding individuals that want to go back full time into an office is difficult.

Now that individuals have gotten accustomed to being remote, they want to remain remote.

[obamanut2012]

25. 54K in the Bay Area is not a living wage

Not even close.

[MenloParque]

26. With commission these sales reps can make well over 100k

The lowest earning sales rep at our firm made $78k. She’s 24 and been with us for 2 years, fresh out college. 8 hours and everyone leaves at 5pm. Free breakfast bar and lunch. Open kitchen. Gym with treadmills, free weights, showers. Free public transportation yearly passes. 4 weeks paid vacation for new hires. Full medical and dental insurance from day one. Matching 401k plans from start. All employees get free Amazon prime and Netflix accounts. What a sweat shop!

[obamanut2012]

28. Commissions are not guaranteed

Come on, you know that. Stop. Pay more out the gate, and you would be able to hire people. Even 100K is not a great salary in Marin or Napa, or wherever else in the North Bay, you know that.

I am so tired of this "people don't want to work." Pay more, and they will work for you/your clients.

[obamanut2012]

27. A coworker's father owns a small contractor firm and has no workers

Basically they do roofs, install cabinets, will do large tile work like floors and patios. He tried to get my coworker to take 40 hours of annual leave this week to help him, because the three guys who have worked with him for 10+ years (this is important) quit, and he cannot find anyone, even undocumented workers. He pays minimum wage, even to the guys who worked with him for over a decade, zero benefits, not even a vacation week, not even Christmas and Thanksgiving. Kept them to 30 hours, and would randomly rearrange when the pay week started so he could squeeze OT out of them but not pay them.

What did he tell my coworker? "No one wants to work. They are being paid by Biden." We are in SOFL, with no UI from the Feds for months and months. FL UI caps at $275 a week. My friend said, they can work driving Uber for more than that, or more at Target. Hell, they can do their own handyman stuff and make more. His dad was like oh no, they are lazy.

The kicker: he wasn't planning on paying his son a dime.

[MineralMan]

32. That firm's owner needs to lose his business,

and it sounds like he's well on his way. Then, he'll be out looking for work in the same sort of environment. Good luck to him!

[haele]

34. Some of the issues with ghosting is an automated HR with poor keyword management.

If you're submitting a resume to HR through a job portal instead of working directly with an manager who wants to hire you, a lot of times the HR system will kick resumes out instead of passing them on because the advertised job was either not tagged correctly by the manager who needed the employee or the system had too narrow an acceptance parameter for the the job. Heck, I've seen where sometimes HR programs will just refuse all applications because someone on the bean counter side put a halt to hiring for that position or department "pending corporate review" or some other bureaucratic nonsense due to crossed communications or internal politics.
Meanwhile, the job position is unfilled, work is being delayed, projects aren't getting off the ground. Because people at the job management level are being removed from the hiring process in lieu of "cheaper" automation solutions.

Haele