Yeah. Good Times.: The Dive Bar Welcomes: Amber

Saturday, October 22, 2011

The Dive Bar Welcomes: Amber

Hi Amber! Amber is unladylike, and she displays unladylike behavior... is all I'm saying. What? Is that vague? WHATEVER.

There’s a song on the radio at the moment that talks about a man, laid off from his last job, looking for work.

I got a strong back, steel toes
I rarely call in sick, a good truck
What I don't know I catch on real quick
I work weekends, if I have to, nights and holidays

I work sunup to sundown
Ain't too proud to sweep the floors

The bank has started callin'
And the wolves are at my door

Perhaps I’m cynical. Perhaps I’m jaded. Whatever the case, when this song comes on I can’t help but feel… angry. I realize that most people’s hearts felt a tug when they read the lyrics, but not me.

The thing is, I work in recruiting. When I tell people that I tend to get the same response:

“Oh, there’s a lot of good people looking for jobs right now.”
“So many hard workers are willing to do anything to get their foot in the door.”
“I bet you have people lining up for a job!”

True, there is no lack of candidates. But good candidates? Few and far between. People don’t want to work hard; they don’t want to work weekends; they don’t want to sweep the floors. What they want is a handout. A good paying job where they can sit and do… nothing.

Right, cynical. Jaded. But I’ve seen it too many times. And people will tell you that they want nights, weekends, whatever you’re offering… and as soon as they start that first day, everything changes.

What’s to blame? Unemployment, for one. A person gets laid off, applies for unemployment, and suddenly they can sit at home and collect a check. It’s only a little less than and entry level job pays, so why put in the effort when you can get it for free? Don’t get me wrong – I know there are people out there who will work long, hard hours – people like the one in the song. I’ve seen them; I’ve hired them. But when push comes to shove and you have a choice of a back-breaking day of work or a check from Uncle Sam, most people choose the latter.

So, where are the people with strong backs, steel toes? Where are the people who rarely call in sick? Nights and weekends? You don’t see too many people jumping at that job offer. And if you are… give me a call.

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@Patrixmyth · 701 weeks ago

You assume that you are entitled to pay a low wage and demand people put work above health and family. Fuck You Maybe consider hiring more people, and paying a living wage.

1 reply · active 700 weeks ago

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Amber · 700 weeks ago

I think you're the one making assumptions.

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Sarah · 701 weeks ago

I understand that you are feeling cynical and jaded, Amber, and I think that's fine. I'm sure you have the chance to run across the best and the worst humanity has to offer. My problem is this-- how hard should we have to work? Is it unreasonable to say that a parent wants to have nights off with their children? Is it unreasonable to say that everyone needs a couple days off a week to take care of all of the other business of living? The errands, the laundry, the bill paying, the house cleaning, the caring for loved ones, the chance to even read a book or watch a show? Is it unreasonable to want a vacation and to take the kids to the Grand Canyon or have a few extra dollars to take your spouse out for your anniversary? Is it unreasonable to want health insurance and a pension for all the effort one puts in to the company? Should all life be nothing but work? These are the thoughts I wrestle with, as I check my email on the weekends to stay on top of my work, and handle dinner and bedtime by myself as my husband works until 9pm most nights...

My recent post I Won’t Let the Free Market Take Care of It

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Kim · 701 weeks ago

I can't work evenings, my husband works out of town. I can't leave the autistic boy alone...God knows I'd return to an empty refrigerator and food containers and packages under the couch...at the very least.

If the job is more than half an hour from home, the cost of gas and car maintenance is prohibitive - my car is on its death bed.

These contract jobs often do not offer benefits - no insurance, no holidays. I know this because even my husband's well-paid contract has none of these things.

My unemployment is long gone. Offer me a local job during the day, and we'll talk. I have no experience working in an industrial environment, so I'm not even a viable candidate.

I've never done secretarial work, so I'm not a viable candidate, though I can type like a crazy man, and could do the job.

If we didn't send the majority of technical writing jobs to Singapore and the Philippines, I'd probably have a job now. But corporations would rather pay those folks $80 to $120/month, rather than pay me $25/hour and give me benefits. It's all about the bottom line and keeping the stockholders happy with increased profits.

