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Americans' fear of losing their jobs grows

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Re: Americans' fear of losing their jobs grows

#181

Post by glitchc »

golemotron wrote: post #84
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…

> The lack of trust on both sides engenders the feeling that any promotion is unlikely and every position uncertain, so folks always have one foot out the door It's not just lack of trust, it's also due to the flattening of organizations necessitated by more collaborative work styles than we had decades ago.

Organizations aren't truly flat, ever. This has been consistently debunked as a myth. If the hierarchy is not explicit, it forms implicitly through cliques and personal relationships.

I think you've hit an important point though, because in flat organizations, there are no rules preventing the strong and ruthless from seizing power and catering everything to their whim, including giving themselves bonuses or arbitrary privileges. Many modern tech companies are structured in this manner. The need to have a "collaborative style of work" may be the fantasy the executives feed workers to blind them from the power grab behind their backs.

Re: Americans' fear of losing their jobs grows

#182

Post by mc32 »

lotsofpulp wrote: post #98
mc32 wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

It can be encouraged via tariffs and other taxes that vary depending on adherence level.

Re: Americans' fear of losing their jobs grows

#183

Post by PeterisP »

bonoboTP wrote: post #45
mywittyname wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Especially now with the record enrollment in CS/CE programs over the past 5-10 years. The industry has been awash with fresh talent for the past few years and I don't see it slowing down.

Maybe it's different in the US but in Europe companies still struggle to find good job candidates. They get tons of applications of course but they aren't good/experienced enough. Basically many companies' bottleneck is hiring.

For senior tech employees there's a big drain from Europe towards USA; if you have the experience and skills then it's feasible to get much more money across the pond, as tech salaries in Europe tend to be lower than USA even if we exclude the Silicon Valley salary peak.

Re: Americans' fear of losing their jobs grows

#184

Post by jriot »

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…

This is partially true.

I recently moved back to southern Louisiana as all my family lives and is from here. One major difference I've noticed, not once have I been asked what I do for a living. No one ever talks about work or what they do. The culture down here is certainly different from the rest of the United States. Granted I've primarily lived in various areas of the Pacific North West but traveled throughout.

Re: Americans' fear of losing their jobs grows

#185

Post by jriot »

peteey wrote: post #42
brightball wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it’s a bit of a leap to go from people identifying themselves by their profession to not valuing human life as a country.

The cynicism is uncalled for. The culture of places are not so well defined in America. It is a new nation of immigrants. Europeans may have lived in the same towns for hundreds or thousands of years. American is less than 250 years old. Americans identify as individuals. An individual is identified by personal accomplishments or work. Alternatively, a group identity might define a person by location or family name.…

I posted above but recently moved back to Southern Lousiana. While I cannot trace back thousands of years I can trace back to my great-grandfather who was a shrimp boat captain in the same region I live now; I could back further if my grandmother would stay focus on the task at hand. Furthermore, Cajun culture has maintained their traditions which I believe is the most important aspect of maintaining a group identity, sharing those values.

Re: Americans' fear of losing their jobs grows

#186

Post by sangnoir »

mjevans wrote: post #126
lotsofpulp wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 ne…

That's just a reason why all of the benefits need to be government (and taxes on corporations to pay for them) backed things that are retained across jobs.

but, isn't that like, socialism? /s

Re: Americans' fear of losing their jobs grows

#187

Post by OBLIQUE_PILLAR »

povertyworld wrote: post #163
OBLIQUE_PILLAR wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He'll just nominate Elliot Abrams to replace him.

So, I'm sure if Elliot Abrams starts a war, the NY Times will convince you to support it. Just like the NY Times and Samantha Power convinced corporate Democrats to cheer while Obama destroyed Libya with 400 million dollars worth of bombs.

Probably not. I find Sanders' support of the military industrial entertainment complex troubling.

Re: Americans' fear of losing their jobs grows

#188

Post by tombert »

AnIdiotOnTheNet wrote: post #82
Ididntdothis wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

" It's how Americans define themselves, which, in the end, generally comes down to how the US doesn't value human life, only the potential earnings thereof." I agree with your observations but this conclusion goes way too far.

I don't think the conclusion is that far off, actually. Ask Americans why they are so afraid of things like single payer and you'll see how quickly they place a dollar value on human life. Most especially the lives of people different from them.

I'm for single-payer, but when I've asked my grandmother about why she doesn't want it, she has said "the government wouldn't do it right, the free market can do it better".

I completely disagree with her, and I think she's measurably incorrect about that, but that's not an anti-human stance.

Re: Americans' fear of losing their jobs grows

#189

Post by eikenberry »

mjevans wrote: post #126
lotsofpulp wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 ne…

That's just a reason why all of the benefits need to be government (and taxes on corporations to pay for them) backed things that are retained across jobs.

They don't need to be government backed, just not tied to an employer/job. Much like current retirement plans are not tied to a specific company.

Re: Americans' fear of losing their jobs grows

#190

Post by simplecomplex »

WorldMaker wrote: post #161
simplecomplex wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you have savings? If you had enough saved to spend a year looking for another job, would you still live in fear?

Statistically "everyone" who graduated in the Great Recession is still a year or two at least (and in some cases far more) from paying off student loans. Statistically we're a generation of nothing but debt with no savings to fallback on because we've never had a long enough "peace time" of growth to pay back our creditors. It's wonderful to imagine some hypothetical reality where you had enough saved to survive an e…

You’re not responsible for your generation, just yourself.

You didn’t answer my question about savings. Are you saving? If not you can and you should.

If you don’t have savings the first step is to come up with a budget. Send me an email if you need help it’s in my profile.

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