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Restaurant workers quit at record rate

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Re: Restaurant workers quit at record rate

#911

Post by ModernMech »

throwawayboise wrote: post #629
ModernMech wrote: post #494

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is why we need to get past the idea that everyone needs to work to earn a living. Why does anyone need to earn the right to live? Our society has enough empty homes to house the homeless, and throws away enough food to feed the hungry. Why are people still homeless and hungry then? Take your example of the steel plant. Presumably when the 9500 people were laid off, productivity remained the same (or increased) a…

There wasn't extra profit because all the mills automated and they are all competing with each other. If expenses were lower, one would cut prices to gain a market advantage, others would follow until the price reached its floor.

There were plenty of profits to be had. I've lived in steel towns almost my entire adult life, and you can see exactly how that manifested in region. Drive around these towns and you'll see the names of wealthy steel tycoons on roads, parks, schools, and even whole towns. You'll also see stark divides between streets with lavish mansions where management lived, and dilapidated row homes where workers lived. The divide was so deep that workers literally fought and died for better conditions at a time when steel prices and profits were actually increasing (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homestead_strike).

Ever heard of Carnegie Tech (CMU), the Wharton School, or Swarthmore college? They exist precisely because of the existence of massive profits from steel.

Re: Restaurant workers quit at record rate

#912

Post by bluGill »

ashtonkem wrote: post #898
bluGill wrote: post #882

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have personally been in fast food, and I worked my way up to management. If what I say contradicts the article, then my personal experience contradicts the article. Management is more stressful. That is a different from the line worker who has been working the same position for the last 5 years, with no interest in advancing. I saw several people refuse advancements because they didn't want the stress: they knew ho…

> If what I say contradicts the article, then my personal experience contradicts the article. Then your experience is atypical. > Management is more stressful. But you said it wasn't stressful. Which is it? > they learned to shut off the customer who yells at them while the cook is behind on orders - this coping is an important skill Uhhh, this is not a good thing. You're describing someone shutting down in the face…

I said the line workers who has been in the same position for years is not stressful. Management is a very different thing.

Re: Restaurant workers quit at record rate

#913

Post by [deleted] »

rdtwo wrote: post #527
SketchySeaBeast wrote: post #430

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In this case you're trading out your effort for the cash. I'm happy to trade my money, which I earn much more efficiently at my job than I can save by cooking, for the food so I don't have to put in effort and can enjoy my evening out with friends. I'm also more than happy to pay a couple of dollar premium to eat fast food than try to recreate it on my own while I'm running to work.

It’s not as great a trade off as it might seem you are pushing the externalities of bad diet on to later in life

[deleted]

Re: Restaurant workers quit at record rate

#914

Post by xyzzyz »

lumost wrote: post #889
xyzzyz wrote: post #887

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Microwaves and dishwashers were popular in commercial environment before 1980, and I don’t think credit cards make a restaurant more productive.

> I don’t think credit cards make a restaurant more productive. They certainly reduce the potential for theft/shrinkage! It used to be that you needed a trusted business manager/employee to manage the register, now anyone can do it and it's much harder for someone to siphon funds. All transactions are now viewable to management to more easily see what's selling and what's not.

That’s a good point, haven’t thought of that.

Re: Restaurant workers quit at record rate

#915

Post by mullingitover »

29083011397778 wrote: post #766
mullingitover wrote: post #548

It's interesting that when labor costs shoot up (and let's be honest, that's what this is, you can get people to take those jobs if you pay enough) it's a 'shortage,' but we don't really call skyrocketing medical costs a 'medicine shortage' or skyrocketing rents and home prices a 'housing shortage.'

Per TFA: > Low wages are the most common reason people cite for leaving food service work. But in one recent survey, more than half of hospitality workers who've quit said no amount of pay would get them to return. Note that over half of survey respondents directly refute your claim of "Just pay more". Paying more will get some people in, but having your restaurant half or three-quarters staffed is still an unenviabl…

> more than half of hospitality workers who've quit

So this is only sampling existing workers who've quit, not potential workers who would enter the market for the right wages.

