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Just a few years ago my husband and I picked up and moved out of state without jobs. It was the best thing we ever did. I think it is only irresponsible if you are living pay check to pay check and don't have anything put aside in case the job hunting takes a while. There are a lot of reasons people move and it isn't always possible to line up a job first.
Some of the negative aspects of globalism is the loss of corporate social involvement in the community. My hometown of East Hartford is the home of Pratt and Whitney. In the 70s they donated money to build two state of the art school pools. They also sent engineers and others to volunteer in the schools, sponsored concerts and events at the local parks and many other contributions to the community.
A majority of the employees lived in town and many families had relatives of all ages committed to the company. Employees played on company ball teams, wore clothing with company logos with pride and were committed to their employer.
Although some of these things still exist they are shadows of what was experienced in the past. Globalism, shareholder demands, legal, and accounting changes are just a few of the reasons for the changes. Companies reflect the values of society at large. If people don't value the connections with others then it is no surprise that an organization doesn't either.
Some companies defy the trends and have great relationships with the community/communities and their employees. It is no surprise that these same companies have higher levels of employee loyality, happiness, and productivity.
"I think employers should expect to be left for the next best thing, just like employees expect to be laid off." I personally do not engage in this job hopping because I hate to interview so much... but in my experience, those who engage in moderate jobhopping do much better financially and career wise.
Companies start to take you for granted if you stay at their place too long. This is true.
What stinks is you have to start the vacation accrual all over again - with most places you only get another week (normally start with 2 weeks) after you have been there 5 years. However in this bad economy, only certain stable fields will allow for much job hopping as there are a very few jobs to hop into these days!
Unfortunately the corporations know this and are taking full advantage of it to the detriment of the employees.
2) I, as an employer, would not consider it at all. Assuming that people who apply for a job are unemployed, I would recognize that a person looking for job may or may not remain at home, depending on circumstances that reflect his mobility, and they would be unrelated to circumstances that would affect employability.
In fact, it would seem more likely that a person who has moved is seeking work in a field in which he already had experience, whereas a person locally might have already exhausted the job search within his experience field, and would come to me as a trainee, rather than to find work he already knows by moving to another place.
I think the way employees are being treated these days has a lot to do with loyalty and longevity. Back in the 70's I worked for companies that honored labor laws giving you breaks during the day for your hard work plus hour lunches, cost of living plus merit raises and very good benefits. On those rare occasions that they needed you to work til midnight, you were there for them. Those places have changed dramatically.
More recently I have worked for companies that could care less that they put your life in danger on a daily basis, give you crappy pay w/no benefits and an undignified title, you are lucky if you get to eat lunch at your desk (if at all). You watch as they fire people over absolutely nothing. And then there are the unexpected layoffs.
So, today employees are treated like a piece of toilet paper. No wonder they don't stay. It definitely has a lot to do with the economy...supply and demand.
On the other hand before the 1970's and all the mobility and communication technology we have now, when you really were stuck in one place, I know of countless stories of people being taken advantage due to that, unions included, scalping a chunk of your pittance wages in all their various fees and memberships.
With the infrastructure right now and just with the power of the internet, for myself, I can constantly research new business opportunities for my services and if I had to or wanted to, move. I'd rather have all that info at my fingertips than back in the old days sitting in Pennsylvania with no way to find or research other opportunities outside of walking distance of my house.
I find employers that treat employees like garbage, their business doesn't last all that long. If you aren't competitive and provide good service your business is going away, due to all this information we have now via modern communications and having good employees is a key part of that. One of the business segments I am involved in had a plethora of companies like that and the recession was the coup de grace for them. What emerged is the best companies in the sector and with a lot of the crap and fat trimmed off.
This thread points up what an anacronism I am - I worked for one employer for 34 years and retired with a pension at age 61 and a half. Now, five years later, I am glad to be out of the rat race. By that, I mean not only the usual sense of rat race as the daily grind, but also the rat race of moving to get a decent or a better job, as described here. Once you get old, all that moving takes too much energy!
Moving can be a drag, I moved often growing up and some as an adult. 8 different schools growing up.
But it many ways it is great to have a change of perspective with new people and a new place. I really don't think I could work for the same people for 34 years unless I had to for different reasons.
I've never been a job hopper but about 5-7 years is probably my limit before seeking out new challenges.
Two years and almost three months ago my hubby and I packed up our two teens and left Florida for Oklahoma City without employment and just our girls SSI (both have special needs) to pay our rent food and utilities while I looked for a job. Our only regret is not doing it sooner. I am going to be buying our first (and last) house in a few months and we have been married for over twenty years. I do not make very much money and we will not be getting a mansion but the homes that I have been looking at online are between 1400 and 1800 square feet and all are under $100,000 in nice quiet neighborhoods.
So life has improved quite a bit for us. I am currently on track to lose about ninety pounds and hope to start going back to school in a year or so for something that will earn me more money.
Moving can be a drag, I moved often growing up and some as an adult. 8 different schools growing up.
But it many ways it is great to have a change of perspective with new people and a new place. I really don't think I could work for the same people for 34 years unless I had to for different reasons.
I've never been a job hopper but about 5-7 years is probably my limit before seeking out new challenges.
I agree, that for some folks moving can be a real difficult proposition. I don't think it's for everybody. There are people for example, that have lived in places like Buffalo their whole life and have prospered. I know several people in my age category that have had only 2 jobs in their lifetime, own a home free and clear, are surrounded by extended family and their children are perfectly content to stay close by. That is a real blessing. However, for all the rest of us caught up in factory closings, rounds of layoffs, job cuts, etc., moving maybe the only alternative to welfare. Example: a friend of mine in high school, last I knew of living in S. Carolina worked for a now defunct Buffalo manufacturer of fuel tanks for diesel trucks for 12 years. He told me once, that in that period of time he had had a total of only 4 years of work and 8 years of layoffs. Typical old school; work 2 weeks, be on layoff 4, get called back, get laid off, endless cycle. Old school thinking: "I have a job, the employer controls me, I must do anything to hold on to it." New era thinking: "This is my life, I am in control of my situation, I will act to protect myself" Both are attitudes regarding career, but the perceptions new and old are polar opposites. If people move for opportunity, it is their right and their responsibility and if their lives are better, their privilege. Employers may hate it, but if they treated their people better, it would not be a problem. Corporations move for opportunity to the Sunbelt, China, wherever and they get congratulated in the media and grants from the government. A poor working guy moves to get a better job and he's a "job hopper", "unstable", "irresponsible", etc. etc. etc. What is the difference?
Last edited by xnyer; 12-26-2010 at 05:52 AM..
Reason: grammer
"I find employers that treat employees like garbage, their business doesn't last all that long"
This is true of companies that are on a local scale.
And globalism has changed global corporations - you are now competing with people whose only other option it to live in India (or another country) and of course anything in the US is better than what they have back there. So they will work for peanuts, and are willing to be degraded, while here they live 6 people to a 2 bedrm apt., otherwise they get to go back.
It would depend on what my situation was whether or not I moved without having a job lined up. Certainly would not do it now, unless I had my home here sold, etc. If I just was renting, heck yeah, but I certainly would do my research on what jobs/industries were hiring before I moved there.
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