Why Is It So Hard to Find Good Hard Working Folks?

It could be that they're all at Occupy Wall Street demonstrations... Probably more fun than actually working.

Parents can not teach something they do not have ... it is amazing how many people do not have a work ethic or understand what it is like to have a job.

While not everyone has a poor work ethic there does seem to be a lot of them who do. They have this sense of entitlement and feel they are better than that. Too many think they should have it all without having to do all the hard work that it takes to get it. Really frustrating. Gimme gimme.....instead of what can I do for you? Parents who aren't teaching their kids good work ethics are doing nothing but a huge disservice to them. It's not always economic reasons for why kids return home to live with their parents.

If I had nothing better to do and didn't need to keep my job I would be at the "occupy" protests with a a sign saying "occupy a job". While they may have some valid complaints, protesting like they are where they are, is not getting them anywhere.

Sorry Nicole but a lot of people simply aren't teaching their kids about moral and eithical responsibility.Values about hard work have gone down the drain. Instead many people are busy protesting about how they deserve government handouts simply because they're a breathing human being.

On a more positive note there are those who really do want to work hard and make an honest living. What are you offering to pay? In this economy I am surprised people are not racing to you in droves to get the job...hmmmm

Hey Nicole! I don't know what type of business you own, but if you're looking for an employee who telecommutes, I'll take it! Ha! Seriously, there are people out there who are great workers & truly honest. Not everyone expects to be paid for work they haven't performed. I've been at the same job for 3 years without any sort of raise & just keep getting more & more taken advantage of because they know that unless/until I find another job I'm not gonig anywhere because I've got kids to feed. Are you checking references when you hire people?

It's very much a "me first" society. "I'm number 1!" Now, of course, not everyone is like that, but I'm alarmed and saddened by the number of people who are. Of course, these same people are not accountable for how their lives turn out. Keep your chin up and press on.

Perhaps work through a service agency or a group (if you can). Find one you like and who understands your criteria. They interview people all the time for any number of positions, so they'll keep you in mind. Also, come up with key questions to ask people when interviewing so you can weed out the less desirable workers. You can also begin with a 10-15 minute phone interview to get a feel if this person is someone you want to invite in for a 1 hour interview and possibly employ. GL.

I hear this all the time from my husband who interviews and hires often in his position as a manager of a Global I.T./Security company. He hires people according to how hard they will work and how well they work with others. The bling bling credentials are rarely what catches his eye...seriously. He says other managers in the U.S. find the same problems with work ethic.

I think some of it has to do with the fact that over the years we have moved away from an agriculturally based family unit which taught most kids hard work for survival within their home. Kids nowadays are gone from their home most of the day and often split between two homes because of divorce or parents never marrying. Kids are not expected to help keep a house running. Soooo, then where are they going to learn it from an early age??

Work ethic needs to be taught early on in age from parents. THis is something we have really focused on...I think my husbands' observations at work is the underlying motivator. But, in our homes growing up we had lots of chores because mom was home with us 24/7 cracking' the whip. (jk) I have friends who are working moms and they do this beautifully too..and some who just outsource all domestic jobs.

We actually have considered this topic often and so we don't put so much emphasis on actual grades...but teaching them to work hard. Working hard usually comes out in grades anyways...so it is a win win. They are involved in service organizations. We try to also teach compassion and how to work well with different people. These are all skills that help later in life when no one will remember if they got an "A" on that math test or project. Heck..that is another problem. Parents are often taking over school papers,assignments and projects so their little darling gets a good grade. I am grateful for our kids teachers that say "I would rather you work hard to get a C then your parents doing the project for you to get an A you don't deserve". Oh...we love amazing teachers.

So...that is my little answer in a nutshell. I don't own a business...but see my husband's frustrations in trying to hire good employees. He came to this location we are at right now and fired a handful of people. He told them the market is tough and there are a whole lot of people out there hurting that will bust their arse to have YOUR job. You either step up and work harder or you need to move on. Some took it seriously and still are with the company...but a handful of people got the axe and now there are very grateful hardworking men/women that filled those seats. My husband has been told from his bosses that he will always have a job in the company because of his work ethic and integrity. You can teach a lot of skills to employees over a short time...but work ethic is very hard to teach AN ADULT!!

Good luck and best wishes at finding some hard workers soon..I feel for you!!

I totally agree with you, we see this problem everywhere. In our case, we rent houses, and when tenants leave, the houses are trashed most of the time (I cannot imagine why people do this or just do not maintain the house by just cleaning it on a daily basis...uuuggghhh) whatever....We need people to help fixing doors, painting, cleaning etc. (the houses are out of town) people come and want a lot of money and then do nothing or the work is just......poor. We usually have to re do. We do everything on our own during weekends, but it is getting harder and the trips are becoming very expensive...however, we cannot find people to do part of this job and earn good money!..How sad and how frustrating!

I HEAR YOU! Service has gotten atrocious. I saw it in NYC before I left the garment industry in my late 30's to have kids. Any employees under 30 at that time were SO SLACK!!!! EVERYONE from the older trenches was baffled and annoyed by it. Then we moved to a rural area where sometimes it seems NO ONE wants to work! I swear, without the extreme competition of businesses in cities, you can't find decent service anywhere-people do NOT care! I've had to figure out all kinds of tricky bribes to get people to do whatever it is they pretend to be in business doing. I'm extremely courteous, a huge tipper, etc, but I'm amazed how even offering a "rush fee" etc is lost on people if they don't feel like staying at work past 3pm to fit developing your photos into their grueling schedule to get it done inside of three weeks (and done badly at that).

