UNITED STATES—I have been hearing this conversation for quite some time and it has gotten me thinking, things are changing when it comes to the dynamics between the employer and the employee. What does that mean? In the past, the employer held all the power, but with the 2020 Coronavirus pandemic it changed everything and I mean everything.
Why? Well lots of businesses went out of business, tons and I tons of people lost their job, people decided to leave places of employment where they were not happy, some started their own business and others just got comfortable not working people. With that said we are seeing an interesting dynamic erupt in the workplace American: employees actually have a bargaining chip for once.
In the past the thought of working from home was not even possible. However, with the advancement of technology many jobs that had to be done in the office in the past can now be performed at home. During the pandemic many businesses had to resort to remote operations because it was NOT safe to gather. Hell, I witnessed reporters doing the news from home. That was something I thought I would NEVER and I mean NEVER see, but guess what it worked, so it made me think almost anything can be done from home with the right equipment and technology people.
With that said, employees have a bit more leverage, especially in the hospitality industry. Waiters and servers tend to be treated terribly and the pandemic I think made many of them realize, I deserve better. Now the wage for a waitress or server did NOT shoot up exponentially, but they became much more valuable in the industry that did not always respect them. People did not like they could not dine or eat out in 2020 and parts of 2021, and now that this possibility has started to ease people are tipping more (you always should tip, hell you are being served people), and businesses are being forced to share the wealth a bit more because not many people want to be servers. Simply put the workers have leverage.
However, this is NOT just the restaurant industry, this is multiple industries people. There are plenty of businesses that are having trouble hiring staff. A big reason was the low wages, so it seems now most places are paying at least $10 per hour if not more to bring people into their establishment and quite a few are offering signing bonuses as well to keep people at their business.
There is more of a conversation nowadays between the employer and the employee, where in the past the employer set the terms and the employee in most cases had to agree even if he or she did not want to. Now, that is NOT the case America. There has been a shift. The employee can bargain a bit because many companies don’t have that explosive workforce they used to have people want to work for themselves or exited industries where simply put they hated the work they performed.
Childcare has also become an issue for many Americans because when you’re paying more for childcare than you are for your mortgage you do indeed have a problem America even if you think you don’t. Sorry, that is crazy to believe. Many want to work completely from home to care for the kids at the same time. Hell, if you can still get your job done while taking care of your kids who cares. It is different if your children are hurting your ability to perform your work. Many businesses are asking those employees to come back to the office, but with gas prices blowing up the commute to and from work is too costly for Americans.
There is a balance happening: come into the office a few days and then work at home a few days. Balance people it is happening more and more and I think businesses are starting to realize the value of its employees and staff. Without them it is very difficult to maintain operations and your pockets will NOT be as loaded as you think without those people working so hard to make that happen for you.
Written By Jason Jones
