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Subscribe to RSSHappy Labor Day! If you’re like a lot of our readers, it sounds like you really earned that day off to reflect on the contributions you are making to the workforce.
This week in Life Inc., we reported on a study showing that many workers in the United States and other countries complain that they are being asked to work extra hours but aren’t necessarily getting paid for it.
More than half of our readers said they, too, are working more hours than five years ago but aren’t getting paid any extra for it. Another 20 percent said they’re working more but getting paid for the extra hours.
Many lamented that working harder is just the norm now if you want to stay employed.
“What's one to do when employment opportunities are horrible. It beats unemployment. Companies are horrible nowadays. Greed is their god,” one reader wrote.
Millions of Americans would like the opportunity to work at all these days, but figuring out how to get in the door can be harder than ever.
Another Life Inc. post this week noted that even among the nation’s top companies, applying for a job can be a hassle. A study consulting firm CareerXRoads found that many of those ubiquitous online job tools ask irrelevant questions, are time-consuming and hard to navigate and give the applicant little sense of whether a resume was seen or ignored.
Many readers complained about overly intrusive questions, counterintuitive processes and other hazards of trying to apply for a job in the 21st century. Even those who had some sympathy for the human resource department admitted it can be frustrating.
“There are also tons of people applying for each opening. I bet it’s hard for hiring managers/HR to keep up. But they are trying to weed out people, and it would be nice if they at least let you know when they receive your app or if the position is already filled. That waiting limbo sucks.”
On a lighter note, this week we also asked readers to start voting for the winner of our wackiest road signs contest. If you’re looking for a break from your job, or applying for your next one, check out the signs and vote for your favorite. The winner will be announced Sept. 10.
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I agree with the comment concerning the online job portals. It's too time consuming and to be frank even once you finished giving your life story and start clicking on the jobs advertised you are often redirected to the company website where you have register and start all over again!! Plus you end up with mountains of spam from so called employers or agencies asking you to register for a online interview. During my job search I checked with a few of the companies these people claimed to be from and as I expected these people had nothing to do with them. As for the general availability of work, There are jobs out there, it's just that many people feel they are beneath them. For example; where people don't have a job and have bills to pay but instead of shelf stacking in Target they will often sit and hope for the job you really want. When I look at a cv I want to see that someone has done all they can to keep working, its not enough to have a degree anymore! It shows determination and willingness to do what needs to be done. I'm lucky, I now have a great senior management position but in the past you would have found me serving food, filling shelves, picking fruit.