# The Nahployment 'Crisis' **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 30, 2021, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nahployment-crisis/941117 "2021-04-30T19:07:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 51
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2021, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nahployment-crisis/941117/1004 "2021-10-20T19:21:19Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > It’s not “doing the right thing” when they’ve run out of all the other “fuck the workers” options first. At least they didn’t do the ‘everyone wants the government to pay them to stay home’ routine. In an area that voted for Biden by over 90%, that wouldn’t go over well anyway. But also, blaming Grubhub and your own customers in a series of rants isn’t a good look for your restaurant either ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2021, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nahployment-crisis/941117/1005 "2021-10-20T19:48:18Z")
It’s like Churchill’s saying: “You can always count on Americans to do the right thing — after they’ve tried everything else first.” ---
**Author:** ![omenran](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omenran/32/3318_2.png) [@omenran](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/omenran)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2021, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nahployment-crisis/941117/1006 "2021-10-20T22:02:57Z")
[This article](https://www.businessinsider.com/worker-applied-to-60-jobs-got-one-interview-labor-shortage-2021-10) showed up on my feed and is an anecdote that it’s not solely about people wanting better conditions working, but also businesses not hiring. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2021, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nahployment-crisis/941117/1007 "2021-10-21T01:12:02Z")
Used to be that “flexible hours” was a euphemism for “We can schedule you any time, and there’s not going to be much you can do about it.” ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2021, 8:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nahployment-crisis/941117/1008 "2021-10-21T08:43:05Z")
> [@omenran](#): > > [This article](https://www.businessinsider.com/worker-applied-to-60-jobs-got-one-interview-labor-shortage-2021-10) showed up on my feed and is an anecdote that it’s not solely about people wanting better conditions working, but also businesses not hiring. I suspect one problem is that algorithms used with on-line applications may be kicking out a lot of qualified people due to problems with said algorithms. The hiring system was broken even before the pandemic, the pandemic just made it worse. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2021, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nahployment-crisis/941117/1009 "2021-10-22T01:29:32Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > I suspect one problem is that algorithms used with on-line applications may be kicking out a lot of qualified people due to problems with said algorithms. On the job hunting boards, there’s complaints that companies are still using the useless personality tests. They’re only hurting themselves with such a ridiculous requirement ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2021, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nahployment-crisis/941117/1010 "2021-10-22T02:43:51Z")
Oh, and need I mention prerecorded video interviews? > **[r/jobs - \[deleted by user\]](https://www.reddit.com/r/jobs/comments/qd6o41/best_buy_target_and_any_company_using_pre/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf)** > > 47 votes and 14 comments so far on Reddit But, nobody wants to work anymore. ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2021, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nahployment-crisis/941117/1011 "2021-10-22T05:02:53Z")
I was just listening to a thing on NPR about the continuing age discrimination problems. Particular for women, but people as young as in their 40s are getting rejected from jobs they qualify for, because they’re too old. The employers reject resumes that make it seem like the person is old, which has produced services that will help people clean up their resumes to pass the filters. They also alleged that employers used pandemic related layoffs as excuses to purge older workers, and now they don’t have enough workers. Not mentioned on the show, but it seems to me that employers might be hurting themselves in yet another way if they dmeand experience, but not _too much_ experience. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2021, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nahployment-crisis/941117/1012 "2021-10-22T05:20:22Z")
> [@echoreply](#): > > but not _too much_ experience. I.e. we don’t want to pay more or give benefits ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2021, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nahployment-crisis/941117/1013 "2021-10-22T08:11:32Z")
Too many employers are acting like it’s still 2018. It’s not. They need to adjust, too. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2021, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nahployment-crisis/941117/1014 "2021-10-22T15:04:19Z")
> [@echoreply](#): > > The employers reject resumes that make it seem like the person is old, which has produced services that will help people clean up their resumes to pass the filters. How exactly is that supposed to work? If you read in my resume that I have 25 years experience in my current field, which requires at a minimum a university degree in science or engineering, it’s not complicated math to figure out I’m probably in at least my late 40s, if not early 50s. The only way to hide that is to lie about my level of experience. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2021, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nahployment-crisis/941117/1015 "2021-10-22T15:35:37Z")
