COLLINS: Labour shortage can be traced to changing lifestyles

The pandemic brought with it many changes. Many worked fewer hours and found it less stressful. Many worked from home and found that flexibility helpful. Others found that they were without a job and had to learn to live with less and became accustomed to it.

Another factor is the affordability of housing. Why would a couple work long hours in stressful jobs to try and save for a home they realize they will never be able to afford? Why work for a boss who has very little training in managing people, doesn’t appreciate the workers, verbally mistreats them while the company spends little on human resources and is more interested in the bottom line than the welfare of its workers.

So, the potential employee is demanding better pay, more benefits, and a chance to have a personal life. Many younger people realize they are going to come out of university with huge debt and want some higher-level commitment to reduce that debt.

And then we look at the fact that many large corporations have CEO’s making far more than they’re worth. Some of these CEO’s are making 5,000 times more than their average-paid workers. And those workers are tired of it.

Should CEO’s be well paid? Of course, if they deserve it. But those who make the wheels of industry turn also deserve a fair share. And in many cases, they’re not getting it.

According to the Statistics Canada report, the average wage has increased from $24.47 to $30.03 per hour between 1998 and 2021 (a 22 per cent wage increase). During that time general inflation in Canada has been 55.16 per cent (Online inflation tool).

This severely erodes the buying power for wage earners and makes them less likely to want to work more if they are never going to increase, or even keep, the buying power they had in the previous year.

This also has an effect on small businesses as they can’t afford to offer higher wages without being in financial difficulty themselves. Thus, they need to offer benefits other than monetary compensation. Low compensation is still a factor, and it makes for staffing shortages or sometimes even forcing businesses to close their doors.

To quote the report, “For many employers facing record-high job vacancies, improving quality of employment has become an important part of strategies to recruit and retain workers.”

This is not an easy problem to solve. But we are going to have to find a better model. This new Statistics Canada Report was created, I believe, in response to the perception that workers were concerned about their quality of employment, and this week’s first report certainly seems to bear that out.

I’m Doug Collins and that’s One Man’s Opinion.

Doug Collins has had a wide background in the broadcast industry, having done virtually every type of news and sports broadcasting, including news anchor, sports play-by-play, and editorialist. His “One Man’s Opinion” aired on TV from 1973- 2013. He retired from his management roles in the station in October 2018 but continues to write his column. In 2019, Doug was awarded the Freedom of the City, the highest honour a municipality can bestow upon a resident or organization.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or Pattison Media.

by Doug Collins

COLLINS: Labour shortage can be traced to changing lifestyles

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