For the past three income tax seasons, I've paid for my own training and did taxes - for ten cents over minimum wage. It sucks.
My recent post Red Writing Hood - 10/21/11 Scary Stuff

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amorninggrouch 45p · 701 weeks ago

There's usually more to the story, like so many of the commenters mentioned above. I know some people are lazy, and I'm not discounting any experiences you'd had with workers that less than optimal, but overall I think we can find the good in most, and if we are flexible we can help those who struggle a bit to come around, if needed. it's important to keep things in perspective, like look at how much we value their time and effort (in terms of compensation/health care etc.)
My recent post An Un-Sexy Sleeper

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eldergeek · 701 weeks ago

Sure, you can get paid for sitting on your butt. I'm doing it right now in fact, getting paid and sitting here playing on the computer. I'm taking care of an old man who has Alzheimer's. He's napping right now. Later I may have to help him in the bathroom and that can be, well, a little "icky" but it's a job, it pays good and I'm glad to have it. Nobody who wants a job instead of a "position" and is willing and able to actually work has ever been unemployed for long in America. Not in my lifetime anyway, and I was born in 1948. #justsayin
My recent post eldergeek: RT @PrettyAllTrue: New post: No offense http://t.co/ax92KOaW #in

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chavisory 70p · 701 weeks ago

Actually, Amber, unemployment saved my ass this summer--and is a completely insufficient amount to live on for an extended period of time, though it kept me from losing literally EVERYTHING. I am now very thankfully back to working my ass off. I haven't had a day off since...the last day I was collecting unemployment, 5 weeks ago. Nights and weekends? What the hell is a weekend? So I gotta say, my feelings are, that you can shove it.

I had a couple of shows fall through...I was offered one gig and then they went back and said they'd decided to hire non-union instead...wound up with an awkward length of time between paying gigs in which I'd've been more than glad to get another job, but who'd hire me knowing I wouldn't plan to stay come fall? I have an autism spectrum condition, so while I WOULD work just about any job, I CAN'T work just any job. A lot of the temporary/freelance work that's good for autistic people, like data entry, proofreading and copy editing, has completely disappeared. I was hounded out of my last fast-food job by abuse from my coworkers. My temp agency conveniently forgot I existed. My savings were already depleted by a year of important but badly underpaid work.

There will always be abuse of any system. We should of course try to minimize it. But the social safety net saves lives, honey bun.

2 replies · active 700 weeks ago

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Amber · 700 weeks ago

I'm not saying unemployment is bad, it's the abuse that is bad. My best friend was laid off, her husband unable to work because of a back injury, and unemployment saved her family. And when she was able to find a job, she took it.

I knew that this post would end up offending people, but I still wanted to share it. I'm not saying that people have to work nights, weekends, never have days off... but I've offered GOOD jobs to people who still turn it down because they'd rather stay at home and collect unemployment than return to work.

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chavisory 70p · 700 weeks ago

Actually, you did:

"What’s to blame? Unemployment, for one."

Unemployment insurance is one thing. Abuse of unemployment insurance is a different thing.

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andrea · 701 weeks ago

On a slightly different track...do most of the singer/songwriters on the radio have much of an idea what unemployment or being laid off is like...or even earning a modest income? Just saying...
My recent post There's a little bit of Random Tuesday stuck to your sleeve

1 reply · active 701 weeks ago

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chavisory 70p · 701 weeks ago

Probably they do, since most of them did not probably spend most of their lives earning their living as musicians, but as waiters, carpenters, temp workers, teachers, etc. while they tried to make it in music. They have families and communities, too--they've SEEN this. A lot of them probably grew up in this.

An extremely fortunate few make it very big early in their careers and never have to do anything but play music again.

But geez, like being a musician isn't work? Highly risky, unstable work? It is. Can we not degrade whatever work it is that people do? From an arts professional, thanks.

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olivefrm 14p · 701 weeks ago

We all know the system is flawed, and we all also know that there are some lazy MF'ers out there.
We have been dealing with this for years. Way before the Economy tanked
Our employees have some control over their wages. They are paid a percentage of what they produce (upholstery work, earning about 2-4 hundred per piece.) And we offer them the opportunity to work longer hours 3 days a week. But without fail they call in hungover on Monday, and they have family emergencies EVRY WEEK! That is no exaggeration. We have been left empty handed for the last 4 Mondays in a row.

We currently pay a woman unemployment who worked for us for less than 6 months. She claimed it was a hostile work environment. HELL YEAH IT WAS HOSTILE! She wouldn't do her fucking job! She got fired! They awarded her the $, and we are left looking to hire again, but probably will take care of it ourselves. In order to not waste 2 months training someone who will just decide that working is too much trouble, and leave

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olivefrm 14p · 701 weeks ago

Everyone has sick kids, and other family emergencies. We do. We have 3 kids. We understand.
We have the ability and the demand to diversify. But can't because there is no one we can "count on" to actually show up to work. That's a fact jack. Period.
BTW, we don't have health insurance and haven't had a Vacation in 6 years.
My husband IS the man in that song. For 12 years now, he works from 6am to about 9pm, and only comes home 3 nights a week. He is exhausted.
We pay our payroll before paying ANY bills ( and we have 2 sets)
2 mortgages, 2 phone bills, 2 water bills, 2 electric bills, 1 gas bill ( cause I use wood heat) and not to mention the GAS we purchase! We even put gas in our employees cars to "help them out" sometimes.
There are people who receive unemployment who really need it, and receive it under the correct circumstances. And there are those out there with Extraordinary lives, and families that make working long hard hours unrealistic
But for all those people who CAN work, but won't and then whine cause they have no money or they aren't paid enough, THEY can suck it

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olivefrm 14p · 701 weeks ago

I appreciate you post Amber. Cause you can hear all the whining on any news channel out there. No one wants to hear they are lazy. But Truth is 1,000"s of people are.

