Perry manages a retail establishment and works Monday – Friday. Sometimes. Yesterday was his day off an he pulled a double. His first shift person sent him a text that said she “had it coming out both ends” (can you even IMAGINE telling your boss that?) and his 2nd shift person (who has missed more days than she’s worked since she’s been hired) needed an emotional day.
Toddlers are more reliable!
(Yes, I’ve been playing around with AI again.)
Businesses everywhere are grappling with a persistent issue: low-paid employees not showing up for work. There are many reasons — here are a few:
- Competing opportunities — Gig economy platforms offer flexibility and often better pay. If a worker can make more with Spark delivering groceries for Walmart, or driving an Uber, why would they instead choose to work in retail?
- No drug testing — While not drug testing opens the door to more people, it’s not necessarily the people who will show up when they’re supposed to.
- Lack of financial incentive — showing up for a shift doesn’t outweigh the costs of transportation and childcare.
- Mental health challenges — see #2 and add to that why the worker isn’t employed somewhere else at a higher wage.
It’s not like Perry can fix his problems with workers not showing up. With around 7500 stores in the US, corporate isn’t going to care if he suggests raises or providing additional benefits.
Isn’t it time to rethink how we treat low-wage workers and invest in solutions that benefit everyone?
Hiring an extra person or giving a store manager more hours to spend over the course of a week would have to be less expensive than paying overtime to those who show up because they need the money.
Now you know: Steven Spielberg offered Tom Sizemore a role in Saving Private Ryan (1998) under the condition that he would be given a drug test at the end of every day of filming, and if he failed even one time, all his scenes would be re-shot with someone else. He stayed clean and completed the movie.