Blue-collar wages are surging. Can it last? • Hacker News Board

Re: Blue-collar wages are surging. Can it last?

#21

Post by Y7ZCQtNo39 » Tue, Nov 21, 2017, 4:09 PM UTC

danielvf wrote: post #9

I worked with small / medium manufacturers in the prosperous part of the Southeast. Hiring is brutal currently. Last week one company setup interviews with 20 possible new workers. One showed up for his interview, and one wandered in the next day. 18 nonshows. Another local company is seeing 50% of new hires failing their first drug test. Anecdotaly, about 20% of new hires under 30 don’t understand the concept of sho…

Pretty sure half of my office at my white collar job wouldn't show up if they started drug testing.

But I imagine if we interviewed 20 people for a position, we would most certainly not have 18 no-shows.

Re: Blue-collar wages are surging. Can it last?

#22

Post by nesyt » Tue, Nov 21, 2017, 4:10 PM UTC

dionidium wrote: post #17

I work at a medium-sized software company. We've had similar problems with younger employees. Guys literally posting in company-wide Slack channels that they're "feeling a little sleepy this morning, gonna be in later." Can you even imagine somebody saying that to their boss in some black-and-white movie from the 1940s? "Hey, how about instead of coming in later you hit the bricks and never come back?" The culture ha…

Are you against this? Flexible working hours that can bend to accommodate very malleable human lives seems better than rigid adherence to traditional schedules for the sake of it.

Re: Blue-collar wages are surging. Can it last?

#23

Post by Y7ZCQtNo39 » Tue, Nov 21, 2017, 4:11 PM UTC

dionidium wrote: post #17

I work at a medium-sized software company. We've had similar problems with younger employees. Guys literally posting in company-wide Slack channels that they're "feeling a little sleepy this morning, gonna be in later." Can you even imagine somebody saying that to their boss in some black-and-white movie from the 1940s? "Hey, how about instead of coming in later you hit the bricks and never come back?" The culture ha…

Maybe there are some engagement issues? Do people feel connected to the work and to their peers?

I've observed increases in this type of behavior when things aren't going so well.

When people feel like they are shipping software that makes a difference, they want to be there. If it's only this individual, then it probably speaks more to their behavior than anything systemic. But if it is others too, I would look more broadly.

Re: Blue-collar wages are surging. Can it last?

#24

Post by alexanderstears » Tue, Nov 21, 2017, 4:11 PM UTC

dionidium wrote: post #17

I work at a medium-sized software company. We've had similar problems with younger employees. Guys literally posting in company-wide Slack channels that they're "feeling a little sleepy this morning, gonna be in later." Can you even imagine somebody saying that to their boss in some black-and-white movie from the 1940s? "Hey, how about instead of coming in later you hit the bricks and never come back?" The culture ha…

It's very weak of them to do that, but when HR lackeys pay lip service to 'work life balance' and 'work life integration', it's easy to see where people get the idea.

This is one of my favorite points of tension in business -

1) Businesses want people performing at their highest level

2) Businesses want people to work collaboratively without much latency

3) Businesses want to pay people as little as possible

In these high-concentration jobs, it's not unusual for people to be most productive at night. However, many people don't want to work at night so there's a cost to working with people during the best time for them. And businesses don't want to put up the money for people to justify a radical lifestyle alteration.

So everyone gives and takes and things work suboptimally but well-enough that no one terminates the relationship.

Re: Blue-collar wages are surging. Can it last?

#25

Post by danielvf » Tue, Nov 21, 2017, 4:11 PM UTC

xefer wrote: post #16

Since this article focuses on the U.S., how much of this is related to the slowdown in illegal immigration?

Probably none [edit: in manufacturing]. Most illegal immigrants don’t work manufacturing. The three most common jobs for illegals around here are construction, yardcare, and building cleaning via nested subcontractors. Manufactures have hard assets they could loose. Sketchy subcontractors can just disappear and rename.

The growth is from the demand side - people are buying more right now.

Re: Blue-collar wages are surging. Can it last?

#26

Post by thanatropism » Tue, Nov 21, 2017, 4:12 PM UTC

westbywest wrote: post #18

onion2k wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I imagine there's an opportunity for a startup that let's someone who wants to do a simple job themselves Facetime with a plumber to talk them through the work. No idea if there's any profit in it though.

A substantial factor in licensed tradespersons' ability to collect the wages they get is that many situations require the work be done by a license holder. For example electrical or plumbing repairs done to satisfy a building code violation are often expected to have permit paperwork documenting the repair. License = ability to pull permit.

What, can't a tradesman certify that a job was done to code remotely? We allow people to get degrees online.

Of course, some things (is the screw really tight?) can't be verified by video only, but possibly one could devise smarter tools like pressure gauges and some such that can be shown over a video call.

Re: Blue-collar wages are surging. Can it last?

#27

Post by neves » Tue, Nov 21, 2017, 4:12 PM UTC

dionidium wrote: post #17

I work at a medium-sized software company. We've had similar problems with younger employees. Guys literally posting in company-wide Slack channels that they're "feeling a little sleepy this morning, gonna be in later." Can you even imagine somebody saying that to their boss in some black-and-white movie from the 1940s? "Hey, how about instead of coming in later you hit the bricks and never come back?" The culture ha…

I'd prefer my software developers with a sharp mind than sleepy zumbis that are just physically present.

Re: Blue-collar wages are surging. Can it last?

#28

Post by alexanderstears » Tue, Nov 21, 2017, 4:12 PM UTC

nesyt wrote: post #22

dionidium wrote: post #17

I work at a medium-sized software company. We've had similar problems with younger employees. Guys literally posting in company-wide Slack channels that they're "feeling a little sleepy this morning, gonna be in later." Can you even imagine somebody saying that to their boss in some black-and-white movie from the 1940s? "Hey, how about instead of coming in later you hit the bricks and never come back?" The culture ha…

Are you against this? Flexible working hours that can bend to accommodate very malleable human lives seems better than rigid adherence to traditional schedules for the sake of it.

It's important that businesses answer the question and stick to it. Do they want people to work a set schedule or not?

Or businesses can make demands, but in this labor market they'll have to pay for people to meet 'em.

I can promise to be in my chair at 9 am everyday, but I want to leave at 5 and if I'm tired, the business gets to pay for a less than productive day.

Re: Blue-collar wages are surging. Can it last?

#29

Post by thanatropism » Tue, Nov 21, 2017, 4:13 PM UTC

This comment (not by me; the poster name isn't even visible anymore):

> Illegal border crossings on the southern border are down 78% and blue collar wages are rising. Of course correlation does not equal causation, but when there are fewer available workers to hire/train and demand remains constant, wages tend to rise.

was marked dead. Why? Is the illegal crossing number wrong/fake news?

Re: Blue-collar wages are surging. Can it last?

#30

Post by seibelj » Tue, Nov 21, 2017, 4:13 PM UTC

I keep reading that AI is going to eliminate all the jobs. Yet unemployment is at record lows and wages are rising across the board.

Could it be possible that AI will instead free people to work on new jobs in new industries? Amazing! It’s almost like this time is not any different from any other time.