How short are you?

Not asking height wise, my wife is a whopping 4'10&3/4" even though her license says 5 foot, don't tell her I said this. Without going into politics or whatever, I am just curious about numbers at work, how short on employees are you and how many people do you personally know that are actively looking for work that don't have a job. Where I'm at we are ridiculous short. A factory that should have 250 people to run full staffed and I bet right now we have roughly 30-40 positions available. I am a glutton for punishment and fill in and currently am given free reign to work as much as I want 7 days a week. I have filled in in 3 other departments the last 4 months and am doing 6 days a week and make myself take at least one day off to try to not burn out. I however do not personally know anyone who isn't employed and looking. It is crazy how short we are all over town. How is it where you are at?

 

I've been retired for the last four years, but the plastic manufacturing plant I retired from is about 15% below full staffing. I have also noticed several local businesses advertising for help. Crazy times for sure.

 

We are treading water so far, barely...but tried recently to hire 2 people to get trained up for replacing a couple retirements in the next year or two...these are jobs that normally draw dozens and dozens of applicants...got 8 applicants, 1 was deemed qualified for the job, but he declined when offered the position, due to his current employer offering a large raise (they almost had to, they have been hemorrhaging employees)

 

It is rough here in the trades. The only people available to work are stoners who refuse to quit to gain meaningful employment. I can't find anybody who would fit my needs as a business.

 

Everyone around here has a we’re hiring sign out. We also have the panhandlers on street corners in front of said C-stores with big signs 10 feet away. I guess begging for money is more productive than GETTING A JOB!

 

The Engineering company I work for is looking to hire 20-25 people over the next year or so...We have an immediate need for 4 - 6 structural, 2 or 3 Mechanical, 1 or 2 Survey and as many electrical people as we can find. Appears that every company around here is looking for qualified people...Where did they all go!

 

My "Department" is me and 1 other person. Always has been. Could use more people, or more hours, but I'm salary, so no OT toy money for this guy

For the record my wife is 5'1.5". Here’s a pic we snapped before our morning coffee

 

Now I know that teaching isn't for everyone but it is really hard to get younger teachers as teacher on calls. Our roster is made up of all retired teachers, some of whom have even taken temporary positions again because we are so short. Our main grocery store has had a hiring sign up for quite some time as well as many businesses we shop at.

 

I watched one video on “why I quit teaching”, now I get tons of them recommended to me. Like a dozen a day, lol. No time to watch any of them. My wife’s a teacher and is ready to quit. No staff or admin support, parents and their kids have no accountability, and everything is so political you can’t do your job.

 

After 20 years, our daughter, who was born to be a teacher, got out of teaching. It was the parents that drove her out. Admin support was mixed as it really depended on the person holding the position. School District policies didn't help either. I really think teachers should be eligible for a year off with pay every 10 years so they can recuperate and come back fresh.

 

I agree. The last part could apply to many jobs. You just get burnt out.

 

I would make a bad teacher, so I'm very glad/thankful there are good ones out there that want to do the job (our son has a good one) but I think a year off every 10 would be a real tough sell when most teachers already work less than (40) 5 day weeks per year. (at least that's how it is here...)

 

My company is about 15% below where we need to be. We keep getting more work but can't get people to even work remotely (although many apply). I don't know anyone who is unemployed that doesn't wish to be.

 

Their weeks are much more stressful than people who “work from home” “5 days a week” though. Which seems to be at least half the US population now. My job entails going in these peoples houses daily. They won’t convince me otherwise. My eyes can see what they’re doing. My wife’s a Special Ed teacher (was a regular classroom teacher for over 10 years), and the state requirements they are required to follow are nutty. Many districts don’t back the teachers either opening the door for personal lawsuits from parents.

 

My wife’s been battered and bruised by the kids in her class all year. It’s pretty infuriating to hear the “consequences”. Imagine if one of her kids was the one getting battered and bruised? Most adults would file a grievance at work if a co-worker swore at them. Teachers deserve a lot more respect than they get. All people seem to see is the summers off.

 

Yeah, I couldn't do it...but then there are a lot of jobs I couldn't do!
I always say that elementary age school teachers would make good cat herders!

 

I couldn't either. I have a hard enough time at work dealing with adults who act like little kids.

 

We easily have 400+ warehouse positions that need filled.