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Subscribe to RSSYes, the job market is slowly improving. But employment, or lack thereof, continues to be among the hottest topics for politicians, economists, businesses -- and Life Inc. readers.
Our most popular post this week was actually posted late last week. But the topic -- that many employers say they can’t find good workers despite the high unemployment rate -- kept readers talking for days.
More than 30,000 people took our poll on whether it’s hard to find good workers, even in this economy, and the results may surprise some people.
Nearly four in 10 readers said they or their employers were having trouble finding good candidates, while about two in 10 said there were plenty of qualified people out there. The rest either worked at places that weren’t hiring or were unemployed.
Many readers complained that employers these days seem to have unrealistic expectations about people’s qualifications.
“Firms continue to create positions out of touch with reality, say, an accountant who can juggle and has hair-styling experience,” one reader lamented.
Others complained that employers assume they can offer less money or other perks because people are so desperate for work.
“The problem is they are unwilling to spend the money on training or pay a decent wage,” another reader wrote.
It’s no secret that those of us who are lucky enough to have a job are likely working harder than ever, as employers seek to squeeze more productivity out of everyone they hand a paycheck to.
For many, that means working through lunch. Many readers could relate to a post this week on the fact that the good old lunch hour is becoming an endangered species.
“Endangered? I know NO ONE who takes lunch hours!” one reader who tweeted the post howled.
About 65 percent of readers who took our poll on the topic said everyone at their office eats at their desk.
Some who said they do take a lunch break at least had the good sense to realize everyone else is probably jealous.
“I work for a European company -- long lunch hour, 36 days of vacation, good health care, supportive management -- sorry USA,” one reader wrote.
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Lunch BREAKS are necessary for our health. Being able to push your chair away from your desk, get in a walk and a nutritious meal where you thoughtfully chew each bite is not a luxury. When you eat lunch away from your desk you are setting good boundaries for a good work/life balance that does not leave you over-stressed, over-worked, cranky, moody... Our bodies need down time, every day, so women can produce enough of their stress-reducing hormone, oxytocin, and men can produce enough of their stress-REducing hormone, testosterone. When you produce enough of these stress-REducing hormones in your body, then you are able to help your body get rid of the stress-PROducing hormone, cortisol. Eating lunch away from your desk and NOT working during this break is vital to maintaining a healthy body and mindset. Too much cortisol in our bodies cause: weight gain, digestion problems, fatigue, migraines, sleeplessness, not to mention it affects our relationships too.
@Mars Venus Coaching 1--Yeah everything you say is true, BUT all that relaxation you might gain during that lunch hour away from your desk will disappear when your manager/subervisor starts crawling up your whatever because you are now 10 minutes behind on a project that you were supposed to have finished DURING your lunch hour. The truth is most people have more work than they can do in 8 hours and need their lujnch hour to just stay current. Face it for a lot of us the work/life balanced is out of balance to the work side.
Our government is no longer interested in protecting it's citizens. The ultra wealthy and business is the priority, under the "whats good for business is good for Americans" fantasy. I do believe that creating a near slave labor force to support the wealthy is what they have in mind. Middle class is becoming extinct. No matter how much money these corporations and business make they are going to nickle and dime, take advantage of, scheme and connive both customers and employees. And the abuse is done with the blessing of our government.
Your company and your government don't give a rats azz.
I usually eat at my desk. It is more efficient and saves money. But about twice a week I go out for lunch - on days when I can.
While I agree it is more healthful to eat lunch, and do it away from our desks, the reality is that after the layoffs and pay cuts and downsizing, we live in a world where we need that time to work. I don't eat lunch at my desk - I don't eat lunch at all. We can either go without lunch, or we can watch our jobs disappear.
IMHO, if one is efficient and organized with their workload, they should be able to take a decent lunch break. Taking a break results in returning to work energized and ready to go, versus that dead, vacant eyed "I've-been-sitting-here-all-day-long" lack of enthusiasm I see in people who never leave their desks. For many, I think people are too unmotivated to get up and leave for lunch or are too disorganized and scattered rather than having too much work to do. I understand that might not be the case in all workplaces, but it is in mine.