Let's take an honest look.

[HarleyDog]

(06-11-2024, 10:47 AM)StoneTheCrow Wrote: Man. I got my foot in the door at my company in 2015 and at that time getting on here was highly coveted. There were 70 other applicants for the position at that time, I just happened to know someone and had a halfway decent resume. I considered it lucky and still do. We had 45+ year employees retiring from this place. It was the job to have. Now, we can’t BUY good applicants.

This problem started arising for me back in 2015. A bunch of us managers got together at my last company I worked for and had a meeting on how to get new employees. The quality of resumes left a lot to be desired, and you felt lucky to get one that had decent spelling or grammer. But one of the directors meeting with us had pointed out that he spoke to his son (who was 19, jobless, and still living at home), and his sons response to our problem was that people don't want to work 8hrs a day or 40hrs a week. They want time to enjoy other things in life other than working and coming home and eating and getting up the next day just to do it all over again. 

Granted, this is just a 19yr olds opinion, but we weighed it heavily and at one point even considered buying X-boxes for all the plants so people could play on their breaks. We started throwing sign on bonuses as well, but those didn't do any good when applicants realized they didn't get $2500 up front, and it was earned through the first year in quarterly bonuses. Also, we paid pretty good. I think the starting wage was $17hr (it was good back then).

This might explain why so many are choosing the fast food industry, and others like it. They pay may not be what it is to work 8hrs a day, but they get part time schedules, enjoy their lives and for those who qualify rely on the government for the rest.