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Americans' fear of losing their jobs grows

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Re: Americans' fear of losing their jobs grows

#101

Post by lotsofpulp »

Ensorceled wrote: post #94
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. B…

Is it possible that the existence of companies themselves is subject to more volatility? How can they provide stability when they themselves have unstable sources of income?

I've only been around for a little more than 3 decades, but I've seen many markets and businesses be transformed. Vastly fewer numbers of travel agents, many retail establishments, tv channels, secretaries, hotel front desk, self check out are needed. Not to mention the effects of a drastic drop in birthrates.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/04/business/shrinking-stock-...

Re: Americans' fear of losing their jobs grows

#102

Post by alistairSH »

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…

People's first question is always "What do you do?" at parties and at events.

I've found that to be a coastal thing, not an American thing.

In Denver, "what do you do?" is likely to elicit a response like "I rock climb" and not "I'm a developer."

Re: Americans' fear of losing their jobs grows

#104

Post by vonmoltke »

bluntfang wrote: post #63
blhack wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

These silly “American bad Europe good” comments always find their way into these discussions, and they are as uninsightful as “if you aren’t the customer you’re the product!”. An equally uncharitable interpretation is: American culture, unlike European, places incredible value on personal agency. We ask each other “what do you do” because we actually have the socially enforced freedom to choose what the answer to the…

>We ask each other “what do you do” because we actually have the socially enforced freedom to choose what the answer to the question is. No we don't, or at least most people don't. People of disenfranchised communities don't choose to not go to college or get a job in software development. This makes up most people.

What is your definition of "disenfranchised community" such that it covers most people?

Re: Americans' fear of losing their jobs grows

#105

Post by dkjshfajskdfa »

alistairSH wrote: post #102
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…

People's first question is always "What do you do?" at parties and at events. I've found that to be a coastal thing, not an American thing. In Denver, "what do you do?" is likely to elicit a response like "I rock climb" and not "I'm a developer."

This has also been my experience.

Re: Americans' fear of losing their jobs grows

#106

Post by [deleted] »

spyckie2 wrote: post #90
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…

Not on the side of Corporate America but curious how you would respond. As markets get more mature, it becomes difficult for companies to maintain employees if their salary level to contribution rate drops. Is the assumption that employees will absolutely be valuable to a company's strategic goals? How can a company practically care for an employee for life?

[deleted]

Re: Americans' fear of losing their jobs grows

#107

Post by cubano »

I've stopped fearing losing a job because, frankly, it happens so often as a remote webdev I basically never stop looking.

In fact, I am currently unemployed after I rather unwisely completed a 20-week job in 11, and I was literally given no notice and a week's pay.

So now its back to the Upwork slog and trying to convince someone (again) that yes, since I have been a professional programmer for 25 years I can for sure fix those database issues and add those rather pedantic features to your app or website.

Like I often want to shout..."Do you think I'm lying when you read the years and years of experience on my CV that literally lay out me fixing the same issues that you have, and much much more complex ones as well?"

Trying to pin the "blame" (whatever that even means) will get you nowhere...it's like blaming the "wind" when a hurricane comes and blows off you roof. Yes, the "wind" did cause your roof to fly away, but it was simply the endpoint for a huge number of directly connected and unconnected forcess, too many to measure, that were in place for that bit of wind to do its dirty work.

I feel the only sane way to look at work nowadays is to always have an eye out for opportunities that may work career-wise, and get better at interviewing.

[edits]

Re: Americans' fear of losing their jobs grows

#109

Post by readhn »

Well, we had amazing 10 year bull market run so far. just look at your 401Ks performance from 2009 to 2019!

1-2-3 year shake down / or a mini recession would be technically completely normal and totally expected. at least by me.

get your things/portfolios in order fellas ;)

Re: Americans' fear of losing their jobs grows

#110

Post by tetraca »

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.

You've been had. Work is a calculated tradeoff of time to support/gather wealth yourself, your loved ones, and your heirs to ensure your line's continued security; you can't use it as a complete meaning unto itself, or as a way to offset the guilt of a life of completely empty hedonism. In industrialized work, there is nothing special to what you do for the world, and you won't be missed but for the immediate moment when you are gone. It's something you can have fun doing, and perhaps have pride in doing well, but how many websites you made that were thrown away within 5 years won't give you any peace on your death bed.
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