Here’s a rather interesting story that counters a narrative that has been perpetuated by countless business owners.
Business Insider reported about a Florida man — no, not that kind — who conducted an experiment after hearing business owners complain that “no one wants to work anymore.” Joey Holz, an already employed 37-year-old man, decided he would apply for jobs in his local area, mostly at places with owners who were vocal about staffing shortages.
During the entire month of September, Holz sent out 60 applications for various jobs, all of which he said he was qualified for. Some required a high school diploma while others indicated a need for retail experience. Some advertised they were willing to train or required minimum experience. Not one paid more than $12 an hour.
In response, he received 16 email responses, four follow-up calls and one interview.
A construction company he applied to offered him $8.65 an hour, Florida’s then-minimum wage, even though the job was advertised at $10 an hour, the state’s new minimum wage starting Sept. 30. The job was advertised as full time, but the company would only schedule him part time until he gained seniority.
While this experiment is incredibly small and nowhere near a scientific study, it does illustrate a compelling counterpoint to what we've heard about the lack of job applicants so far.
Obviously, just because someone applies to a job does not mean they are entitled to it, but you must admit that during this labor shortage, it would be baffling to apply for jobs and then hear nothing back while business owners and managers complain about the lack of workers. You can imagine applicants thinking, “But I’m right here. I applied. You ignored me.”
Or worse, they feel as if they have been tricked when they sit down for an interview or get a job offer and pay isn’t disclosed initially or it’s lower than advertised until some condition is met. Same thing with work schedules.
Now, we are not privy to the details behind decisions to not interview or hire Holz. We don’t know exactly why the construction company that did make an offer didn’t match the pay and work schedule that was advertised.
There may be very good reasons why all of them made the decisions they did, but would that matter to anyone applying?
They’re not going to know why they never got a response for a job they are qualified for. They won’t know why an interview they felt went well didn’t lead to anything more. All they know is they tried to get a job when businesses are hurting for labor, but they didn’t get the job.
To all the hoteliers reading this who are struggling to find employees for your properties, I hope none of this sounds familiar to you on a personal level. I would hate to think anyone earnestly trying to hire and retain talent would act like any of the business owners in this experiment.
With the number of job openings across all industries, and specifically hospitality, employers are to some degree at a disadvantage. Current employees and potential employees can be choosier about where they work and under what conditions.
Also, don’t forget about how many people the hotel industry laid off at the start of the pandemic. That likely made a lot of people feel like the industry considered them disposable, making them wary to come back. Why would any hotelier want to further alienate potential hires?
You can reach me at bwroten@hotelnewsnow.com or @HNN_Bryan.
The opinions expressed in this column do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Hotel News Now or CoStar Group and its affiliated companies. Bloggers published on this site are given the freedom to express views that may be controversial, but our goal is to provoke thought and constructive discussion within our reader community. Please feel free to contact an editor with any questions or concern.