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Labor is one of the largest expenses in part because it has to account for the inefficiencies introduced by turnover (including on-ramping, i.e., training). Man
by bsanr2 7y ago
Labor is one of the largest expenses in part because it has to account for the inefficiencies introduced by turnover (including on-ramping, i.e., training). Many of the jobs deemed "unskilled" actually do require skill and experience to perform in a proficient manner.
It's true that anyone can flip a burger or poor a cup of coffee, just as it's true that anyone can hunt-and-peck a command; it's something else to be able to manage a kitchen and dining room with one or two assistants during peak, 6 hours into a shift that was scheduled with only a week's notice, observing food safety practices and producing the correct order from dozens of options in a timely manner and with unflappable hospitality, as many food service jobs now require of their employees. This while people complain about the difficulty of hosting family for dinner once a year.
Class, race, and gender associations have much to do with our perceptions.
- LeifCarrotson 7y ago'Only' a week's notice. Ha!
- bsanr2 7y agoRight. That's the stated policy, for jobs that pay a few thousand dollars a year short, at full time, of making a bare-bones life affordable. So for those who have to have a second job, or who rely on inadequate public transportation, or who are at the whims of supervisors who don't observe policy, that is a major problem.
- imtringued 7y agoThe thing about unskilled jobs is that ability of being able to complete a task is a pretty low bar. You can always increase productivity through work experience.
- bsanr2 7y agoThe question then becomes at what "time to task completion" and "size of task repertoire" does a job become economically viable for an employer. I tend to think that the line between unskilled and skilled, barring educational or professional requirements, parallels the line between a dialect and a language: "skilled" work is "unskilled" work with a union.