Where Have All the Workers Gone?

 A few weeks ago, I had the idea that I might like to find a little part-time job. After all, there are maybe a million signs within a one mile radius, inches from my home, that clearly state that the owners need help. Most of the signs have been displayed for a very long time and, in fact, have become memos that remind locals to stay away unless one is willing to wait for service or receive less than expected. The lack of help being an indication that things are not going well in any given place of business. We get it.

I left my name at a coffee shop. One that has a name I would have changed or would never have used in the first place but that's not relevant to my story. It's a beautifully appointed shop, interior straight out of Pinterest. The owner is youthful, her eye is good and she produces not only a great cup of coffee but other yummy things to eat. Cupcakes and pastries nestle in amongst take away entrees, surrounded by a case of gelato. All the makings for a highly successful venture right here in the middle of our town. 

So, I got a phone call from the owner. Come on in at 7:30 on Monday and meet the manager. No discussion. Not a word about my qualifications or integrity or even a question or two that might vet me. Maybe that would come later? Surely there would be an interview, some way to authenticate my potential as an honest and hard working new employee? 

Monday came and I showed up at 7:30 and yes, the manager was there, smiles and cordiality, she was expecting me. Maybe she was going to do the anticipated interview? Sadly, this was not going to be the case. She got right down to the nitty-gritty as I observed her going through the steps necessary to open the shop for the day, almost single-handedly. She introduced me to her delightful daughter and told me that she was tasked with making the gelato and soon, she would be hanging up her apron and returning to college, leaving her mom to be butcher, baker and gelato maker as it were. Wow. These people really need help.

I chatted,observed, wrote notes in my head and asked my one very, very important question. "Where's the air conditioner?"

Well, suffice it to say that the shop owner would have been wiser to have met me onsite, rather than to have farmed the courting of a potential new employee to someone who actually works in the shop. Rather hard. Loyally. Honestly. Open and sincere. I hope the owner knows of these virtues and appreciates them. I hope she pays her one and only employee very, very well. She's not going to be easily replaced. And, she's not going to be assisted any time soon. 

My question, the only one between me and that little job, was answered. "There is none" and a lengthy verbal picture of a local "sweat shop" was drawn. She was honest and forthcoming, rare qualities, especially during this crisis in the world of employment. And I, well, I was equally honest when I told her that I would not be working at her side, that I simply could not work there or anywhere in which my health or happiness were not uppermost. 

I'm blessed, I don't require outside employment. I just thought that a few hours a week might be filled with something fun, the end result being some "fun money" that I probably would spend foolishly. But, the sad reality is that there are people, lots of them, who are less fortunate, who really need jobs. And, there are employers who have to meet expenses and feed families. I don't know where all of the workers have gone, but I will venture a guess. 

A paycheck is not the only thing people require. They also require safety, honesty, and general kindness as part of their employment package.  They need to know that their employer is aware of the work environment and that the environment is one in which they can spend the requisite hours each day, and that they will be valued, cared for and trusted. The days of the "Sweat Shop" disappeared by the time most of them were born. The expectations have been raised. It's okay to say that a place is "the best place to work" or an employer is "fair" or "outstanding". It's not hard to grasp this stuff. 

So, maybe the answer to where-have-all-the-workers gone rests in something very simple.The Pandemic woke them up. In the vast pools of lay-offs, something unique happened. Instead of rushing back to work places that were doing them a "favor", they sacrificed a bit longer with the hope of a better work place in which to return. Maybe, just maybe, there's a bar that will be raised, the result of government and employment meshing together for the good of all of us. Who knows, perhaps workplace health and safety will be raised to the level it always should have been, in the new Post-Pandemic era. 

If the installation of an air conditioner would mean improved working conditions and, I might add, improved customer traffic, (ladies who do coffee in the morning are a huge asset to coffee shops!), why doesn't that business owner take a step back and realize the loss and then step forward and make an investment rather than risk having her business fail? Could it be that this small local business represents what is wrong with the employee-job availability gap? 

Were I a business owner..........