This could be the year fed-up employees have had it

[Andy823]

Quote:http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45931409/ns/...xSJqxyS3wp

As unemployment falls, companies may be faced with actually trying to keep workers

By Judy Martin
updated 1/16/2012 12:09:41 PM ET

December’s employment numbers blew analysts expectations out of the water. Perhaps the news rustled the moat around the corporate kingdom’s C-Suite. (Ok, maybe just a ripple) We’re certainly not out of the waters of a struggling economy. But with unemployment falling for the fourth month in a row, talent retention concerns might make more of an appearance.

Most employees are glad to have a job these days. There’s this unwritten mandate that has reigned since the recession; corporate is king, companies are doing more with less and underlings just have to deal with it and eat porridge. But if the C-Suite ignores improving economic data, might they be dethroned in a workers rebellion?

“I think 2012 is the year of the payback, meaning that all the slashing and burning of the workforce has severely wounded the ability to motivate employees,” says Irwin Kellner, Chief Economist for Marketwatch.com.

There is a lot more at the link, and it is something that I have been thinking myself. I have read that some companies are already coming back to the US because workers in China are demanding more money, fuel costs are high so shipping back to the US has also gone up, and I read that american workers are more productive it seems. If companies continue to shaft the workers so top management can take home "larger" paychecks and receive huge bonus's, they may find workers leaving for better jobs that are coming back to this country.

Corporate greed is a terrible thing, and it could very well bring down some of these greedy SOB's who don't are about the workers having to work longer hours for less money, no benefits, and to job security. The more companies that return to the US, the more likely workers "will" leave for better jobs. Those companies that don't start making changes now may regret it in the future.

[janedrake]

I agree, Andy -- one of the best perks for companies out of the disastrous economy Bush bequeathed us is that their employees are "stuck." A better economy would mean some of them may actually have to stop behaving like total sociopaths and actually really walk the walk on employee retention. And come 2014, when people won't have to stay at their jobs just to retain health insurance - watch out, corporations!

[Andy823]

(01-16-2012 03:10 PM)janedrake Wrote:  I agree, Andy -- one of the best perks for companies out of the disastrous economy Bush bequeathed us is that their employees are "stuck." A better economy would mean some of them may actually have to stop behaving like total sociopaths and actually really walk the walk on employee retention. And come 2014, when people won't have to stay at their jobs just to retain health insurance - watch out, corporations!

Yes you are right. The one article I read said it would be 2015 before the flow of companies "back" to the US started to out number the ones still in China. I think it may be even sooner, but time will tell. I also think that the workers with higher skills right now who have been "stuck" where they are will soon start to leave for better jobs as they come available, and even those who do jobs that don't require a lot of skill will be in demand when more companies come back. Right now, from what I have read, it's mostly the smaller companies that are returning, but as wages get higher in China, fuel will go higher this year, and if president Obama can get congress to give tax breaks to those who come back, more of the larger companies will start to return at a faster rate, at least I hope so.