CLIENT NEWSLETTER

May 2022

Celebrating 49 Years of Staffing Excellence!

Millions Staying out of Labor Force Indefinitely

Millions of workers who dropped out of the workforce during the Covid-19 pandemic intend to stay out indefinitely, according to a series of monthly surveys of 5,000 people over the past year, potentially exacerbating the labor shortage for years. Approximately three million workforce dropouts say they don’t intend to return to pre-Covid-19 activities including going to work, even after the pandemic ends. The workforce dropouts tend to be women, lack a college degree, and have worked in low-paying occupations. 

On a somewhat positive note, some 3.2% of workers who had been retired a year earlier returned to the workforce in March, according to an analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data by recruitment firm Indeed Hiring Lab. That’s in line with pre-pandemic levels, which averaged around 3.0%, and up from 2.1% in June 2020 during the first phase of the Covid-19 crisis.  A mixture of plentiful jobs and the rising cost of living are among the reasons retired U.S. workers are returning to the labor market.

Josh Mitchell - Wall Street Journal

 

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Changing Times Two surveys taken less than 2 years apart show a stark contrast between the attitude of employees regarding working from home at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and more recently as the pandemic eases, and employees are now being asked to return to the office.

A survey conducted in April of 2020 showed that 72% of respondents were eager to get back to the office.  Eighty three percent of those surveyed said that they trusted their company to make an informed decision on when to reopen the office.  Fast forward to January of 2022, and a new survey shows that 55% of remote workers would consider quitting their jobs if asked to return before they felt safe.  And considering that number increased from 45% the week prior, it’s clear that this concern still exists despite the availability of vaccines and boosters, and with COVID case numbers dropping.     

In related news, a survey conducted in April of 2022 showed that 79% of the professionals surveyed said that they will work fewer hours when they return to the office than they currently do while working from home.  Nearly all of those surveyed stated that when they work from home, they continue to work during the time that would have been reserved for commuting.  Seventy six percent of those surveyed would prefer to shift to nontraditional hours, such as a 4-day, 10-hour per day workweek. 

For those that are eager to return to the office, the number one reason cited is that they miss socializing with coworkers, followed by a preference to collaborate in person, rather that virtually.

 

Accepting Disappointment, Moving on, and Growing DOs and DON'Ts  DO let go of your anger.  Anger is like a virus.  If you let it infect your brain and your heart, you can spread it to others through your words and actions.         DO learn as much as possible from the experience.  Understanding what you could have done differently will help prevent you from making the same mistakes twice.     DO reflect inward on the experience, and accept any part of the blame that you may be due.  Doing so will help you grow both mentally and emotionally.     DO seek out a supportive ear to listen to you (or shoulder for you to cry on).     DON’T expect an apology or remorse if someone has wronged you.  Making your mental and/or emotional recovery contingent on someone else’s actions delays the healing process (possibly indefinitely).  And the longer you wait to start the healing process, the more happiness you deprive yourself of.       DON’T give someone that hurt you the satisfaction of seeing you in distress.  The best revenge is showing them that you have risen above what happened, and are stronger and better for the experience.    DON’T ever lose faith in yourself.  YOU can be your biggest advocate, or you own worst critic.  It’s all about attitude.            DON’T take someone else’s harsh words or actions towards you as a reflection of you, or of your value as a person.  How they treat you says more about them than it does about you.

12 States Set New Lows for Jobless Rates in March According to data released April 15th by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, twelve states (including Wisconsin) continued to set new lows for jobless rates in March, with Nebraska and Utah posting the lowest jobless rates among all states for the month.  States setting series lows in jobless rates in March: Alaska, 5.0% Arizona, 3.3% Georgia, 3.1% Idaho, 2.7% Indiana, 2.2% Mississippi, 4.2% Montana, 2.3% Nebraska, 2.0% Tennessee, 3.2% West Virginia, 3.7% Wisconsin, 2.8% Utah, 2.0% The District of Columbia posted the highest jobless rate in March at 6.0%. The state with the highest rate was New Mexico at 5.3%.   PSP for Summer Students Before long college students will be home on summer break, and with so many companies desperately needing employees, having these additional employees in the workforce will provide some much needed, but short-term, relief.  If your company is planning on utilizing students this summer, you should know that there’s a way you can do so without adding additional headcount to your company’s payroll, and at the same time minimizing the hassle and expense of onboarding, reporting, and payrolling these workers.             Flex-Staff’s “Payroll Service Plus” program ("PSP," for short) allows your company to bring in workers that you have recruited, screened, and selected for positions at your company, but without assuming the responsibilities of being the employer or record.  This means not having to issue paychecks or year-end W2s, or having to offer vacation, holiday pay, insurance, or other benefits your company typically offers their own employees.  Best of all there is no worker’s compensation or unemployment compensation tracking, expense, risk, or impact on your company. Simply pay a weekly invoice for the hours worked, and Flex-Staff takes care of everything else.  And because this program is for candidates that your company has sourced, the cost is significantly lower than the cost of full-service temporary staffing.  If you'd like to learn more about how PSP can make your life easier, contact your local Flex-Staff office today.

