Kimbrough reports that Americans are “rethinking their relationship with work.” Over the course of the pandemic, she notes, U.S. workers’ expectations for work-life balance soared. They’re no longer willing to take the first job that comes along. Help wanted ads for jobs that aren’t at least partially remote are getting a ho-hum response. The number of LinkedIn jobs offering remote work has jumped tenfold since March 2020. Remote positions receive on average 250% more job applicants than jobs offering onsite positions. The ongoing coronavirus impact is a factor. Thousands hit by long COVID symptoms are simply unable to get back on the job. Others who may be immune-compromised feel the danger of COVID-19 variants remains too high in the workplace. Economists report workers know they’re in the driver’s seat. As a con- sequence, they’re being more selec- tive and demanding higher wages. Jobs that used to have plenty of applicants are now going unfilled for weeks — possibly months. Baby boomers who are aging out of the workforce and into retirement means a smaller available pool of workers. Some workers’ stock port- folios and real estate values have done quite well in recent years, so they feel ready to start their journey into their golden years. Others in the 55-plus group feel mastering the new technical skills needed to reenter the workforce is just too big a lift. For some workers, the labor supply
Companies in need of staff are suddenly willing to invest in the technical training needed to build the skills required in today’s workplace.
disruption has been a boon. Service sector employees and some
older workers are finding that compa- nies in need of staff are suddenly will- ing to invest in the technical training needed to build the skills required in today’s workplace. Workers are quitting their jobs
waiting tables and ringing up pur- chases at convenience stores and trading them in for higher paying jobs nestled among a forest of gray cubicles. The Wall Street Journal recent-
ly reported teachers are shifting in droves away from the tense classroom situations disrupted by the pandemic. They find they’re being welcomed with open arms by a worker-hungry private sector that’s willing to pay more based on performance. Many have leveraged their organi-
zational, communication, and learn- ing skills to thrive in the corporate workplace. But while there are plenty of suc-
cess stories across the breadth of the economy, the overall workplace trend remains clear: Too many jobs are chasing too few workers, driving up wages, and leaving economists to ponder why so many workers seemed to have dropped out of the workforce. Will the vaunted American work
assistance that also prospered during the pandemic and grew their revenues last year. Those firms have been allowed to keep the money. In Florida, Damara Holness, a Democratic political consultant and former president of the Broward County Democratic Black Caucus, was sentenced to 20 months in jail for filing false information to receive some $300,000 in COVID-19 relief funds. Holness, daughter of Broward County Mayor Dale Holness, pleaded guilty to falsely claiming her consulting business had 18 employees and a $120,000 average monthly payroll. Her business was actually inactive at the time and employed no other workers, sources say.
ethic be a long-term casualty of COVID-19?
Commentator, pundit, and former
senior presidential adviser Bradley Blakeman predicts that the American tradition of hard work will make a comeback. But he also agrees that it’s in danger. “I don’t think we’ve lost it,” Blake-
man tells Newsmax. “But it needs to be reinforced and retooled. “When the government demanded
that people stay home, and businesses allowed people to work at home, they did it at their peril.” Blakeman believes the rise of
remote employment outside the office is making matters worse. He says the comradery in the workplace is what motivates people to work hard and be productive. “We’ve got to get back to normal,
we’ve got to get back to a spirit of competition,” he says. “COVID has eroded that. “The longer we go without it,” he
adds, “you’re not tapping into that for future generations, it’s not part of the culture. “So, something’s missing. I don’t think we’ve lost it, but I do think we’re in danger of losing it the longer we go on this way. We’ve got to get back on track.”
Michigan oficials now estimate the state unemployment insurance agency paid a staggering $8.5 billion in fraudulent benefits from March 2020 to September 2021. Agency oficials say they don’t plan to do an autopsy on how the money was lost, prompting one state lawmaker to slam the agency for “not reassuring us that anything has changed in the culture.” Federal investigators say they’re working on over 900 active fraud cases related to COVID-19 relief, with over 100 suspects arrested so far. The Labor Department estimates up to $87 billion may have been improperly paid out in unemployment benefits. The U.S. Secret Service estimates the fraud exceeds $100 billion. — C.B.R.
APRIL 2022 | NEWSMAX 17
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