Quiet quitters is the phrase used to describe the newest wave of employees answering the profusion of help wanted ads posted in the past year. It doesn’t matter if the opening is filled in an urban or rural area, as a significant proportion of these new hires exhibit the same behaviors that are frustrating to both their employers and co-workers.
They are perpetually late, offer lame excuses when day-after-day they do not show up, and present their newest bosses with invisible hidden agendas.
The work ethic that used to be displayed is no longer visible.
In fact, the crushing post-pandemic blows continue. While the numbers gathered by the state indicate that our employment rates are improving each year, what is not reported is that it is now a bigger problem to keep employees. Bosses in both small towns and cities continue to hammered by the demands of their newest hires. Sometimes it may be quite a while before the problems become apparent.
Our new workplace, after the long siege waged during the pandemic, has turned into an entirely unfamiliar environment.
Even if the individual presents themselves as a hard-working, dedicated worker, it is only until the contracts have been signed that it becomes apparent.
Embedded within the demands are a lengthy list of requirements which display that person’s attitudes toward work. The word ethic is part of their vocabulary, unfortunately. It not only makes it impossible for the new worker to stay but it makes it difficult to keep that individual as well. The work ethic most of us recognize is not there.
The size of the business seems to be of little significance. Pre-pandemic,businesses reported that some of their newest hires demonstrated that the usual process doesn’t work very well anymore. Some of their job candidates’ paperwork and interviews did not reveal their problems with authority. Often, full benefits had started.
The childhood lessons most of us learned from watching our closest family and friends aren’t gone or missing these days. Look closer to see how the majority of your community members behave. Actions do speak louder than words.
By DOLLY VISCARDI | Special to the Herald Times
