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A friend of mine took a job with the city of Chicago late last year. He loves his new job. He likes the people he works with. And he’s thrilled that his commute each morning takes about 15 minutes. He’s not thrilled, though, that tomorrow, the 4th of July, he’ll be taking his first of many unpaid holidays. My friend is like many other workers out there: He’s being forced to take unpaid days off — furloughs — to help his employer, in this case, the city of Chicago, balance its books. My friend has to take 15 days off without pay by the end of the year. He’s of two minds on this: First, he’s glad he has a job when so many others don’t. Secondly, he’s ticked that the rules of his employment have suddenly changed. It’s not his fault, after all, that the city of Chicago can’t manage its money. He’s not too unusual, I suppose. There are so many people being forced to take unpaid days off now. I know it’s a better alternative than firings or layoffs. But, still, it always seems that the employees get screwed whenver there’s a financial crisis. I guess it’s true what they say: You’ll never make a fortune by working for someone else.
It only seems that every career is struggling during this recession. That’s not necessarily the case, though. There are several careers that are doing well, even as the economy continues to struggle. I know this because I just turned in a newspaper story talking about these careers. See, there are some advantages — not many, but some — to being a freelance writer. Some of today’s growing careers are not much of a surprise: There is a need for registered nurses, for instance. We’re living longer these days, so we need more medical care. Police officers and security personnel are in demand, too. You might expect that as the economy worsens, crime actually increases. People are desperate. Then there are the computer analysts, financial advisers and court recorders. These careers are steady. I was intrigued, though, to see that translators and interpreters are greatly in demand. It makes sense, though, if you think about it. Businesses, governments and non-profits are all seeking global business today. They need people who can speak the language — whatever language it happens to be — to help them nab this business. The best place to learn about in-demand careers is by visiting the Web site of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Be warned, though: Don’t just enter a career because it’s hot. You have to like, or at least have the potential to like, what you’re doing if you really want to succeed at it. (At least that’s what I’ve heard, though I know a number of successful accountants and insurance salesmen who don’t seem to enjoy what they’re doing all that much.)
The news just keeps getting worse for the nation’s unemployed. First, the national unemployment rate hit 9.4 percent in May, and shows no signs of dropping. Now comes the news, courtesy of a Wall Street Journal story, that those companies who are hiring aren’t always looking at unemployed to fill their positions. No, instead they’re going after workers who already have jobs. The reasoning goes like this: Those employees who are still working must be top-of-the-line workers, otherwise they’d already be out of a job. So companies that are hiring are frequently trying to poach these workers. If that’s not enough to make a hard-working, smart unemployed person puke, I don’t know what is. There seem to be absolutely no breaks for today’s unemployed.
I call Chicago home. So it pains me to see so many people losing their jobs in the city I love. According to a story in the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago area lost 185,900 jobs last year. In May, the Chicago area saw its unemployment rate hit 10.7 percent. I’ve seen it firsthand. At the publishing company where I work, the higher-ups fired about 65 percent of our staff. And every time I go to a family party or a friend’s house, I hear about or meet someone who’s lost their job. I’ve seen people, too, who’ve had to go on forced unpaid furloughs. An engineering friend of mine has to take 10 days off without pay before the summer ends. Are things getting better? I don’t see it. Is there anything you can do to keep your job? I have no idea. My only advice is this: Keep your resume’ circulating, even if you hold a steady job. You want fallback options in this terrible economy and job market.
Tim Ryan drives two hours to pretend that he’s a werewolf at a tourist attraction. For this he’s paid a whopping $12 an hour. But Ryan’s desperate: He’d been laid-off from his construction job, and couldn’t find replacement work. That $12 an hour is better than $0 an hour. So what if the commute is too far to take every weekday. Ryan sleeps in an old, mold-filled cabin that he can stay in for free during the workweek. You can read about Ryan, and others in his situation, in this Wall Street Journal story. It’s all about the growing number of job seekers traveling impressive distances for jobs that aren’t quite as impressive. It’s something that we’ll probably see more of. After all, the nation’s unemployment rate, which recently hit 9.4 percent, isn’t going down any time soon. I’d hate to be in Ryan’s situation. But at least he’s resourceful. That brings up the question: How far would you be willing to travel to find work? How far would you travel if that new job was a mediocre one? I suppose the answer depends on a number of factors, including how long you’ve been out of work.
