Scott Walker on Hiring Workers

[Robert Goren]

I saw Gov. Scott Walker on CNBC the other day. He spoke about what employers were telling him. He said employers were telling him they were having trouble finding qualified employees. Not just "skilled" workers, but "unskilled" workers as well. They are telling him they are having trouble hiring worker with basic workplace skills such as showing up on time. Or even passing a drug test. I was having the same problem when I was hiring people from 1998-2005. I am glad to hear I was not alone. If you are or have been involved in hiring in the last 20 years or so, did you have this problem?

[OntheRail]

Why go to work when Uncle Sugar will pay your way... It's the entitlement mentality bred into the youths for Generation.

[Clocker]

Originally Posted by OntheRail

Why go to work when Uncle Sugar will pay your way... It's the entitlement mentality bred into the youths for Generation.

It goes beyond that. There is a generational shift in attitude reflected in lack of discipline and responsibility and a high degree of self-absorption. They don't understand the immortal words of Woody Allen: Eighty percent of success is showing up on time.

I had one guy working for me that was always taking time off to deal with personal problems. The personal problems were of a kind caused by lack of money, and the lack of money was due to the fact that he was always taking time off. He could never figure that out.

[Robert Goren]

Originally Posted by OntheRail

Why go to work when Uncle Sugar will pay your way... It's the entitlement mentality bred into the youths for Generation.

I doubt if it has much to do with that directly. Maybe I did not repeat what Gov. Walker was saying correctly. He was saying it was a problem at all levels of employment not just the bottom rung who can make almost as much on welfare as working a full time job at minimum wage. It is a problem for people trying to hire people who make 75k a year and people who make $15K a year. I am sorry I if I did not make that clear. It is a lack of basic working skills across the board. It is not case of the employees having the skills and just not using them. They don't have a clue of what is expected of them. And it doesn't seem to matter what kind of home they grew up in.
Gov. Walker actually showed some insight that I was not expecting from him. Maybe there is more to him than just being an union buster. But then again, he didn't have any answers. But it was a short segment.

[davew]

There is also a group of 'employees' that start and after a few weeks become injured. They then bleed the workmans comp and know the chiropractors that will give them drugs and require time off / light duty. They then can't work and go on unemployment a couple years as long as they can. Repeat cycle with a new 'job'.

[Robert Goren]

Originally Posted by Clocker

It goes beyond that. There is a generational shift in attitude reflected in lack of discipline and responsibility and a high degree of self-absorption. They don't understand the immortal words of Woody Allen: Eighty percent of success is showing up on time.

I had one guy working for me that was always taking time off to deal with personal problems. The personal problems were of a kind caused by lack of money, and the lack of money was due to the fact that he was always taking time off. He could never figure that out.

I think you are right. There is a youtube video of actor Vincent D'Onofrio talking at workshop about acting. He said the most important thing was to know your lines. He said that it sounds like a small thing, but it makes things go much better when everybody does. Since he was making such a point of it, you can assume he had to deal with plenty of actors who did not. D'Onofrio, who played Robert Goren, is a notorious method actor.

[Robert Goren]

Originally Posted by davew

There is also a group of 'employees' that start and after a few weeks become injured. They then bleed the workmans comp and know the chiropractors that will give them drugs and require time off / light duty. They then can't work and go on unemployment a couple years as long as they can. Repeat cycle with a new 'job'.

I ran across a few of those too. They are a different class of problem, time thieving employees. They could have thread of their own since they come in an array of types. I had one of the type you describe "working" for me. He was 52 years old. I suspect he had pulling it for years.

[JustRalph]

you have no idea what my wife and I put up with...............

It's scary........

I suspect Phantom might understand

[tucker6]

My biggest issue is that employees cannot understand the concept of separating their private lives from their work lives. They are completely befuddled that the employer would be upset that they are spending significant amounts of time texting, emailing, and calling about personal issues. I had one 20-ish girl, who was an otherwise reasonably good worker, complain that I was too strict when I asked her to stop the hourly personal calls. According to her, she had a 'need' to take these calls. She was in customer services, and every time she answered her cell phone, she wasn't talking to customers. Even after reminding her that this is why we are here and how we make money, she thought the whole rule was over the top. I eventually left her go shortly afterwards when we had one of those early 2009 layoffs. They just don't get why they are getting paid. I wasn't a babysitting service.

[Tom]

The 47% inaction.
Not a typo, mostie.

The Obama Army....and it's war on work.

[boxcar]

Originally Posted by JustRalph

you have no idea what my wife and I put up with...............

It's scary........

I suspect Phantom might understand

Would you go as far to say that your experience speaks to an ongoing degradation in sound moral values?

[PaceAdvantage]

Ask John Galt...he'll know what to do about this...

[Robert Goren]

Originally Posted by Tom

The 47% inaction.
Not a typo, mostie.

The Obama Army....and it's war on work.

It predate Obama by at least 15 years probably much longer. But you are right, it is a war on work or more accurately a war on work defining who you are. Young people today get mad when you introduced them with their job title. People have stopped being proud of what they do for a living. Exactly when that started isn't exactly clear.

[GameTheory]

Originally Posted by Robert Goren

It predate Obama by at least 15 years probably much longer. But you are right, it is a war on work or more accurately a war on work defining who you are. Young people today get mad when you introduced them with their job title. People have stopped being proud of what they do for a living. Exactly when that started isn't exactly clear.

Probably around the time you could no longer expect to stay in one company or even one career for your working life...

[TJDave]

I used to have problems with my employees until I discovered checklists.

Like magic, all my problems disappeared.