I am sorry if your broke and have no money for the things you need or want, But neither do we.
If Employers and Employee's would work together for the growth of the company they work for, China wouldn't own us.

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Audrey J. · 701 weeks ago

I'm married to a guy who would SWEAR those lyrics are about him and yet, Amber, you are 100% right that the SECOND he starts working he has all sorts of "stipulations" about how long he will work and when and for how much. The problem is, he's a "hard working man" because he never took the time to learn anything beyond the "trade" his father did and, while it's a very useful trade, the pay just isn't there because ANYONE CAN LEARN IT AND DO IT.

2 replies · active 701 weeks ago

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Audrey J. · 701 weeks ago

We have 4 small children, our most basic lifestyle is still expensive, but I have always believed you get what you work for. If you put in the time and the effort, you will be rewarded. He will swear on everything he will "shovel shit for $10/hour, just GIVE ME A CHANCE" and, yet, when he goes in on day one and they explain he will have to work one Saturday a month, he comes home to bitch about "One fucking Saturday, just great, now you have to be with the kids all week long and then one day on the weekend and that just sucks, I don't want to work weekends, weekends are supposed to be a break, fucking football is on on Saturdays, how the fuck am I supposed to watch my games?" He may not ever say the last part out loud, but it's what he is thinking. I know this man.

:) I feel better. Amber, I'm with ya, girl.

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chavisory 70p · 701 weeks ago

I'd shovel shit for $10 an hour. I mean, $10 an hour, seriously? My father once asked me if I ever tried to calculate what I made per hour, based on the flat fees I was often paid for projects, and I said "no, it's way too depressing."

I too believe that you get what you work for, that you'll be rewarded for time and effort. The problem is, what about WHILE you're putting in the time and effort? You still gotta eat during that time.

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Stephanie MacDonald · 701 weeks ago

I don't suppose you could spare a moment to give a 1 time vote for my son in a halloween contest on facebook... I'd really appreciate it! Please like page, then scroll down past form, My lil man is in 1st, red demon costume, black wings. Thanks!! http://www.facebook.com/iNetVideo?sk=app_26898044...

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Cactusinyrpants 59p · 701 weeks ago

Well, my wife always tears up at that song because I am that guy. She has seen me get turned down for jobs I was overqualified to do. I've had 2 jobs all our married life until I eventually became an independant contractor and work for myself. People in Human resorces, in my experience, ate the least qualified people to determine who would be a good employee and usually the most incompetant people who work for that company.____I recently tried to get a job with a company who put me through a 3 hour "results based management interview". None of the questions had anything to do with the company, what they did, or what my qualifications were. They called me the next day to inform me that I had "scored low"......WTF? I work 16 hours a day most days, and often have to go in on weekends. I have management experience and a kick ass resume Jill Smo helped me with.__I couldn't get a good job to save my life.

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betsy · 701 weeks ago

I was on unemployment for about 8 months. My husband had just finished his degree when I got laid off... it was basically whoever got a job first went to work. The other one would stay home with the kids. He got a job first and I quit applying for the benefits. Unemployment saved us. But... I know 3 guys who received (or are still receiving) unemployment and who aren't looking for jobs. I know this to be 100% true because they've told me. I also know that they'd rather sit and smoke pot all day. Because they've told me. A 4th person I know on benefits refuses to get a (in his words) "job for losers". He includes my husband's job in that category (he works in maintenance). These guys have been on unemployment for years, refusing to get jobs. So I understand your frustration. But I also know that unemployment saved our butts for those 8 months that my husband and I looked for jobs.

Maybe the problem isn't unemployment. Maybe it's the multiple extensions of unemployment that allow people to get comfortable sitting around doing nothing while still getting paid.

4 replies · active 700 weeks ago

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chavisory 70p · 701 weeks ago

Maybe it's a system of deeply ingrained social prejudice that there is such a thing as a "job for losers."

I'm not saying those friends of yours aren't lazy idiots; they probably are. But we have an educational system and an effective if not formal social caste system that says that some jobs are below some people. And then we sputter in disbelief when some people actually believe it. Well, let's stop teaching that some jobs are below some people.

