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There seems to be a curious employee shortage for some reason. Some small businesses are not able to keep normal hours due to lack of employees. I recall when I worked in criminal justice and did staffing studies that it took five employees to staff one job position 24/7. I don't know how they are coping now. I'm curious if retired people are finding part-time employment opportunities. What part-time employment have you tried and what can you recommend to retirees thinking about testing the waters for part-time work?
I won't be working now but I did work part-time for seven years after I retired. That was for a municipal government in the planning department. There were many projects that just have to sit on the back burner and never get much attention due to day-to-day work demands. They were happy to have me work on some of those projects. The pay was pocket money and there were no benefits, but I set my own schedule and I was mostly working outside on site and in the community and had the social connections that I no longer had from my career. I did land use surveys for annexation and neighborhood preservation work among other things. I was a bargain as they would have had to spend a lot to get that outsourced. I would recommend that if the opportunity exists.
My wife worked part-time on the circulation desk of the local library and enjoyed that for several years. She liked anything to do with books and had once been the bookmobile lady many years earlier. She also taught literacy classes. She enjoyed the work
I posted earlier on another thread that I was just hired to be a barista at the corner coffee shop. I know the manager and I knew when she was posting in the community facebook group looking for help that it was pretty grim. She runs a staff of 10. They had 3 in training last month and all three quit.
I went today to turn in some paper work and was happy to see a former employee is back after a two year absence. She's about my age, maybe a little younger, and the sweetest thing. Had been there for nearly five years before so I knew her from nearly the time I moved here. Not having the stress of having to work is excellent in itself but it's a bonus to work with someone I really like and had wanted to get to know a long time ago. This is a good thing. Last two years was a dark season (not just from the pandemic). Maybe there is a little light on the horizon.
A lot of small business (and large business) are suddenly recognizing that staff have needs too. Now when those needs aren't met, people quit. Personally, as someone who hired people at low wage jobs, I have to chuckle.
There are solutions, and there are reasons why this is happening.
After staying at home for 20 years as a stay at home mom, I went back to work at the age of 55. I only work PT but I'm recently getting more hours due to the holiday season business needs.
Getting some current work experience under my belt has been nice and needed. More needed than I realized. I'm glad I threw caution to the wind and jumped back in!
I posted earlier on another thread that I was just hired to be a barista at the corner coffee shop. I know the manager and I knew when she was posting in the community facebook group looking for help that it was pretty grim. She runs a staff of 10. They had 3 in training last month and all three quit.
I went today to turn in some paper work and was happy to see a former employee is back after a two year absence. She's about my age, maybe a little younger, and the sweetest thing. Had been there for nearly five years before so I knew her from nearly the time I moved here. Not having the stress of having to work is excellent in itself but it's a bonus to work with someone I really like and had wanted to get to know a long time ago. This is a good thing. Last two years was a dark season (not just from the pandemic). Maybe there is a little light on the horizon.
I love you for doing this! When the younger employees see that a coworker values their job and is putting in their all, that makes them want to try harder, too.
I've been prevented from doing something I enjoy - visiting care centers and "stealth volunteering." I don't want to be on anyone's call list!
I cleaned eyeglasses, filled water glasses, asked people to tell me about their lives, read to people, sang with them, whatever worked to brighten a day. Sometimes I just sat in the room.
And I always left feeling good, like I'd done something useful. So, I'm not sure you can call that heroic. I made a difference in my life and I like to think I made a difference for someone else, too.
Maybe leaving was the most useful thing I did for some people. LOL
I've been prevented from doing something I enjoy - visiting care centers and "stealth volunteering." I don't want to be on anyone's call list!
I cleaned eyeglasses, filled water glasses, asked people to tell me about their lives, read to people, sang with them, whatever worked to brighten a day. Sometimes I just sat in the room.
And I always left feeling good, like I'd done something useful. So, I'm not sure you can call that heroic. I made a difference in my life and I like to think I made a difference for someone else, too.
Maybe leaving was the most useful thing I did for some people. LOL
Do the care centers know you were doing this?
Not every care center would allow a person to just walk in and do this. As many wouldn't want a stranger (or certain people) wandering around inside a facility, not being part of a volunteer program or unsupervised - although others may welcome it.
Not every care center would allow a person to just walk in and do this. As many wouldn't want a stranger (or certain people) wandering around inside a facility, not being part of a volunteer program or unsupervised - although others may welcome it.
I know the one where my mom had lived for about a decade recognized me. I had a sense that there were rules but people get so few visitors they probably didn't want to decrease that opportunity.
You're right, matisse, about screening guests. And our care centers here, owned by a monopoly I think, are pretty vigilant about keeping an eye on the door. That's a good thing.
Sometimes I'd stop at the desk and tell them I'd like to visit with someone who didn't get visitors and they were usually glad to direct me to someone. I'm sure if there had been complaints I would have gone on a list.
I've lived here for nearly fifty years so it wasn't uncommon to find someone on the list of occupants or staff whom I knew. I have a good set of credentials also I could have pulled to verify my skills but fortunately I never needed to play that card. You don't need much skill except good hearing and patience to give this gift.
In my neighborhood, they're building an adult day care center for those with dementia, as a drop-in, or regularly scheduled, place for caregivers to get a little respite from their duties. We aren't 55+, but we have a couple thousand retirees living here, and some are in their 80s+. The place is being built from cash donations, and a donation of land. The place will have staff, but will also be run with the help of volunteers. I'm looking forward to the opening, and hope to volunteer there PT in the future. I enjoyed spending the years with my MIL, even though the last 5 years or so, before her passing, her dementia was increasing quite a bit. I know that these folks have a lot of good memories about "the old days" and are often very lonely. It will be an honor to spend time with them, and show them a bit of love.
I've been prevented from doing something I enjoy - visiting care centers and "stealth volunteering." I don't want to be on anyone's call list!
I cleaned eyeglasses, filled water glasses, asked people to tell me about their lives, read to people, sang with them, whatever worked to brighten a day. Sometimes I just sat in the room.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheShadow
The place will have staff, but will also be run with the help of volunteers. I'm looking forward to the opening, and hope to volunteer there PT in the future.
So these are unpaid volunteer activities? I once volunteered as a researcher answering public inquiries at a state archives. That was very detailed work handling historical records and even original regimental company muster rolls carried in Civil War battles. That was unpaid but very interesting work. A lot of it was genealogy related or property records from original land grants.
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