Whats the Biggest Problem in the Workforce Today?

Whats the Biggest Problem in the Workforce Today?

  • Cell Phones

    Votes: 4 28.6%
  • Smoking

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Other

    Votes: 10 71.4%

  • Total voters
    14

uafanataum

All-American
Oct 18, 2014
2,917
1,366
182
Cell Phones, Smoking or Other?
In my personal experience it has been lack of self motivation, attention span, and an entitlement attitude. Basically people that want to go to work and get paid regardless of what they actually do at their jobs.
 

rgw

Suspended
Sep 15, 2003
20,852
1,351
232
Tuscaloosa
Admittedly, pay has been pretty stagnant compared to inflation. People need more more regardless of what they actually do at their job partly because of that fact.


I think the biggest problem in software engineering is on management/executive level. It seems like a problem across the industry that management tends to be terrible at setting realistic goals on timelines. Also executives seem wont to take on projects that aren't worth the money so they have to grind their human resources into bits to make the cost-value tradeoff workout for them. Accordingly this is a pretty unfulfilling industry for the grunts and job turnover is nearly 1 year per employee in regions that have more than just a couple IT-related employers.

I don't know how you fix it because it is really hard to know how long something will take in a field as abstract as software. Project management hasn't really worked to make things better. It has created a large middle-management tier though which likely ends up adding a bit more drag to the timelines but makes it easier to cope with the fact that you're chewing up and spitting out software engineering talent below them.


I'm kinda spitballing. On one hand this is a charmed job where you stay in air conditioning and get paid great money. On the other hand this is job cursed to burn out talent seemingly no matter what you do. The ones who stick it out likely just got anchored down by things you can't control as an employer like marriage and the baby making process that follows. Considering that my generation and those younger than me are starting this path towards never marrying or having kids, it may become even more common for there to be very little institutional knowledge at the engineering level at many shops in 10-15 years.
 

CaliforniaTide

All-American
Aug 9, 2006
3,618
14
57
Huntsville, AL
According to employers I talk to, it's some combination of self-motivation, entitlement, simply showing up on time, and soft skills required to keep the job. These problems are forcing them to either remediate on basic job skills, or fire them for someone else. For example, many of the manufacturing positions obviously require 12-hour shifts, sometimes rotating through the night shift. They're finding that some of their applicants, the ones with no job experience, will refuse to work those shifts because it makes them change their schedule. They do not realize that if you're at the bottom of the ladder, you have to work your way up the ladder. One story I heard is that in a job interview, the employer noticed that an applicant had worked at 4 different plants by the time he was 25. When asked why, the applicant said that he never got a raise after working at the locations for a month, so he just quit. It's unbelievable, but I even see it in my classroom; some students appear to be immune to any type of external motivation and they cannot explain how they can be properly motivated. They think just showing up and essentially existing should be enough for the people that hire them.
 

92tide

TideFans Legend
May 9, 2000
58,146
44,863
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East Point, Ga, USA
According to employers I talk to, it's some combination of self-motivation, entitlement, simply showing up on time, and soft skills required to keep the job. These problems are forcing them to either remediate on basic job skills, or fire them for someone else. For example, many of the manufacturing positions obviously require 12-hour shifts, sometimes rotating through the night shift. They're finding that some of their applicants, the ones with no job experience, will refuse to work those shifts because it makes them change their schedule. They do not realize that if you're at the bottom of the ladder, you have to work your way up the ladder. One story I heard is that in a job interview, the employer noticed that an applicant had worked at 4 different plants by the time he was 25. When asked why, the applicant said that he never got a raise after working at the locations for a month, so he just quit. It's unbelievable, but I even see it in my classroom; some students appear to be immune to any type of external motivation and they cannot explain how they can be properly motivated. They think just showing up and essentially existing should be enough for the people that hire them.
just an anecdote. in 1990, i worked for a short time (2-3 months) at a furniture factory (assembly line). it was a horrible job and the pay was crap. you would get an additional $20 per paycheck if you clocked in on time every day during the week. i was really surprised at how many folks didn't get that extra $.
 

AlexanderFan

Hall of Fame
Jul 23, 2004
11,076
7,524
187
Birmingham
Supervisors that can't do my job telling me how to do my job. An overall attitude of "8 and the gate" which keeps people from giving their best.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

rgw

Suspended
Sep 15, 2003
20,852
1,351
232
Tuscaloosa
I mean, I definitely agree that the "grunt" level has their own attitude problems but I think leadership has to own some of that problem too. Like I said off the top, wages are kinda stagnant with inflation in consideration. You can't expect people to be highly motivated when they are getting paid like a decent enough job in 1980 but is now effectively paid like a fast-food job of 1980 in terms of buying power. I don't know how to fix that one because it is a tangled knot of problems outside the realm the ownership can control. I think it is an exception not the rule for people to want to do the best regardless. This was true half a century ago as much as today but the difference is that people were getting paid exceedingly well without the need to take on much if any debt for training or education.

