Antiwork

The argument is that these are starter jobs and people should expect to move up in the world. Well, that was the case for me, but I can tell you the idea is clearly bullshit.

First off, if these are just teenager jobs, are we willing to shutdown all fast food during school hours? No? Must not just be teens working those jobs then. Go in a fast food joint for a weekday lunch. Those aren't high school kids working there.

And the hard truth is this, some people are just too dumb to handle a more complex job. I'm not talking about education, I'm talking intelligence. I honestly had no idea how many Americans are simply too stupid. Had a middle-aged lady in Alabama last week trying to check me out. She asked 4 times if it was dine-in or carry out. She made a simple mistake on the register and could not for the life of her clear it. A coworker leaned over her shoulder and pushed two buttons.

I've said before, worked IT for payroll company who served low-end clients like restaurants, churches, thrift stores and the like. We had thousands of employees working through us. I rarely interacted with our workers, but Jesus were they (mostly) dumb. The old Carlin quote comes to mind. If there's an average IQ, it stands to reason there are loads of people on the left side of that curve.

So what are we to do with these people? Paying them a living wage is the only possible answer. If we don't, they get food stamps and other government benefits. These giant corporations are taking our tax money so payroll doesn't come out of their pockets.

There are plenty of knock-on effects as well. No or shit insurance? Great. Now we have a sick workforce that's an extra burden on the healthcare system and the employer. Shit paying jobs have shit turnover, and that hurts the company. Most think of training costs, but there's more. Employers have to pay a certain amount into the state unemployment fund for a new employee. Flip that employee and the tax starts all over again. New employees strain everything from HR to IT, accounting and payroll.

FFS, if you pay people you attract better and more loyal workers. And it saves the company money, even in the short term. I've worked for companies that get it, my wife works for one now.

There's a convenience store chain called Quik Trip. Those people make more than a mere living wage. They get fair pay and a cut of their store's profit each month. That monthly bonus can be more than a 2-week paycheck. A promotion means a move to a busier store, mo money. The interstate truck-stop job is the holy grail. They make a career out of working at a gas station. You see people with 20, 30, 40 year name tags. Training is a 2-month class. You will never encounter an incompetent employee, and you won't wait in line. Quik Trip is wildly successful, has been for decades. If you know, you know. :)

/rant Sorry, this bugs hell out of me. I get that many mom-and-pop stores can't pay more on their thin margins. But what about a sliding scale based on company profit?

EDIT: OK, one more rant. Companies would be healthier if they doled out more PTO. From an accounting perspective, they see it as paying someone to do nothing. But the reality is that coworkers step up to fill in. What if employers said, "We'll give you lots of PTO, but you have to work harder to cover for people that are out." I can't imagine workers balking at that idea. Bam! Employer isn't out a dime, employees are happier, more loyal and likely more productive.

Employers have to drop this paradigm that workers are numbers on spreadsheets and start treating them like the assets they are. If you had a cow cranking out milk for you everyday, would you beat the crap out of it, feed it shit food, stress it's health?