And I'm a little skeptical of what they told you, because there aren't very many "years" that you can be on unemployment. 99 weeks (just under 2 years) is the current federal max. You can scam disability for way longer than that, but not unemployment.

And, I repeat, unemployment is nowhere near enough to live very well on for very long, unless you've got another under-the-table income source. In my state, it's 50% of your previous average weekly wages. For me, that meant about $191 a week after taxes. Yeah, they tax unemployment payments.

Sorry for being really contrary tonight, jillsmo darlin', but I'm a little drunk right now.

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betsy · 701 weeks ago

Perhaps they were lying about how long they have been on unemployment. But the fact that more than one person was telling me the same thing made me believe it. Perhaps it varies by state... the Fed max may be one thing but each state may allow for more (I don't know for sure. I didn't try to get it longer than the few months I needed it so I don't know how to scam unemployment). And it was enough for my husband and I to live on for the few months I was out of a job. We zipped through the few hundred we had in savings, put a few hundred on credit and lived on rice and beans but, hey, you do what you have to do.

I agree that we need to stop teaching that some jobs are below people. I feel fortunate to have a hard working husband who, though he has a college degree, took whatever job came his way and continues to work his butt off for our family. He's proud of the 'loser' job he has. So am I.

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chavisory 70p · 701 weeks ago

Most state maximums are 26 weeks; the federal is far longer because of the extensions specific to this recession that've been instituted.

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aprilgrant 9p · 700 weeks ago

I agree. The people that I know on unemployment have stopped looking long ago because they couldn't find a job of their worth. No, if you want to keep the exact same lifestyle, you can't live on unemployment, but if instead, you downsized, sold a car, moved in with a family member, you can quickly learn to live within those means. Because cutting costs is a lot easier than working a job that you feel that you're better than.
My recent post Applying for Jobs?

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Michel · 701 weeks ago

Since I currently can't get a job even at Target because I've been a stay at home mom for 5 years the fact is that some people will do anything for a job and some won't because they don't know what it's like to have to do anything for a job.

I went from making almost 3 figures one year to making less than 15K the next year. I was either over qualified for jobs or in a past career over paid and employers feared I would leave for a better paying job asap. Still while not working for 5 years I have more skills in the real world and construction than majority of kids right out of high school. I come to interviews prepared, dressed nicely and ON FUCKING time. Which I can say that a prospective employer has yet to happen for any of my interviews. I even waited 1.5 hours for an interview.

Yes I do have a limited schedule I could work. Why? It's called having to pay out the ass for daycare for a 3year old with Autism and her 5 year old sister who is in only half day kindergarten right now. My husband works an hour and a half from our house and is gone sometimes 14 + hours a day. My husband also worked 2 full time jobs for 5 years. It was a bitch, overlapping and pushing off one job for another at times. Not only risking his health, loss of a lot of sleep and lack of quality family life. He wasn't happy, but he did it.

So while some people may have a limited view of what a hard working American is it surely does not live in this house.
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5 replies · active 700 weeks ago

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aprilgrant 9p · 700 weeks ago

But is it fair to the employer to adjust what they need because others need a flex schedule. Some jobs just aren't that flexible.
My recent post Applying for Jobs?

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Michel · 700 weeks ago

I never asked for employers to adjust THEIR needs for mine. All the jobs I have applied for are night or afternoon shifts. I would not have the audacity to apply for a job where I knew I would not be able to work the hours they posted for the position.

Maybe there are people out there who have not thought through thoroughly jobs/daycare/cost analysis but it happens all the time in this house and the friends of mine who also have special needs kids. The cost of daycare and working would be a wash for most people.
My recent post Fall progress meeting update

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aprilgrant 9p · 700 weeks ago

Yes, but there are TONS of people out there who do have the audacity. I think that's what Amber's trying to say. They start out saying that the schedule is fine, but then once hired tell the employer that the schedule doesn't fit their needs.
My recent post Carrot, Egg or Coffee Bean?

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chavisory 70p · 700 weeks ago

I accept that this happens. I'm sure it does.

Just, you know what--don't use this experience of yours to tar the reputation of everybody who has to use unemployment or public assistance. Because it hurts actual people to have to fight this stereotype in order to get help.

I'm sure there are plenty of lazy, flaky people out there who can't keep a schedule or manage their time; I've worked with them, and they are a royal pain in the ass and a drag on getting anything done. But don't move from that to unemployment insurance being to blame if that is not what you are actually talking about, because that's royally unfair and actually *dangerous* to people on unemployment whose circumstances you do not know.

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Michel · 700 weeks ago

thank you chavisory! Lumping every unemployed person in the same group is doing everyone a disservice.

This post in reality is very depressing. If this is the view point of recruiters I can only imagine the view point of employers.

My recent post Fall progress meeting update