Why Are You So Hard on Minimum Wage Workers?
Stop holding them to a higher standard than you hold other employees
Restaurants can’t find enough workers in my area, so they close early if staff from other locations can’t help. That statement may not surprise you, as the labor shortage extends far beyond my region. There are hiring problems across the country right now, and a large chunk of these issues involve restaurants, retail gigs, and other low-wage jobs.
Many people criticize pandemic benefits, claiming that extended unemployment made Americans unwilling to work. Others blame COVID quarantines and fatalities, insisting that the virus has wiped out our workforce. There are also folks who believe Millennials and Zoomers lack ambition, so they’re using the pandemic as an excuse for unemployment. True or not, these beliefs often evolve into a debate about raising pay rates for minimum wage workers.
The debates are rarely constructive. Whenever someone requests a higher minimum wage, people angrily respond with comments like, “You want $15 an hour, but you can’t even remember to leave onions off my burger.” That may be true, but you make mistakes at your job too. This is true even if you have a cushy office job where you’re surrounded by college-educated coworkers.
