The 'Great Resignation' is really the 'Great Discontent' • Hacker News Board

Re: The 'Great Resignation' is really the 'Great Discontent'

#221

Post by mgh2 » Wed, Aug 11, 2021, 1:10 AM UTC

RobRivera wrote: post #188

mgh2 wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure, it is not. Maybe you are not using your talents properly. Consider a change in career to help others, maybe then you will find meaning and fulfillment...

Why do you exhibit such rage towards fellow humans seeking their definition of happiness? I know what its like to not know where my next meal is com8ng from, and I wouldnt be offended by anothers' journey for improvement.

No "rage", just sounded that way. I just get a sense that in HN, perspectives are heavily tilted towards the rich and comfortable.

Re: The 'Great Resignation' is really the 'Great Discontent'

#222

Post by lotsofpulp » Wed, Aug 11, 2021, 1:26 AM UTC

cratermoon wrote: post #200

lotsofpulp wrote: post #174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It depends how the labor supply and demand curves are moving. The case for extra compensation is that you will stop working there if you do not get extra compensation.

People are still working the same retail jobs they did in the days before 24/7 expectations and, after taking into account inflation, making about the same amount of money. https://bitworking.org/news/2008/01/the-free-market-fairy/

And? Evidently, there was a huge increase in labor supply relative to demand for that type of labor in the decades since the 1970s. Hence the workers could not negotiate higher wages.

If the workers had better options, they would have chosen to go elsewhere.

Around me, I now see restaurants and stores closing earlier, which must mean they are no longer able to find labor willing to work at the low wages they were expecting them to.

Re: The 'Great Resignation' is really the 'Great Discontent'

#223

Post by Rijek33 » Wed, Aug 11, 2021, 2:13 AM UTC

The environment is collapsing the government is stealing my money through reckless printing and inflation. I am priced out of a home and a decent life. Corona is here to stay. Why should I still bother with working

Re: The 'Great Resignation' is really the 'Great Discontent'

#224

Post by mbrodersen » Wed, Aug 11, 2021, 2:18 AM UTC

superfrank wrote: post #123

onelastjob wrote: post #31

My opinion is that we need to move to four day work weeks and each day should have six working hours. Knowledge workers are wasting their lives at work when they could get the same amount done in fewer hours.

> Knowledge workers are wasting their lives at work when they could get the same amount done in fewer hours. I'm curious what job you have. I'm a SWE who is in the process of moving into a manager role. As an IC, I am 100% certain that I could get the same amount of work done in a 24 hour work week. In fact, I was probably working less than that already and still meeting my deadlines and getting great reviews. As a m…

If you are working hard as a manager then you are doing it wrong. Your goal is to make sure the team is highly qualified and are moving in the right direction. And then shield the team from external BS. That’s it. It isn’t rocket science.

Re: The 'Great Resignation' is really the 'Great Discontent'

#225

Post by Dracophoenix » Wed, Aug 11, 2021, 2:20 AM UTC

oxymoran wrote: post #37

Interesting tidbit regarding Gallup: the Fortune 500 company I work for manipulates our surveys by asking general questions about the company and then holding the supervisors accountable for the results even if all of the questions are way out of their control. So they leverage the the employee-supervisor relationship to make it seem like there is more happiness and less discontent. That being said, I find it hard to…

Not exactly the same, but your experience reminds me of this old tidbit from Yes, Minister: https://youtube.com/watch?v=G0ZZJXw4MTA

Re: The 'Great Resignation' is really the 'Great Discontent'

#226

Post by morpheos137 » Wed, Aug 11, 2021, 3:30 AM UTC

The world has 8 billion people. I am pretty sure that there are enough to do the work that needs to be done.

Re: The 'Great Resignation' is really the 'Great Discontent'

#227

Post by reidjs » Wed, Aug 11, 2021, 4:33 AM UTC

cratermoon wrote: post #220

muffinman26 wrote: post #213

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, the average person does gain something from being able to shop and bank at all. If you are required to be in the office from 9 am - 5 pm Monday-Friday and grocery stores and banks are only open from 9 am - 5 pm Monday-Friday (or even 8 am - 6 pm if you live in an area where long commutes are normal) you're effectively excluded from banking and shopping entirely. This seems to be a systematic means of excluding…

> If you are required to be in the office from 9 am - 5 pm Monday-Friday But.. why should companies require that? No time to go out for an errand?

It’s messed up, but that’s how it works for jobs where the employees have no power and are easily replaceable but very dependent on the income.

Re: The 'Great Resignation' is really the 'Great Discontent'

#228

Post by reidjs » Wed, Aug 11, 2021, 4:36 AM UTC

ClumsyPilot wrote: post #207

hinkley wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have some highly engaged coworkers who are in the process of burning out. I think they’re only still here because the entire company would crumble if they stopped. Coworkers have commented that if we lose these people we are fucked, and I just keep thinking: can’t you see that they are already gone? You better make plans, because as soon as they go I’m splitting too.

"they’re only still here because the entire company would crumble if they stopped." Honestly thats a terrible reason to stay - unless you work at a charity.

I don’t know their situation, but it might be an illusion. Some people are great at making it seem like they’re doing a lot, when they actually just look very busy.

Re: The 'Great Resignation' is really the 'Great Discontent'

#229

Post by cratermoon » Wed, Aug 11, 2021, 4:44 AM UTC

reidjs wrote: post #227

cratermoon wrote: post #220

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If you are required to be in the office from 9 am - 5 pm Monday-Friday But.. why should companies require that? No time to go out for an errand?

It’s messed up, but that’s how it works for jobs where the employees have no power and are easily replaceable but very dependent on the income.

So no good reason at all.

Re: The 'Great Resignation' is really the 'Great Discontent'

#230

Post by actually_a_dog » Wed, Aug 11, 2021, 5:08 AM UTC

jrs235 wrote: post #211

serial_dev wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I honestly think it comes down to this in the majority of the cases. "Look, we have a two-years contract where we pay X thousand dollars a month for 100 desks and we have on an average day 3 developers in our office. After one year of lockdowns, we know our developers work at least as well from home as from the office, but higher ups ask us why we pay so much for an empty building, so we will force you come back to t…

Sunk cost fallacy! Keep it empty and save on the variable electric and heating/cooling costs.

There's another aspect here, too. Companies get tax breaks to put offices in certain locations, and those tax breaks are frequently based on having a certain percentage occupancy.