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Americans' fear of losing their jobs grows

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Re: Americans' fear of losing their jobs grows

#91

Post by noneeeed »

foenix wrote: post #32
scruple wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even prior to that, many of us watched our parents _very unceremoniously_ lose their "job for life" jobs in the 80s and 90s. The illusion of loyalty to an employer and job security went up in smoke with those layoffs, for me personally.

And statistics don't apply to the individual. I'm a 3rd generation programmer and watched my own father get the boot by his company just because they wanted to "restructure to Chicago". 27 years at that job -- it defined where we put our roots down. I really enjoy the people I work with, but I never take stability for granted. Ensuring I'm always updating my resume and taking a couple interviews a year is part of my…

Similar experience here. 25 years at a "job for life" and he got a carriage clock. A couple of years later we move to the other side of the UK. A couple of years later they shut down that office making dad redundant.

I am under no illusions about any company I might work for, no matter what size or how much I like the individuals I work with or for.

Re: Americans' fear of losing their jobs grows

#92

Post by ModernMech »

war1025 wrote: post #79
matz1 wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Still better than going from $5k/month to $0k/month. No solution are one size fit all solution to every problem. What is your point?

You don't go to 0k/month. For as much as people like to hate on the American safety net, it does exist.

It really is a net though; there are a lot of holes in it that are easier to fall through than you think. I've been caught by the net once, but in another situation I've fallen through it, and it's really hard to get back up from that.

Re: Americans' fear of losing their jobs grows

#93

Post by lotsofpulp »

lllr_finger wrote: post #83
lotsofpulp wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

By employees, I’m referring to American customers, who opted for the low prices at Walmart versus their local store. My point is employers didn’t have a choice either, if they wanted to stay in business. This is the end result of arbitrage opportunities due to differences in nations’ wealth.

Walmart isn't really an example of choice. I've traveled the Midwest and great plains extensively every year since 2009, and have watched it slowly destroy small town life. The locals fought back as much as they could, but saving an extra $50 a week ended up being too alluring, and local businesses died. I've talked to quite a few people that lament how it turned out but are completely resigned to how it happened and…

Walmart was a choice at some point in history. And even if it's not Walmart, everyone in the chain of buying and selling is going to have to justify their decisions to a boss or a budget.

You can zoom out of the Walmart vs local store picture, and imagine you're in charge of decision making at a large manufacturing company, and your competitor has moved their production to a country with cheaper labor. Is your company going to be able to sell your products at a higher price if you choose to use more expensive labor? Are you going to be able to convince customers that their decisions now will cause income instability for their children and children's children, and that they should spend $x more on your product because of it?

Re: Americans' fear of losing their jobs grows

#94

Post by Ensorceled »

glitchc wrote: post #35

I think this reflects a general erosion of trust between employers and employees, which I blame Corporate America for. It used to be a tacit agreement in the workforce that if you worked hard, the boss and the company would take care of you. This illusion has been shattered first by the employers (outsourcing, at-will employment, gig economy), and now the employees (ghosting, switching firms without notice). The lack…

> This illusion has been shattered first by the employers (outsourcing, at-will employment, gig economy), and now the employees (ghosting, switching firms without notice).

This wasn't an illusion, companies actually did take care of employees and had pensions and full-time jobs and retraining and stuff.

Also, ghosting and employees bouncing is a symptom of the employers not providing any loyalty to their employees. Boomers and GenX stayed for 30 years when they had pensions, Millenials would too.

Re: Americans' fear of losing their jobs grows

#95

Post by AnIdiotOnTheNet »

flatline wrote: post #19
VonGuard wrote: post #5

The United States is weird in that you are defined, here, by your job or profession. TV shows put your job title under your name when you appear on them. People's first question is always "What do you do?" at parties and at events. In other countries, this isn't always the case. When I'm in Europe, people ask where you're from, what's for dinner, and what's happening? The question of your job is rarely asked up front…

Work gives our lives meaning. There may be other sources of meaning but work is a big one. It’s a service we do for others, even though we may have self-interest in financial, emotional, intellectual, or other forms of compensation.

Speak for yourself. I don't feel like I find any significant meaning in my job, it's just what I do because I need money.

Re: Americans' fear of losing their jobs grows

#96

Post by aswanson »

jurassic wrote: post #7
intopieces wrote: post #2

My fear never went away. As someone who graduated at the very beginning of the Great Recession, I have a constant feeling that this cannot be forever.

I'm right there with you. I rode out the recession in graduate school and I've been waiting for the sky to fall pretty much since the time I got my first good tech job in 2014.

Yup, it will. It is only a matter of time. Have to expect as much and plan accordingly. That's reality in this day and age.

Re: Americans' fear of losing their jobs grows

#97

Post by helpPeople »

lotsofpulp wrote: post #68
bluntfang wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Choice is a really funny word when it comes to employees. Most employees don't have a "choice" if you look a little further beyond the surface.

By employees, I’m referring to American customers, who opted for the low prices at Walmart versus their local store. My point is employers didn’t have a choice either, if they wanted to stay in business. This is the end result of arbitrage opportunities due to differences in nations’ wealth.

This is a terrible conclusion you've drawn here.

Think about the benefits of saving money, it creates opportunity for growth.

Side note, mom and pop shops made more profit than Walmart. That money is not shared with employees, it makes the family wealthy.

Re: Americans' fear of losing their jobs grows

#98

Post by lotsofpulp »

mc32 wrote: post #60
lotsofpulp wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The employees also chose to patronize businesses that outsourced and offered lower prices. Other than forcing Americans to buy products made with American labor, what options are there?

Maybe something akin to the “buy local” initiative, but on a national level. That said buy local has its issues like not all locales being able to “buy local” and sometimes subsidizing local producers is counterproductive (effort to overcome specialization is too costly), etc. That said a framework which ensured some minimum requirements (like labor laws and environmental controls, work safety, etc.), could be a plac…

That very framework is what makes offshoring to countries without that framework so much cheaper and so much more lucrative.

Labor laws and environmental controls would have to be implemented globally, but then we're talking about going to war and taking over other countries.

Re: Americans' fear of losing their jobs grows

#99

Post by dx87 »

magduf wrote: post #65
munificent wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> People's first question is always "What do you do?" at parties and at events. ... When I'm in Europe, people ask where you're from A charitable interpretation is that it's better to ask someone about an aspect of themselves they control over one that was a product of purely random chance. Both tell you many things about the person, but the former gives the person more influence over how they are perceived. I grew u…

This is a good point. I'm in the exact same boat: I'm from the South too, which isn't something I'm proud of at all, and I occasionally get comments asking why I don't speak with a Southern accent (my parent intentionally adopted a Midwestern English speaking style, and I also intentionally avoided picking up any such accent, plus I grew up in places with more kids who had migrated there from out-of-state). I really…

My wife is from the South, and she decided not to have a southern accent either, even though it occasionally comes out when she spends a week visiting family. She did grad school in Maryland, and she's told me about college professors assuming she was stupid once they found out she was from the south. She rarely lets people know that she's originally from the South if she doesn't know them well.
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