 

Ten Tips to Help your Business Survive a Recession

Reduce/eliminate Debt – Having debt puts your whole business at serious risk. Paying off business credit cards and loans may take a long time, but it’s an important step to make your business recession-proof.

Get Innovative – During a recession, you need to get more innovative and creative than your competitors. This applies to all aspects of your business. Don’t stay still or you’ll get out-innovated by people who are rising to the top. Experimentation is important because a recession brings in a new market. Get out of your comfort zone and hit the ground running.

Add Value, Not Price – People don’t want to pay a lot in recessions. Landing business over a competitor will usually come down to price. Moving your prices down or up isn’t usually a good idea. Instead, add value. Do something that other people aren’t doing. Look for any way in which you can add value to the services you provide.

Staff – As an employer, it’s becoming increasingly harder to create a work environment that everybody’s happy with. You have to give employees a purpose-driven role, and it can be a hard line to tread. You want to look out for your staff and your business at the same time. Talking things through honestly with your staff is always a good idea. During a recession, the workforce becomes more competitive because of business closures. It can be a great time to hire talented people.

Don’t Stop Learning – When times get tough and work gets scarce, keep learning. That’s going to be the difference between you and somebody else. The money doesn’t disappear during a recession, it just changes hands. You need to prepare yourself with education so you can be part of that transference, and not a casualty of it.  

Diversify – Look at offering products and services that have a quick return on investment. Offer things that you don’t usually do, or maybe that you don’t necessarily want to. You have to get a bit scrappy in the face of a recession. Don’t allow pride or ego to get in the way of business. People are afraid of looking like a failure, but you have to learn to adapt at all times. 

Get Creative – When you’re in a recession, you won’t have a lot of money on hand for marketing or for growing your business in general. You need to get creative with your message and your brand. What you will have is time. Put more time into getting your brand seen and visible. Do it in creative and innovative ways that will make you stand out. 

Scale Back – Scale back your services or products and think about offering services that have a quicker return on investment. You don’t want stock sitting on your shelves. You want cashflow during a recession. You don’t want to be relying on credit during a recession. Reign your business in and rely on the core of your brand. Start growing slowly from there.

Negotiate Better Deals with Suppliers – If you’re a product-based business, it’s time for people to get competitive. You can negotiate anything, from interest rates to your phone bill to your rent. Work out how you can save money in all facets of your business. In a recession, every dollar means something. You should try and make every single dollar have the biggest impact possible. 

Use Your Savings to Invest in Your Business – Once you’ve applied the ten previous tips, pour your savings into your business and fuel growth. There’s no better time to be investing. Everything is undervalued in a recession. There are many bargains to be found. Your goal is long-term investment. In the future, there’s a high chance you will make your money back, plus more. Do the opposite of what everybody’s doing.

jialong.com

 

Anniversaries

Jessie Blazer Staffing Specialist Manitowoc 2 years

Kari Kretschmann Social Media Marketing Specialist  Headquarters 2 years Kris Merten Branch Manager Chilton 27 years

Ciji Hansen Staffing Specialist Appleton 15 years

 

S'mores Bars

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup butter (2 sticks), softened

1 1/2 cups light brown sugar, packed

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs

7 ounces marshmallow creme or fluff*

3 4.4 ounce Hershey's chocolate bars (or 2 1/2 cups chocolate chips)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x13 baking dish really well.  In a medium bowl combine the flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt.  In a separate large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.  Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until well combined. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture, mixing until combined.  Press HALF of the dough mixture evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan.  Scoop marshmallow creme on top and gently spread into an even layer.  Break the chocolate bars into pieces and layer over the marshmallow (or sprinkle with chocolate chips). Gently spread the remaining dough over the chocolate.  No need to try and spread the dough into an even layer--the marshmallow and chocolate should peek through.  Bake for 28-32 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool completely before cutting and serving.

tastesbetterfromscratch.com

 

QUOTE

Men go to far greater lengths to avoid what they fear than to obtain what they desire.

– Dan Brown

 

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