How is that so many smart, talented, creative, dedicated, hard working, skilled people find themselves moving from one low wage hourly job to another, despite so many opportunities in higher paying jobs, and low or no cost training available? It’s a question folks have been asking for some time but we have yet to crack. There are lots of theories, ranging from disparaging to ever hopeful. The challenge is clearly multifaceted and solving it is critical to the future of work. One aspect that’s been largely overlooked is that there is a massive gap between the professional worlds of people working hourly low wage jobs and those working high paying jobs, despite interacting with each other on a daily basis. The gap is that people working hourly low wage jobs live in a professional world that is largely analog, while people working high wage jobs are fully digital.
Soon enough the work that we pay low hourly wages for will be replaced by machines, leaving no jobs to return to.
It’s clear we’re in the midst of a long term employment crisis. Though it may have been exacerbated by the pandemic, this crisis was a long time coming. For decades, we’ve mistaken a willingness to work in unpredictable, hourly, low wage jobs as an acceptable status quo for tens of millions of people. Spurred by a forced period of self reflection, it’s no surprise that folks aren’t willing to come…
