It was a common thought during the pandemic that when things opened up, people would go back to their jobs and things would slowly return to normal. Many employers - particularly small businesses - were probably counting on it.
Yet, the stories are plentiful on how companies can't seem to find enough people to hire - restaurants seem to have it the hardest.
Why? I don't think it is any one reason, but many contributing factors.
Unemployment insurance - many business owners believe that the extra unemployment insurance that some states are offering is keeping people away.
Fear of Covid - it is easy to forget that we haven't eliminated Covid. Children still aren't vaccinated and there are different variants out there. People are still worried about what could happen. You can't ignore it.
Child care issues - this has always been a difficult issue, more so now than ever. Many women took on more child care duties by having to be teacher and everything else for the kids. There is still a shortage of quality child care.
Evaluating life - everyone had plenty of time to evaluate life. Was that long commute worth it or do I like spending more time with the kids? I discovered how unhappy I was and I know that work isn't as important as my physical and mental health.
Unless business consider these issues and act to reduce their impact, hiring will continue to be a struggle for the foreseeable future.
Businesses cannot be reactive or passive during this time, but proactive. If a business thinks they can just wait this out, they will disappear.