The news headline caught my attention. The way too long title read, “Shocking Study Finds Paying People Not to Work Makes People Not Want to Work.”
Okay, it was not really an actual news story. It was a headline from a story from the satirical website, “Babylon Bee.” Just as the best humor finds its basis in reality, this funny article was based on something that is real, and is everywhere.
You have seen them in front of many businesses. It’s a Help Wanted sign. As we start to come out of the COVID pandemic, (Well, I hope that is the case.) businesses and industry are having a hard time finding workers. You may be one of those employers. They need workers, and the prospective employees are just not submitting applications. But yet the national unemployment rate is still over seven percent.
So what is the problem? There may be some reasons why folks are not looking for work. But the main reason is probably found in the title of the “Babylon Bee” fake news article. (Maybe sometimes fake news isn’t really so fake.) More than many would like to admit, “Paying people not to work makes people not want to work.”
And it appears that we are paying people not to work. Recently passed by Congress, the American Rescue Plan, extended the $300 per week Federal bonus to state unemployment payments until September 6. The U.S. average unemployment payment is over $300 a week. So that means that the average person drawing unemployment could be receiving around $600 a week while not working.
Let’s do some math. That $600 a week in unemployment benefits is the equivalent of a forty hour work week at $15 an hour. Many of those jobs behind those help wanted signs pay around that $15 an hour range or less. So, receiving those generous unemployment benefits, then why would someone be in a hurry to go back to work when they could draw around the same amount and not work?
Of course, there are other reasons for the current employment problem. Some people are not going back to work because of childcare problems due to school schedule problems due to COVID. Some aren’t returning to the workforce because of the continuation of COVID. There are other reasons that may hinder someone from going back to work. I know it’s easy to paint those drawing unemployment with a broad brush, saying the problem is that they just don’t want to go back to work. And I’m sure that the extended unemployment benefits have been helpful to those who lost their jobs due to the pandemic.
But there’s a reason why it is called “work.” Simply, it’s because it is work, not play, and work takes effort. We need to know that the rewards of work is worth the effort. When considering a landscaping job, if it’s a tough job and I don’t think I will receive a fair compensation for my effort, I simply don’t take the job. Why? Because it’s not worth my effort, and I can get along okay without the payment.
I suppose that is much of the logic of many of those who are not reentering the job market. They’ve decided that it’s not worth the effort and, thanks to those extra unemployment benefits, they can get along okay for now without working.
But, getting along for now may be okay, but what about after September 6, when the Federal unemployment bonus is set to end? This week, I listened to a business owner on the radio, whose business is suffering because of the lack of employees. He said his business might not survive the summer due to the labor shortage. The unemployed, who are doing okay and are not looking for work, may decide they have to go back to work in September. But will the Help Wanted signs still be there?
Mac McPhail’s new book of a collection of his favorite columns, “Wandering Thoughts from a Wondering Mind,” is available for purchase at the Sampson Independent office, online on Amazon, or by contacting McPhail at [email protected]
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May 15, 2021 at 05:55PM
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Will the ‘Help Wanted’ signs still be there? - Sampson Independent
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