Called a client today to inquire about an invoice I had sent.
Turns out, the office person I send them to was fired for padding her hours. We talked for about 30 minutes about the “Post Covid State of Things”
He's a solid, down-to-earth guy that runs a carpentry business, and business is booming – but he said he is having a hard time with current staff and hiring.
I visited his shop about 4 years ago and got the grand tour. It was obvious that he put a lot of trust in his workers, many of them long-time employees. I got the general feeling it was a well-run business with “happy” workers.
This issue he said he is facing now is that a few LONG-TIME trusted people – like over 30 years trusted were padding hours and wanting to work unconventional hours that fit their schedule and not the business.
Also, productivity has dropped. Now I know there could be a number of reasons why that could be but I genuinely believe is a decent workplace. He made the comment “Nobody Wants to Work” and doing some linguistic gymnastics I realized he was not saying he was having a hard time hiring – it was that the employees are behaving differently post-covid.
I can see that. People worked from home, had more flexibility, etc. These folks didn't though. It's a blue-collar, hands-on shop.
So my questions are:
- If you are an employee – are you more apathetic at work now?
- It is because of pay? Environment? Other?
- Putting in the same effort or no?
- Employers – what changes have you seen in your staff?
- For better or for worse?
We know wage levels need to be addressed, some bosses suck, some employees are skaters.
But I am genuinely curious how you think Covid changed attitudes and performance.