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It's a backstage pass to info on jobs and life at 50+. Gen Plus, headed by Janet Wendy Spiegel, is dedicated to baby boomers and the plus generation of age 50 and older. Read up and speak out on issues affecting your future: jobs, income, life and respect.

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Northridge, California, United States
Successful businesswoman, consultant, entrepreneur. I operate two businesses -- social media consulting, AND premium pet care services in the West San Fernando Valley. Love what I do, love life.

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Wednesday, May 07, 2008

Hours for Workers Cut

If you've noticed that employees are seeming a bit more harried lately, that might be because employee hours have been cut and productivity is up by 2.2%. That means employers are expecting their workers to produce just as much, in less time.

Just the other day I was in an Office Depot near me and the woman staffing the copy center was trying to be so helpful (and she was)...yet at the same time, I overheard her tell another worker that she had been the only staff for the entire day and hadn't had lunch (it was 6:30 pm).

A great employee and I'm pretty sure she'll have moved on to somewhere else more reasonable by the next time I head over there. More productivity? Sure. But at what cost?

Oh. And oil just hit $122/barrel.

4 comments:

Cynthia Samuels said...

The thing is, anyone with benefits is not going to make as much noise as they probably should. We are, in early 60s, in fear that we may lose ours because health factors could affect getting it someplace else. It makes you pretty docile unless someone asks you to do something really wrong.... Nice observation Ms. J/W.

Janet Spiegel said...

Cindy, good point! Fear of losing one's job (benefits, income) forces many workers to keep themselves in positions that are actually not good for their health. What a Catch-22!

Anonymous said...

The fact that it's Home Depot somehow makes it worse. They were one of the companies that AARP mentioned as best employers for those 50+.

Janet Spiegel said...

Hi -- it was Office Depot, not Home Depot...but this will be the case across the board. To your point, I'm sure many of the companies who are, in fact, 50+ friendly, will also be deeply affected by the economic realities hitting us right now.