5 ms·

The so called "labor shortage" is also very related to lack of housing, nobody really wants to take a job if they have a 16 hour each way commute to and from af

The so called "labor shortage" is also very related to lack of housing, nobody really wants to take a job if they have a 16 hour each way commute to and from affordable housing.

aidenn0 5y ago
There's also unwillingness (or inability) to relocate, even when the destination is affordable. There are foundries and factories dotting the Midwest, where they struggle to get enough people to show up sober. Few want to upend their lives for a job that is of unknown duration though
- lotsofpulp 5y ago
  It is not affordable if the pay does not compensate for the income volatility. Volatility (perceived or real) is often times ignored in calculations, because it is difficult to translate into a number. But people can see and feel it, and sure they might over estimate and under estimate it, but it is part of people’s calculations.
- dleslie 5y ago
  There's a reason why many of their staff have trouble showing up sober. The job sucks.
- bsder 5y ago
  > Few want to upend their lives for a job that is of unknown duration though This is one of the problems. The question about moving somewhere is "What happens when my job evaporates?" If you're sitting in the Midwest, the answer is "Congratulations, you get to move again.". Another problem with leaving a high cost of living area for a low cost of living area is that moving back to the high cost of living area can be almost impossible. Once you slip off the housing pyramid scheme in a high cost of living area, you can't get back onto it. It's better to stay in the high cost of living area until you've banked enough money that you can leave permanently. > There are foundries and factories dotting the Midwest, where they struggle to get enough people to show up sober. Add an extra zero to the hourly wage and people will show up sober. This isn't a hard problem to solve. I get soooo tired of this. My anecdote along the lines of this was sitting at an injection molding conference while they sat and whined that they couldn't hold on to workers. And need more people in the pipeline. Etc. ... I'm somewhat sympathetic--I was a hiring manager during the DotBomb so I understand getting poached quite intimately. It doesn't help that working on an injection molding line is a tough job and pretty physically demanding--molds are basically a 40-100 cubic feet of steel and changing them out is rough. So, they finally name the poachers ... Amazon and Foxconn. Holy hell! I simply couldn't keep my mouth shut and went non-linear. I said loudly and in no uncertain terms that if they're losing people to two of the worst employers on the planet that they simply need to shut the hell down. Otherwise, shut the fuck up about poaching and pipelines until your salaries don't suck donkey balls. I didn't make many friends that day. But the couple I did had their heads screwed on straight. Just because the employer is in the Midwest doesn't make them competent.
  - structural 5y ago
    There's also a not insignificant number of employers that use their status as one of a very few employers in town to abuse employees, either in salary or otherwise, because the barrier to quitting is "do I want to uproot my entire family and have to move?" This definitely factors into people not wanting to move to places where there aren't not only jobs, but enough variety in employers to hedge against the worst of the worst.
- Rapzid 5y ago
  > Yeah it's cold there, but the factory is hot and you'll be working 16 hour days there.. No you will be able to afford an efficiency with heat and have a few bucks left for a movie maybe once a month.. Well you'll be working 6 days a week anyway, you will have fun at work with your coworkers. Oh, one thing though.. It's REALLY important you show up to work sober okay so.. Is this an everyday thing or.. I'm shocked the Midwest doesn't have recruiters on site at the homeless encampments every day. Shocked I tell you.

The so called "labor shortage" is also very related to lack of housing, nobody really wants to take a job if they have a 16 hour each way commute to and from affordable housing.

aidenn0 5y ago

There's also unwillingness (or inability) to relocate, even when the destination is affordable. There are foundries and factories dotting the Midwest, where they struggle to get enough people to show up sober. Few want to upend their lives for a job that is of unknown duration though

lotsofpulp 5y ago
It is not affordable if the pay does not compensate for the income volatility. Volatility (perceived or real) is often times ignored in calculations, because it is difficult to translate into a number. But people can see and feel it, and sure they might over estimate and under estimate it, but it is part of people’s calculations.
dleslie 5y ago
There's a reason why many of their staff have trouble showing up sober. The job sucks.
bsder 5y ago
> Few want to upend their lives for a job that is of unknown duration though This is one of the problems. The question about moving somewhere is "What happens when my job evaporates?" If you're sitting in the Midwest, the answer is "Congratulations, you get to move again.". Another problem with leaving a high cost of living area for a low cost of living area is that moving back to the high cost of living area can be almost impossible. Once you slip off the housing pyramid scheme in a high cost of living area, you can't get back onto it. It's better to stay in the high cost of living area until you've banked enough money that you can leave permanently. > There are foundries and factories dotting the Midwest, where they struggle to get enough people to show up sober. Add an extra zero to the hourly wage and people will show up sober. This isn't a hard problem to solve. I get soooo tired of this. My anecdote along the lines of this was sitting at an injection molding conference while they sat and whined that they couldn't hold on to workers. And need more people in the pipeline. Etc. ... I'm somewhat sympathetic--I was a hiring manager during the DotBomb so I understand getting poached quite intimately. It doesn't help that working on an injection molding line is a tough job and pretty physically demanding--molds are basically a 40-100 cubic feet of steel and changing them out is rough. So, they finally name the poachers ... Amazon and Foxconn. Holy hell! I simply couldn't keep my mouth shut and went non-linear. I said loudly and in no uncertain terms that if they're losing people to two of the worst employers on the planet that they simply need to shut the hell down. Otherwise, shut the fuck up about poaching and pipelines until your salaries don't suck donkey balls. I didn't make many friends that day. But the couple I did had their heads screwed on straight. Just because the employer is in the Midwest doesn't make them competent.
- structural 5y ago
  There's also a not insignificant number of employers that use their status as one of a very few employers in town to abuse employees, either in salary or otherwise, because the barrier to quitting is "do I want to uproot my entire family and have to move?" This definitely factors into people not wanting to move to places where there aren't not only jobs, but enough variety in employers to hedge against the worst of the worst.
Rapzid 5y ago
> Yeah it's cold there, but the factory is hot and you'll be working 16 hour days there.. No you will be able to afford an efficiency with heat and have a few bucks left for a movie maybe once a month.. Well you'll be working 6 days a week anyway, you will have fun at work with your coworkers. Oh, one thing though.. It's REALLY important you show up to work sober okay so.. Is this an everyday thing or.. I'm shocked the Midwest doesn't have recruiters on site at the homeless encampments every day. Shocked I tell you.