Yesterday, while surfing through the news site Zero Hedge, I found a post titled, 'The real revolution is underway but nobody recognizes it' (link below). This article focuses on a topic that I'm seeing more and more of, the 'Great Resignation'. All of a sudden, there's a shortage of workers.
Well, I can tell you, I started noticing it in early in 2020. Many of my co-workers were suddenly retiring. It started as a trickle, one or two here and there but as we moved into 2021, the numbers jumped up to four, five per month by April, when I joined the retirement club myself. None of us retired because we hit 65 years of age. We were all younger, mid to late 50's and a couple in their early 60s. I was one of the youngest at age 56 to kick the bucket where it hurts. I plan on living a bit longer and in a much happier state of mind. I have more time to do repairs around the house and I find myself cooking and baking a lot. I made date squares for the first time this fall and winter. I never had the time to do anything like that before and now, I'm also writing a lot of articles on PublishOx and it gives me great satisfaction.
Remember grabbing a coffee on the go or a quick hamburger? There were a lot of seniors working behind the counter. It was actually a great way to supplement their incomes. The pandemic comes along and scares the crap out of everyone over the age of 50. Do you think a senior would want to continue facing customers at some of the busiest shops in town in the middle of a pandemic that made their age group the most vulnerable?
I think there really is a silent revolution happening in the form of a 'Great Resignation'. Clearly, the pandemic is playing a huge part in this transformation. The disruption it has caused is immeasurable. Some sectors, such as restaurants have been hit hard. The trucking industry too has a severe shortage of truck drivers. In the USA, they're about 60,000 drivers short and in Canada, about 25,000 short of drivers.
Another sector that may be suffering under the radar is auto mechanics. Are mechanics going underground? That's just an assumption but I'm sure you'll agree, $120 an hour for a mechanic is just too much. Yes, they have a great skill set and deserve to be paid well but it's clear the mechanics themselves are not getting paid anywhere near that amount. Maybe it's time to get rid of the middle man?
Is this silent revolution we are witnessing the beginning of a positive trend where enthusiastic entrepreneurs start their own little enterprises instead of going to work for some 'franchise' that then dictates when you can take time off, demands you work overtime and can fire you without any notice. If you see an independent mechanic setting shop in your neighborhood, it's a good idea to lend your support. This also keeps the money in the neighborhood.
That's another thing that I feel strongly about, 'keeping the money in the neighborhood'. Just one look down any busy street and all you see are franchises. Yes, they put a lot of people to work but a portion of revenues is pulled out and sent far away into the hands of the few. They are slowly siphoning the lifeblood of our towns and cities if you really think about it. Just look at the Walton family...
I think people are starting to figure this out. I certainly have. I've changed my grocery shopping habits to 'keep it in the neighborhood'. For example, I no longer buy my meats from the supermarket. I go to a local farm. I know exactly where my beef is coming from. Same with vegetables. I often visit local markets for things like honey and apple cider juice. I'm growing my own veggies too for good measure.
Demographics too is playing a big part. I read in a book 20 plus years ago that the oldest of the Baby Boomers would start retiring from year 2000 onward (See the books 'Boom, Bust and Echo', 'Demographic Cliff'). It would start as a trickle but pick up speed as time went on until BAM, it's front page news. Up until the pandemic, the wave of retirements was slowed by the fact that many chose to keep on working, mostly part-time either from boredom or trying to keep up with the high cost of living (or both). Enter the pandemic and the retirement spree jumped off a spring board. Unless the pandemic ends and we go back to 'normal', I don't see things improving in the job market for a while yet.
Another big gear in this machine is frustration. People are fed up, mad as hell and don't want to take it anymore. Our freedoms have been eroded, our hard earned wages are 'taxed to infinity' and our cost of living just keeps going up. Maybe this 'silent revolution' is all about getting rid of the middle man.
I've never seen so many 'now hiring' signs everywhere. In my youth, I used to go knocking on doors looking for a job. Why wasn't it like this when I came of age? The internet search made job hunting a lot easier but this is something else. Is it really a revolution? We've been threatened with burger flipping machines, pizza delivery drones, autonomous trucks and ships and other forms of automation such as robotic welders and touch screen menu ordering at fast food joints.
Maybe this 'Great Resignation' will bring about a positive change as we turn closer to our families, friends and neighbors in support of each other and reject a former way of life that actually kept us away from them.
I published an accompanying video on Theta.tv as a follow-up. I'm trying to get viewership on my Theta streaming channel. The video is only 2 minutes long. Follow or subscribe to my channel and earn TFuel for watching my videos. Here is the link to my channel.
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