Work and the Pandemic

It is interesting that with the pandemic now in its 19th month and the hiring recovery running on fumes, research is coming out that says, people who left the workforce are unlikely to come back. The country may still be rebounding, but the new study suggests millions are entering a new phase of economic turmoil. A shift is occurring about what people want from work. I see Facebook posts that imply that there is no labour shortage, but there is a shortage of people willing to work for low wages. I agree with that sentiment, but it does not explain the entire issue of labour shortages.

In the Pandemic, many people were forced to work at home and after the initial shock they adjusted to the “new reality” and productivity in many cases did not fall as predicted but actually increased. After two years many workers started to like their situation. They did not have to face a daily commute, fight to find parking, and found they had time to do the things they liked or needed to do at home. Some workers found that they enjoyed the new freedom and they liked being treated like adults. Employers found that their workers were still as productive and were happy. When we moved closer to reopening many workers just decided to say no to going back to the office full time, while others started to look for work in other areas as going back to work and being directly supervised was an issue for them.

Because there is a labour shortage, I have seen stories blaming government handouts and some are saying that people can stay at home and get paid for doing nothing. This is not true; government programs are and always have been restrictive and they are hard to stay in for any longer than is needed. People have a different attitude toward what they want from work, and it will take time for the system to adjust but those firms that recognize that a shift has occurred will thrive and those that do not will not survive.