Re: Restaurant workers quit at record rate

#916

Post by Arete314159 »

akiselev wrote: post #787
vanviegen wrote: post #752

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From a European perspective, it boggles my mind that sick days can be limited. What happens when you run out? You get fired for not coming into work, I imagine?

The Family and Medical Leave Act protects most (IANAL) employees for up to 12 weeks of unpaid time off per year at the federal level. At some point Americans with Disabilities Act protections kick in and after a few months of a serious illness temporary or permanent disability insurance comes into play. It's not the dystopia its made out to be but even in the best states the inconsistencies between the layers of prot…

While this is true technically, in practice many companies will make an excuse to fire employees who take "too many" sick days. Like if there are layoffs, the sickly employee will be in the round of layoffs.

Also, if you work a service job and miss too many shifts due to illness, they'll just fire you for being unreliable.

Re: Restaurant workers quit at record rate

#917

Post by 71a54xd »

akiselev wrote: post #792
71a54xd wrote: post #700

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yep, but at the end of the day anyone who's trying to build wealth or have anything left for retirement gets fucked by inflation. People who are spendthrift and receiving UBI or unemployment payments (long term) were never trying to do that anyways and their payments in theory would increase with inflation. I'm a supporter of the idea of UBI but I just can't see the incentives panning out realistically.

How are the incentives panning out now? Every system has trade offs and the ones we've made seem to get worse and worse.

Great, actually. I've worked my ass off, paid-off my student loans and live in a great city. By no means making crazy developer money either.

Re: Restaurant workers quit at record rate

#918

Post by 71a54xd »

mindslight wrote: post #753
71a54xd wrote: post #700

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yep, but at the end of the day anyone who's trying to build wealth or have anything left for retirement gets fucked by inflation. People who are spendthrift and receiving UBI or unemployment payments (long term) were never trying to do that anyways and their payments in theory would increase with inflation. I'm a supporter of the idea of UBI but I just can't see the incentives panning out realistically.

But price inflation is the policy goal regardless of minimum wage or UBI. In fact, government spending makes for better inflation in that it is spread around the economy, rather than lending based inflation that only shows up in CPI after it sends assets through the roof.

Could you go into more detail here? My head is still slow to digest economics concepts like this, but this is something I certainly haven't read about before.

Re: Restaurant workers quit at record rate

#919

Post by 71a54xd »

AKSucks wrote: post #853
akiselev wrote: post #790

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If it's depressed it's because business owners who hire undocumented immigrants (often knowingly, even assisting with GC/visa fraud to pass I9 verification) are never, ever fined or punished. Enforcement is a farce.

Enforcement isn't a farce, its just focused on workers because employers are powerful and workers aren't. The reason republicans are so hardline on immigration is because "illegal" workers are really easy to coerce and exploit. They don't call the health department when you make them shit in a hole in the field. They don't call OSHA when you deny them access to water out in the field. They don't call the attorney gen…

Completely agree, this is why where I grew up in TX many of the business owners who are stout conservatives are basically complete hypocrites since they hire illegals! Tbh I strongly advocate to grant citizenship or work visas to people from other countries who want to work, however the democrats still benefit year after year by kicking the dreamers down the road and never actually changing the immigration system.

If we replaced every millenial deadbeat who complains about how hard it is to be a barista with a hard working immigrant our country would be better off!

Re: Restaurant workers quit at record rate

#920

Post by BuckRogers »

_wp3r wrote: post #678
BuckRogers wrote: post #379

There is only one thing to do in this situation! We have enough people available. So raise wages until the labor shortage is resolved. Pretty simple, let's go, Team USA. Hello? Team?? Oh, I'm sure we're all onboard with the plan and in this together.

There is no wage discussion if workers never apply.

This easy solution is already being found by businesses everywhere.

https://www.businessinsider.com/ice-cream-shop-doubles-minim...

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