From unemployment to under employment

Over the past two weeks, I’ve conducted a number of casual interviews with people about the state of the economy. Among other things, I’ve been asking whether people believe the widely-acknowledged recovery is impacting their lives yet, the degree to which changes in spending behavior could out-last the recession, and how they—or people close to them—have been impacted by the volatile job market.

“…the aspirations of many workers have been recalibrated amid the recession…”

With surprising frequency, the people I’ve spoken to have either been directly impacted, or have a close friend or family member that has been directly impacted by job loss. In some cases, that impact might be juggling two or more part-time, entry-level jobs in an effort to make ends meet until a slot can be found that lets the person resume a career in their chosen field. In one case, outright free-agency (freelance work) has replaced the idea of having a job.

Earlier this week in the New York Times, there was a story about a third condition that I have found to be more common, these days: People accepting work in a position that is well beneath their level of education or experience.

Implications: First, it is obviously a great time for companies to go shopping for talent, if they’re in a position to do that. But thinking of the labor pool as a consumer group, rather than just a workforce, is there anything you could do to serve or satisfy these people?

When people work beneath their education or experience, the job can often lack the challenge or stimulation the employee might be accustomed to. Whether related to a hobby, a form of entertainment, or other type of experience, do the products or services you sell provide the kind of satisfaction that is no longer found for some people in the workplace? (Or, do you offer a form of escapism?)

For more than half the working-age population in the U.S., there are often more than two incomes in the home. Have you noticed that “the breadwinner” is defined differently today, among your customers, than it might have been defined just a few years ago? Likewise, is there a new “procurement director” in the household? (Have shopping responsibilities been dispersed among the family members, rather than being relegated to traditional roles?)

Being under-employed almost always means getting a paycheck that is less than one was accustomed to. Does the product or service you sell offer the kind of value that respects the importance of every dollar?

When you see changes in the workforce, note that workers are also consumers. What you’re really seeing is not just a labor trend, but a consumer trend.

Mike Anderson