Because the algorithms (or the people who make them) aren’t always that smart. A human being might be able to spot that detail quickly but an AI won’t unless it has been trained to do so. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2021, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nahployment-crisis/941117/1016 "2021-10-22T15:45:54Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Too many employers are acting like it’s still 2018. > > It’s not. > > They need to adjust, too. Yep. And there’s going to be winners and losers. The companies that adjust to the new employment environment faster are going to do much better than those that are slower. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2021, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nahployment-crisis/941117/1017 "2021-10-22T15:51:07Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > Yep. And there’s going to be winners and losers. The companies that adjust to the new employment environment faster are going to do much better than those that are slower. I wonder when we’ll see businesses using this in their advertising. “Come to Big Bob’s Burger Bar! We’re fully staffed, not like those _other guys!_” ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2021, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nahployment-crisis/941117/1018 "2021-10-22T17:12:27Z")
Could be sooner rather than later for that, **Horatius** : > **[Where are the workers? Cutoff of jobless aid spurs no influx](https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-business-lifestyle-health-indiana-d3acd668eaf6343aada03cd660055bbc)** > > INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Earlier this year, an insistent cry arose from business leaders and Republican governors : Cut off a $300-a-week federal supplement for unemployed Americans. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2021, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nahployment-crisis/941117/1019 "2021-10-22T17:44:06Z")
Interesting: > Other people, like Rachel Montgomery of Anderson, Indiana, have grown to cherish the opportunity to spend more time with their families and feel they can get by financially, at least for now. Montgomery, a 37-year-old mother, said she has become much “pickier” about where she’s willing to work after having lost a catering job last year. Losing the $300-a-week federal payment hasn’t changed her mind. She’ll receive her regular state jobless aid for a few more weeks. > > “Once you’ve stayed home with your kids and family like this, who wants to physically have to go back to work?” she said. “As I’m looking and looking, I’ve told myself that I’m not going to sacrifice pay or flexibility working remotely when I know I’m qualified to do certain things. But what that also means is that it’s taking longer to find those kinds of jobs.” That’s pretty much what I suggested up thread. A lot of people have done the math on quality of life, and decided staying home with their kids is worth more to them than the income from a shitty job. Utterly unsurprising to anyone who doesn’t entirely define themselves by what job they have. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2021, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nahployment-crisis/941117/1020 "2021-10-22T17:46:51Z")
Aye, but that’s been the norm in American society and culture for decades now so it’s gonna be a shock and an adjustment for many, many people. I agree that we aren’t going back, tho. Pre-COVID employment conditions no longer apply. I think one huge aspect is the younger generations, having so few prospects for prosperity, homeownership, etc. is just refusing to play the game, for the most part. Times change and it’s time to change. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2021, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nahployment-crisis/941117/1021 "2021-10-22T18:00:57Z")
Just delete jobs and positions that go back more than 5-10 years. My wife does this all the time and it works. Then of course they meet you (in person or on Zoom) and they realize that you are a 50 year old and not a “good fit with their culture” and (presumably) silently curse you for wasting their time. My wife even applied into an industry-wide program to re-integrate women back into the workforce (the industry has a big problem with people [women] leaving upon the birth of their first or second child and they are trying to get them back when the kids hit school age). When they find that my wife actually left in her mid 40s, they came right out and said they were geared toward “women with 5-10 years experience, not established professionals”. So you have an actual HR person, supposedly a professional recruiter, who comes right out and says, in effect that women over 40 need not apply and neither should men. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2021, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nahployment-crisis/941117/1022 "2021-10-22T18:13:02Z")
> [@Mighty\_Mouse](#): > > When they find that my wife actually left in her mid 40s, they came right out and said they were geared toward “women with 5-10 years experience, not established professionals”. So you have an actual HR person, supposedly a professional recruiter, who comes right out and says, in effect that women over 40 need not apply and neither should men. I’ve been in HR for about 6 years and I consider myself an established professional at this point. Yeah, not a good look for them. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2021, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nahployment-crisis/941117/1023 "2021-10-22T18:23:16Z")
Bizzare thing is that this program is sponsored by the Women Adding Value or equivalent Associate Resource Groups in these companies. I noticed that in our company as well. The women’s resource group becomes the young mothers’ advocacy group, as does the nominally gender-neutral “working parents” group. They seemed more gender-normed than the bloody Girl Scouts. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nahployment-crisis/941117.md?page=50) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nahployment-crisis/941117.md?page=52)