For example, my wife's grandmother couldn't even get the DoD-related administrative assistant's job she retired in if she wanted to come back today due to educational requirements she doesn't meet for the title now. Just had a high school education and managed to put in 25 years and a few tours out of country to sit on a FOB and push paper then retired.

People aren't happy in their jobs because their jobs are increasingly doing nothing for them but getting them to the next day. A half century ago people were getting jobs that were offering the hope that one day they wouldn't have to show up again and tell their bosses to go suck ol' rusty on the way out the door. 80% of all jobs offered employer funded healthcare at that time, it is only 50% today. Much of the employment growth since the market crash has been in temporary work where the employee has no guarantee of work the next day or when their contract ends. On average but not universally, the jobs people are taking today suck. When the work sucks and the opportunities it creates for your future sucks, the employees will likely suck too. That isn't hard math.
 

jthomas666

Hall of Fame
Aug 14, 2002
22,587
9,640
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Birmingham & Warner Robins
Admittedly, pay has been pretty stagnant compared to inflation. People need more more regardless of what they actually do at their job partly because of that fact.
Absolutely
I think the biggest problem in software engineering is on management/executive level. It seems like a problem across the industry that management tends to be terrible at setting realistic goals on timelines. Also executives seem wont to take on projects that aren't worth the money so they have to grind their human resources into bits to make the cost-value tradeoff workout for them. Accordingly this is a pretty unfulfilling industry for the grunts and job turnover is nearly 1 year per employee in regions that have more than just a couple IT-related employers.
One problem at some software outfits is that lower management doesn't know much about the industry or the product, and as a result they make decisions in a vacuum. "Oh hey, you have project management experience? COME ON DOWN!"

I am ridiculously lucky in my current job, in that I have a manager who respects my abilities and who actually prioritizes a healthy work-life balance, instead of just giving lip service to it.
 

Valley View

3rd Team
Nov 7, 2016
287
30
47
Williamson County, TN
The biggest issue I see is the lack of work ethic by younger workers (35 and under). In a mfg setting they are pretty much useless. Working your way up the ladder seems to be a thing of the past. There are so many opportunities but no one wants to put in the time and effort to take advantage of them. You can't get promoted if you don't stay long enough to show what you can do.
 

TideMom2Boys

Hall of Fame
Nov 17, 2010
20,214
398
102
Alabama
People not caring about their job.


If they don’t care, then they have a poor performance. They are usually late, lazy and have a bad attitude.
 

MattinBama

Hall of Fame
Jul 31, 2007
11,144
5,453
187
The biggest issue I see is the lack of work ethic by younger workers (35 and under). In a mfg setting they are pretty much useless. Working your way up the ladder seems to be a thing of the past. There are so many opportunities but no one wants to put in the time and effort to take advantage of them. You can't get promoted if you don't stay long enough to show what you can do.
I was a 35 and under worker killing myself (semi-literally) at two separate manufacturing places (years apart) to try and move up the ladder only to see the supervisor role I was pushing for go to someone with zero experience who had a connection to upper management. After seeing enough of that kind of stuff you stop even bothering & the do the bare minimum attitude starts to creep in.

I feel vindicated that the last place I worked is closing up shop because I was passed over for Quality Control supervisor & the quality got so bad within two years they lost all of their contracts.
 

BamaInCummingGA#1

Scout Team
Jun 8, 2017
126
0
0
Cumming,GA
The biggest issue I see is the lack of work ethic by younger workers (35 and under). In a mfg setting they are pretty much useless. Working your way up the ladder seems to be a thing of the past. There are so many opportunities but no one wants to put in the time and effort to take advantage of them. You can't get promoted if you don't stay long enough to show what you can do.
On the flip side of this management has to provide opportunities for people to be able to move up instead of hiring people from the outside. You don't give me a reason to be motivated and go above and beyond and I probably won't.
I'm about to change careers now because upper management is so out of touch with reality that it is unreal.
Add to that and they are hiring people who can't even complete/write out complete coherent English sentences.
 

crimsonaudio

Administrator
Staff member
Sep 9, 2002
63,414
67,193
462
crimsonaudio.net
Lack of passion / motivation. When I started my career in the mid-90s, I didn't care about how much I was paid, I simply worked a second job to pay my bills. I was just thrilled to have an entry-level job in the industry.

Now, it's almost impossible to find young people who are willing to dive in and dedicate themselves for a few years in order to prove their worth. I'm not going to hand them the keys to a facility worth more than I bill in a year when they have zero experience. Prove to me you're worth the risk on my part, both materially (equipment) and beyond (reputation of my business).

This isn't a rant about millennials - I've seen this for some time - but never as bad as it is now. Few are willing to work for peanuts for the chance to do what they (supposedly) dream of doing...
 

BamaFlum

Hall of Fame
Dec 11, 2002
7,176
1,609
287
53
S.A., TX, USA
In education, it’s the amount of non classroom work (paper work, meetings, etc), district higher ups being out of touch, and admins emphasizing test rest results and kowtowing to the parents/kids demands.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

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