Why do people think if we are unemployed we are LAZY??? (employees, job openings)
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I really cannot stand people in their 70s who have NO IDEA what this recession is like for those of us out of work and without 'aid' of any kind. My aunt and uncle who are both in their early 70s tell me I am just lazy and need to put on my suit and start knocking on doors like THEY DID in 1960 and I will get a job.
They raise a family on one income. Times are tough and I am trying like **** to find a job. Meanwhile they tut-tut and say to me get myself down to McDonalds or do ANYTHING to earn money.
I really cannot stand people in their 70s who have NO IDEA what this recession is like for those of us out of work and without 'aid' of any kind. My aunt and uncle who are both in their early 70s tell me I am just lazy and need to put on my suit and start knocking on doors like THEY DID in 1960 and I will get a job.
They raise a family on one income. Times are tough and I am trying like **** to find a job. Meanwhile they tut-tut and say to me get myself down to McDonalds or do ANYTHING to earn money.
Can anyone else relate?
It's not just people in their 70s. Pretty much anybody that hasn't been affected by the recession feels this way. Anybody that tells you to start knocking on doors to find a job is out of touch with reality. That may have worked years ago but for today, most jobs require you to apply on-line or by e-mail. Most jobs also tell you that no resumes or applications will be accepted in person.
I personally delivered my resume to some of the local law firms, because a lot of the secretaries there knew me and I thought I'd have an "in". Didn't do any good - they are not hiring.
Older relatives have seen hard times, especially ones who lives through the depression. Obviously I wasn't there but from reading and history lessons it was pretty rough, makes this recession look like a cakewalk to them probably.
I agree it's tough times no doubt but in times past people would walk the streets looking for work just to put some food in their stomach, this really isn't that bad now plus though not perfect there's safety nets and social services for peopel these days much more so than in the past.
As far as a general consensus that unemployed people are lazy I think there's a small number who gives the whole unemployed crowd a bad rap. People who collect 99 weeks of unemployment and still havn't taken a job are being too picky in my opinion. In some areas of the country where unemployment is over 15% sure I understand that but in most areas I think they are being to picky.
I was unemployed a while back, I could have held out a little longer and found my dream job but needed to get something so took something that paid halfway decent, had benefits and still gives me the flexibility to look for new work down the road.
Also, some people are seasonal workers who year after year collect all winter long while working cash jobs on the side until their industry starts back up.
Older relatives have seen hard times, especially ones who lives through the depression. Obviously I wasn't there but from reading and history lessons it was pretty rough, makes this recession look like a cakewalk to them probably.
I agree it's tough times no doubt but in times past people would walk the streets looking for work just to put some food in their stomach, this really isn't that bad now plus though not perfect there's safety nets and social services for peopel these days much more so than in the past.
As far as a general consensus that unemployed people are lazy I think there's a small number who gives the whole unemployed crowd a bad rap. People who collect 99 weeks of unemployment and still havn't taken a job are being too picky in my opinion. In some areas of the country where unemployment is over 15% sure I understand that but in most areas I think they are being to picky.
I was unemployed a while back, I could have held out a little longer and found my dream job but needed to get something so took something that paid halfway decent, had benefits and still gives me the flexibility to look for new work down the road.
Also, some people are seasonal workers who year after year collect all winter long while working cash jobs on the side until their industry starts back up.
Show me some data that backs your opinion that a great percentage of the unemployed are turning jobs down? You have to be offered a job to turn it down. But you did have a good point about where the jobs are:
"Somehow, jobs and people seem disconnected. Workers, it would seem, either lacked desired skills or the job openings don’t exist where most of the unemployed live. So, case closed? We’ve solved the mystery of stubborn unemployment".
I can't answer for why people think this way other than what I have personally observed. I'm sure that there are many possible reasons why this is. With that, I'll give my two cents...
I think the mindset of those who think that the unemployed are lazy comes from the fact that they probably never have never experienced such a setback themselves. They live a life sheltered away from such disasters and have a lack of empathy for their fellow human being. No person can truly know what any situation is like until only after experiencing it for themselves.
