We like to imagine entrepreneurs and business owners as capable people. After all, they’re smart enough to start and run their own businesses.
Our celebration of small business owners creates an idealized version of these folks in our heads, but more often than not, reality strikes us in the face, and we wonder how they even function, much less own and operate an entire business.
Nobody Wants To Work Anymore
Nowhere is the incompetence of modern business owners more apparent than in their common refrain: “No one wants to work anymore.”
These employers will shout into the void about how they can’t find good help because people don’t want to work, and how the modern anti-work culture is destroying their livelihood, while refusing to examine the most common reason people refuse their jobs: themselves.
No One Wants to Work For You
It’s not that nobody wants to work anymore; it’s that nobody wants to work for them. The small business owners who scream loudest that “nobody wants to work anymore” are the ones who refuse to offer workers what they need.
Most people want to work. They want jobs that pay the bills and the self-respect that comes with taking responsibility for themselves.
The jobs available don’t provide these things; hence, nobody wants them.
Pay is a Massive Problem
It usually boils down to money.
Bosses offer paltry wages and then wonder why no one wants to work for them.
Sometimes, we can forgive this disconnect. Running a business takes a ton of money, and labor is an added expense. Raising wages may tip the scales, making the business unprofitable, especially given the massive price surges in everything from supplies to utilities to rent.
We understand it’s a delicate balance, and some business owners can’t afford to pay more. However, you can’t expect someone to want to work full-time when they don’t earn enough to pay the bills.
The social contract is that you give your time to a company, and in return, you can afford life. When owners break that contract, they struggle to find the help they need.
Work Culture a “Bonus”
However, pay isn’t the only problem, and many managers refuse to admit that their toxic attitudes about work contribute to their lack of labor.
Managers scream at employees for the tiniest infractions, write them up for being one minute late, and cater to rude customers who treat workers like the scum they scraped off the bottom of their shoe.
And business owners wonder why nobody wants to work.
Work on MY Terms
Many small business owners can’t find help because they refuse to compromise with good employees.
They offer a job on their terms or no job at all, and then act shocked that workers choose the no job option.
One man highlighted this disconnect by sharing the story of how he got fired online. The Original Poster (OP) has an excellent full-time job that pays well and offers benefits. However, he also enjoys working part-time to make some extra cash.
He recently left his part-time job because his boss demanded he switch to a full-time schedule. OP reminded his boss that he already has a full-time job, but the boss wouldn’t accept that answer, telling OP he could either work full-time or not at all.
The reason? The boss couldn’t find anyone else to work for him.
No Work is Better Than Part-Time Work?
A baffled OP thought his boss was joking at first.
If a company struggles to find workers, wouldn’t they keep whoever they have? Why is no worker better than a part-time worker when staffing is the issue in the first place?
Apparently, the boss was completely serious.
“I laughed thinking he was kidding, but he wasn’t. I asked him if he was serious, and he said he needed dedicated full-time help,” shared the OP.
This boss would rather have no help than some help, but that didn’t stop him from angrily shouting about how “no one wants to work.”
Effective Immediately
The boss destroyed his own company by telling OP to leave immediately if he wasn’t dedicated to the cause.
OP left.
The manager realized his folly all too late. OP said he had numerous missed calls and messages, but decided not to even look at them and enjoy his weekend instead.
Work on Who’s Terms?
The story highlights a massive disconnect between business owners and workers. Each wants work on their own terms.
In the past, businesses had all the power and used it to exploit their labor force. Workers experienced unsafe conditions and were forced to work long hours for little pay.
The Fair Labor Standards Act granted some much-needed worker protections, but companies still try to exploit workers for their own gain.
People Want to Work
voronaman via Shutterstock.com.
The refrain that nobody wants to work anymore is a response to exploitation. People do want to work. However, they want to work on their own terms. They want to work reasonable hours for decent pay and want time to enjoy their lives. In short, they want the social contract back. They want to work, but they don’t want the exploitation that comes with it.
Business owners who refuse to offer decent working conditions pretend that these demands (a living wage, being treated with respect, work-life balance) are unreasonable and lament that no one wants to work anymore.
However, if they offered more money and treated their employees with dignity and respect, top talent would line the streets trying to get a job offer.
It’s not that no one wants to work; it’s that no one wants to work for them.