So many people out here "work for themselves" but really, it's almost impossible to make an appointment with them because they've got a million other obligations and don't want to work many hours...they inherited their house, their car, and their business from their parents and have never had any competition, so you're lucky to get an appointment with them weeks away and then they'll cancel if any little thing comes up. I understand putting family first and living modestly, but how they survive and pay their bills...I'm not really sure! Last summer we had "wholesome looking" college kids come offer to paint our porch with their whole "motivated hard working business approach", we paid them a deposit, and they never showed and never answered our calls and couldn't be tracked. We sort of gave up on "local business owners" (except for farmers and older shop owners who we do support) and now gravitate to big chains and online purchases-which is so not our style!

Interestingly, this is also a very conservative "immigrants are ruining our lives" area (and we have virtually no immigrants out here, they hear it on a certain news station) and all I can think is, "You're darn lucky we don't have immigrants here because your lazy country a----s would be out of business!" I miss living in heavy immigrant areas where people actually will work.

Hi Nicole,
If I lived near you, I'd be begging for a job and I must be one of the few that do have great work ethics. I never complained about anything when I worked and rarely missed a day in the 17 years I was employeed. I'm just a SAHM now but I do miss the socialization part of it and of course a pay check.

I hear you!

SO many people want to work from home and get rich quick but they don't realize that to bring in money you have to WORK.

I also believe that people learn from those they watch on a daily basis, parents, relatives, etc. People end up working in the manner "working" has been modeled.

We are hard workers, good work ethic, we run our own company and pay our share of taxes, etc. We have a 16 yr old who is also involved with our business as a VP, not to take over at some point, unless she chooses to BUT to learn the process of business and seeing what it takes to run a company.

She has witnessed us start and finance this company by ourselves and that cannot be done if you do not have solid plans, good ethics and are willing to work your butt off and sacrifice. She knows that customers are not a given and you work to keep your customers. We are in the manufacturing end of business (raw materials supplier/broker/consulting). Our daughter knows when we started our business we were excited to have $12,000 in sales the first month and now if we had a $12,000 sale we would be devastated. We are selling at record highs right now and will end the year with over $3 million in sales. Manufacturing is booming right now!

She has the same drive and attitude with her school work, cheer and our company. She 'gets it" that you have to work hard to be successful because she has lived it with us for her entire life. It is something that comes natural to those exposed to good work ethic.

So many others are too much into "me me me" and forget what it takes to be successful or just feel entitled for someone to hand it over to them.

Best wishes with your franchises!!

You have to be VERY VERY picky when you are hiring work from home employees. Unfortunately - to a lot of people - work from home means "I can do laundry and watch tv and shop and sleep" and still collect a paycheck.

It isn't right but it's unfortunately reality. I've worked from home for almost 8 years - first as a consultant and now as an employee. It took me a FULL YEAR to land my current f/t employee job working from home - I was aggressive, stayed in contact with the company - and took a job that was "beneath me" to get my foot in the door. My company is rigorous in their hiring practices - I had to be interviewed by 8 different people and finally the CEO herself before being offered the position.

Do your background checks - interview extensively - and make sure these people really want to work and aren't just trying to get something for nothing. It's sad but people will get away with what you let them get away with. Good luck.

Our company is having trouble filling positions too. It honestly can take us a year to find someone. We have had people who look good on paper totally flop. We had a Harvard grad with experience we were all excited about who submitted the most horrible sample assignment. Yes, we have sample assignments! We had to do it. We got a round of applicants where one guy didn't even know what our product was and another woman said she was planning on teaching full time and working for our company full time (the job was a 9-5 job, so I have no idea how she thought she was going to pull that off). So we pulled together some sample tasks from the job that can all be done in word in about 8-10 hours and now require that. The sample assignment is so telling. Half don't even do it and are crossed off the list. Half of those remaining can't even do it. Then we get down to those remaining and analyze how good a job they did. Usually it is clear cut. Last two postings the person we hired has no idea they were the only one to competently complete the assignment.

I hear you. For me, it's hard to find families for my daycare that are stable. Bad decisions lead to bad consequences. And yet, it's NEVER their own fault. I have too many parents that are fired, arrested, can't pay their bills on time, or just won't. I wonder this same question out loud, OFTEN!

What kind of franchises do you own? If it's sales driven then I'm not surprised you are having a hard time finding help. Even if you find a "good" sales rep that rep is still going to have a hard time selling because people are just not BUYING in this economy.
Trickle down economics, it goes both ways :(

What is your work from home opportunity?

Are you offering a competitive salary? Benefits? That may be the key. Good luck.

I had to chuckle at your post. I work from home with a company competing in the market place with Johnson & Johnson, Bayer, Wyeth, GNC, Proctor & Gamble, Colgate Palmolive and others. It's one of the simplest things I have seen and with the right training people do very well. The products are very competitive if placed on the shelves beside products those companies make. We do yearly with almost a billion in sales this year and will make that this month.

You can't imagine the excuses of why they can't do it after their initial response of, 'This is great!' or 'I love it' etc. I don't know how they think they are going to get paid. Make they are thinking they are still going to find the 'money tree' in moms backyard :) and they can still wait a while.

All you can do is say to yourself, "Next" and you will find the right people who really want to earn income. Good luck to you, hope you find some good people soon.