Another thing I've noticed is that people when it comes to anyone collecting UI benefits, is that it is just another form of general welfare. People have a prejudice. People have a pre-conceived belief of those who have nothing, the poor if you will. It is in our nature. Some of us overcome our cognitive dissonances and others never do. This goes back to what I said about people not having experienced a disaster in their life, until they experience being the recipient of a benefit they will continue to think that it is just a program that "encourages" laziness. What is seen on the surface is that a person on UI is collecting the DOL like a person who is collecting food stamps, WIC, or any other form of government assistance. People who are still working and have never received UI don't realize that there is a requirement to actively seek employment while collecting benefits. No one I know who is collecting UI is purposely lazy. No one I know on UI sits by the mailbox waiting for their share of the pie. Everyone I know is doing something to improve their situation. They are either actively searching for employment EVERY DAY, or going to school and learning a new skill/trade, or volunteering to help make a difference in the lives of others. UI benefits is not a handout, a person must have wages reported in order for them to collect, meaning that they worked prior to opening a claim. With all of that put out in the open, I don't see where the laziness comes from.
The last thing I notice is that there are a lot of very loud voices from the far right, politically speaking, who think that people do not need help. They get a lot of air time in the media and anything said on TV goes a long way with people who are only looking for quick answers and solutions. No one likes to think about what it is that's really going on and they arrive to any conclusion without any solid facts. Unfortunately we are living in a time in this country where people think that it is fine to fund two useless wars that have seen no positive results than to use that money to help the people here at home.
That's it for now, I'm sure I'll come up with a few more things as this thread expands.
Show me some data that backs your opinion that a great percentage of the unemployed are turning jobs down? You have to be offered a job to turn it down. But you did have a good point about where the jobs are:
"Somehow, jobs and people seem disconnected. Workers, it would seem, either lacked desired skills or the job openings don’t exist where most of the unemployed live. So, case closed? We’ve solved the mystery of stubborn unemployment".
I know lots of people my age, early to mid twenties who have been offered jobs paying maybe 25k-30k with good benefits but turn them down saying they didn't go to college to make 30k, they expect to make 40k plus comming out of college with a degree.
Being younger lots of these people are either living with parents or have multiple roomates so don't really need a ton of money and can scrape by off unemployment.
Also, lots of people with families won't take low paying jobs that are a job and not a career because they know it can't be a permanent thing and having a job makes it tougher to continue looking for another job.
This is very true and I see the temptation to not want to take a job as a janitor making $13 an hour when someoen is maybe in marketing, sales, etc. Its tough to continue to look when your occupied M-F 9-5 and you can't support a family on that $13 an hour job however at some point when you've been on unemployment for 99 weeks, WELL over a year you just gotta bite the bullet and take a job.
I heard a good quote recently. Something along the lines of young people today think of McDonalds or sweepign floors to be below them, our grandparents called that an opportunity. The way the quote was written was much said much better but that was the jist of it.
Just because someone is unemployed does not mean they are lazy. For the record there are plenty of people WITH jobs that are lazy. Lazy comes in many forms.
Both my parents grew up during the Great Depression(my Mother will be 87 soon and I am 44) The stories I heard from them was they learned to make due, recycle what they could and do what they could for any work. They didn't have unemployment to fall back on-food also at that time was rationed. They definitely had it much worse than we do now. So I can understand their bewilderment about why the "younger" generations don't get going and do something to get jobs. They don't understand welfare-they worked as much as they had to to support their families even if it meant multiple jobs doing even the most menial tasks. They made do for themselves and would never have asked the government to take care of their families. They never over spent their means-the lived with just what they could afford. It's a whole different mind set and generation.
Does it always apply to now-some does. Then others not so much because of how lousy employers are now to their employees-and we've all witnessed lazy managers/HR staff that can't be bothered to let someone know if yes or no about the job they've applied for. There's a new mind set out there with employers and potential employees. No longer will you work for a job for life-the average person will work 5 employers now in their lifetime. So why should they be loyal to us if we job hop at the next, best newest thing that comes up? Yes it gets us more money, but does it lead us truly where we want to be? I've not had but 2 jobs since I was 21 and only switched because I moved to far to compute to the other. I think if employers treated their employees better in the first place-their business would probably do better in the long run.
Telling themselves that all unemployed people are lazy puts their mind at ease--by convincing themselves that it can't happen to them.
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