Blame it largely on the pandemic, which weakened the hold the workplace held on people’s psyches
By outward appearances, the labor market today looks much as it did before the pandemic. The unemployment rate is just as low, the share of adults in the labor force is just as high, and wages are growing at roughly the same pace after inflation.
But beneath the surface, the nature of labor has changed profoundly. Career and work aren’t nearly as central to the lives of Americans. They want more time for their families and themselves, and more flexibility about when, where and how they work.
The impact of this change can already be seen in both individual companies and the broader economy. It has led to a persistent shortage of workers, especially in jobs that seem less desirable because, for example, they require in-person work or fixed hours. That, in turn, has altered the bargaining position of employers and employees—forcing employers to adapt, not just by paying more but giving priority to quality of life in job offers.
To be sure, some of these changes arise from an exceptionally tight labor market. If unemployment rises, some of employees’ newfound leverage may evaporate.
So many different ways to cope with the horrifying idea that companies need us more than we need them. For this rare moment, just a sliver of time, we workers are not forced to prostrate ourselves at their feet. Instead of understanding that labor is a market and right now it’s a sellers market, they are inventing cultural changes to explain their sudden loss of fortune and power.
Millions of American workers died or became disabled due to a virus that we failed to handle responsibly. Millions more left the workforce to care for children or family members. All the while, demand for goods and services stayed strong. More work to do and fewer people to do it, gonna have to pay more for labor. It’s so fucking simple.
It’s not that I don’t care about work, it’s that I don’t care about YOU! I have other options my dude, cough up or I will find somebody who will.
This also isn’t the first time this has happened. The Black Death in the 14th century put the final nail in the coffin of serfdom and also led to the rise of the middle class. It turns out that, when a significant portion of the workforce either dies or leaves the workforce, the bargaining power of the remaining workers goes up. I don’t think it’s any surprise that we are also seeing a resurgence of unions as well. Workers have been tired of this shit for a long time, we’re just now in a position to do something about it.
You seem knowledgeable in this, can you recommend further reading on plague effect on labor & class? That’s fascinating
Not OP but I learned about this first from the show Connections with James Burke, but got a deeper understanding of it and many other ancient economic systems by reading David Graeber’s “Debt: The First 5,000 Years.”
DINKs (double income no kids) would do wonders to the labour market, to keep the wages up.