Norma Walton discusses the changes she has noticed in the work force from when she was a girl to now and the implications to your business.

1. Not Your Parents' Workforce
Norma Walton
http://money.ca/you_and_your_money/2017/12/05/norma-walton-not-your-parents-workforce/

2. Table of Content
Business Growth ……………………….…………………………………………………
Strike One ……………………………………………………………………………………
Strike Two ………...…………………………………………………………………………
Strike Three …………………………………………………………………..…………….
Fourth Time Lucky ………………….…………………………………….……………..
That Was Then ……………………………………………………………..……………..
Extra Shift? ………………………………………………………………………………….
Ford Specific …………………………………………………………………….………….
This Is Now ……………………………………………………………………….…………
Conclusion ………………………………………………………………………….………
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3. Business Growth
One of our businesses was
growing and we were
looking for someone to
work 16 hours every
weekend.
I had been doing the work
myself while growing the
business, but the business
had become busy enough
that it could afford to pay
someone to do that work.

4. Strike One
First I chatted with my friend's husband.
He works during the week and is saving up
for a house for his young family so was keen
on weekend work to supplement what he
earned from his regular job.
He is 27 years old.
He did an excellent job for me for a few
weekends then told me that he had decided
he could no longer work after 5 pm...ever.

5. Strike Two
Next I chatted with a hard working woman with whom I work from time to
time and I mentioned that we had this position available.
She told me her son Mitch was desperate to make money and that she was
sure he would love to do it.
Mitch is a nice single 35-year old guy whom I knew and liked.
I immediately offered the work to him.
He thanked me for thinking of him but explained that he never worked on
Friday, Saturday or Sunday.

6. Strike Three
Third was a 32-year old Uber driver named Nur whom I met when he
drove me home.
A former fighter pilot, he had emigrated from
Afghanistan via America.
He told me he needed to make money. He did the
work one weekend, collected his money, then just
didn't show up for work the next weekend.
It was obviously beneath him.
I haven't heard from him since.

7. Fourth Time Lucky
Fourth time lucky. The fellow who now works with me on the weekends is from
Barbados.
He emigrated to Canada a year ago because it was impossible to make a good life in
Barbados unless you were a member of the police or the military and he didn't
qualify for either.
He loves Canada because if you work hard, you can create a decent life for yourself.
He came here a year ago.
He has found opportunities through keenness.
He obtained his fork lift truck driver's license.
He then started working for an agency each week
while working to upgrade his license.
He works with me on the weekend and is saving
up to secure his own studio apartment near York
University and then to afford a car.
He is 27 and so far very reliable.

8. That Was Then
Back when I was a teenager into my
early 20s, I was always interested in
making money if I could fit it into my
school and sports schedule.
I began working when I was 13 years
old and secured my license the day I
turned 16.
I was not unusual among my peer
group.
We all wanted to make money, play
sports, drive cars and get our own
place.
Leisure time was what you grabbed late at night or over a couple of hours on
the weekend, if you were lucky and had finished all your chores at home.

9. Extra Shift?
In my (now dinosaur-like) experience, if you wanted to make extra money,
you needed to work evenings, weekends, nights, mornings, afternoons -
basically anytime anyone would pay you.
You needed to show up for work when
you were required.
Keenness was critical.
Asking for more work was important.
Basically everything else in your life took
a back seat to making that extra money
you wanted so you could accomplish
whatever objective you had at that time.

10. Ford Specific
The type of work was not as relevant
as how much you were being paid per
hour and how many hours you could secure.
Being fulfilled at work was not even a consideration.
I remember working three summers in a row on the line at Ford putting hood
covers on because 27 years ago they paid $25 an hour.
I can still do that specific job in my sleep because I put 60 hood covers on
every hour for 48 hours a week for three summers in a row...138,240 hood
covers.
The job was mind numbing but that money helped put me through school
and paid for my car expenses.
Needless to say I had very little leisure time those summers.

11. This Is Now
My values are no longer prevalent.
In seeking to fill this weekend position, it became apparent to me that the
workforce has changed since I was a girl.
Work-life balance in your 20s and 30s is now
valued far more than money.
People say they want to make extra money,
but they mean only if it does not
inconvenience them in living their best life.
Hence a lot of people in their 20s and 30s
are living with their parents, with siblings or
with roommates.
They don't drive.
They value leisure time more than
making money.

12. For better or worse, while trying to hire someone for weekend work, I
realized that this is not my or my parents' work force.