Ridgewood, N.J., recently won a dubious honor from BusinessWeek. The magazine predicted that the town would be one of those that would see the most suffering because of the country’s financial collapse. Ridgewood is located about 25 north of New York City, and is home to many people who made their living on Wall Street as bankers, brokers, financial consultants and other money-related jobs. Today, according to an NPR story, the town is suffering. That’s because one in six residents works in finance or real estate. This is a tough time to make a go of it in either of these fields. Both are shrinking. Of course, if you’re good enough at something, and you work hard enough at it, the odds are good that you will do well, even if you happen to be working in what others would consider a dying field. In Ridgewood, though, I’m sure there are a lot of folks who wish they hadn’t gotten those finance degrees right now. Of course, there are a whole lot of people across the country staring at their own college degrees and wondering why they can’t find a job.
I’ve written a lot lately about employees having to do more work, for no extra pay, to make up for all their fired or laid-off co-workers. The other day, a friend of mine finished a big project at work. He wasn’t happy with the quality, but wasn’t able to do much about it. He was juggling three other big jobs thanks to layoffs at the financial-services firm at which he works. He told me that the work was from his best, but that it was “good enough.” Unfortunately, “good enough” seems to be the new standard. Personally, I’ve turned in “good enough” work lately, too. That’s because I’m having to take on smaller, lower-paying assignments to make up for all the regular magazine clients who have shut their doors or slashed their freelance-writing budgets. It’s more than a little depressing. Most employees want to take pride in their work. But it’s not easy doing this when you’re doing the jobs of two other people. It becomes a matter of shoving product out the door. Like I said, it’s a shame. But companies have to realize, when you fire everyone, you can’t expect top quality.
Everyone feels like they’re working too hard during this recession, what with all the companies that have laid off so many employees. But for the general surgery residents at Boston’s Massachusetts General Hospital, the law has decided that, yes, they really have been working too hard. According to a story in the Boston Herald, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education cited the hospital because surgical residents had been exceeding the maximum amount of hours they were supposed to work a week and had been often working seven days straight. Residents are not supposed to work more than 80 hours a week. And they are also supposed to be given 10 hours off between shifts. I don’t know about you, but I’d like my medical personnel to be as well-rested as possible. I know long hours and grueling shifts are part of the mystique of being a resident. I’ve watched my fair share of medical dramas. But this seems like a really dangerous situation to me. We’re all working too hard, like I said. But I’m not cutting anyone open at my job. If I fall asleep at my desk, no one’s going to die.
There hasn’t been much good news coming out of the world of work these days. But the New York Times did feature a column that has some hopeful news for the unemployed: Several states are extending their unemployment benefits. According to the Times story, 21 states have changed their laws to make sure that the unemployed can receive benefits for a longer period of time if their unemployment rates reach 6.5 percent or higher. The National Employment Law Project estimates that this seemingly simple change can help 1 million workers who are in danger of exhausting their state and federal benefits. I’m not sure if this qualifies as terrific news. But in today’s weak economy, it might be the best we can hope for.
There’s still a long way to go, but Pres. Obama at least take one small step toward recognizing that gay couples are every bit as legitimate as straight ones yesterday. Obama signed a memorandum on Wednesday that extends benefits to the same-sex partners of federal employees. According to a New York Times story, this move comes after Barack Obama has faced criticism from gay rights leaders that he has not lived up to the campaign promises he made to them in 2008. These leaders have a point. Why hasn’t Obama taken on the military’s idiotic stance on not admitting gay men and women who want to serve in the Armed Forces? Why does’t he come out publicly in favor of recognizing gay marriage? I’m still waiting for someone to give me a valid reason to oppose gay marriage. I’m still waiting for someone to tell me exactly how letting two women or two men get married hurts “traditional” marriage. The reason no one can tell me this is because gay marriages don’t hurt straight marriages in any way. Someone, please tell me how I’m wrong, without telling me that the Bible forbids gay marriage. The Bible doesn’t like shellfish, either, but I don’t see a big movement against the shrimp industry. I’m disappointed, too, that Obama hasn’t done more to support gay rights. Yesterday’s signing, though, is at least a step in the right direction. |
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