Pandemic Paycheck

[Amish Country]

Hi All

Is the business sector currently taking into consideration that pay for workers willing to come in to work during a pandemic may be triple or quadruple what workers are currently earning?

This is simple supply and demand economics. Fewer workers willing to work the higher the demand for those that are. The more business is going to have to pay for them. What other incentives will businesses have to offer during a pandemic? Will business be able to offer N95 masks, gloves, antivirals, supplies at work so employees can ?Shelter in Place? at work and continue production? If employers have not stockpiled supplies prior to the pandemic hitting then it will probably be too late for them to catch up afterward.

What other incentives can businesses offer employees to stay on the job? Cash, assets, services? Granted some employees will be forced by circumstance to come in because they have run out of supplies. This may cut across all income brackets of society. This could include those living in the upscale neighborhoods that eat out all the time and have little or no stored food as well as the poor. Who is going to be the employer of choice in an economy where food and supply costs are shooting through the roof? Loyalty to one?s work place may not be enough to feed the family.

There was a book (sorry I forgot the title) about the 1793(?) yellow fever epidemic in Philadelphia which mentioned how the cost of workers and supplies rose during the epidemic(s). Yes, technology has changed since then and there has been medical advancements but the human condition has not changed. While there may be some (a very small minority who are unacquainted with history or human nature) that reject the idea of increased labor costs and price gouging occurring during a pandemic, not to anticipate them would, I believe, be truly short sighted and naive.

I believe this trend could continue until the ?perceived risk? has passed. This maybe sometime after the pandemic has actually concluded.

While I have seen articles on expected 40% worker absenteeism and protecting customers I have seen nothing on this topic so I offer it here for discussion.

 

[hawkeye]

Re: Pandemic Paycheck

Very interesting topic. However, potential employees should be careful not to demand too high of pay as companies will already be teetering on the brink of financial bankruptcy / collapse.

 

[sharon sanders]

Re: Pandemic Paycheck

Yes, supply and demand will be the order of the day. It is an interesting exercise to determine the overall effect. Many employees will lose their jobs in certain industries and will need to work in new areas of employment. This may keep the labor costs steady as employees move from one sector to another.

 

[Nancy]

Re: Pandemic Paycheck

For example, the Food Marketing Institute notes that restaurant workers might logically fill in for missing grocery business workers since restaurants are likely to be hard hit (though I suppose many will try to offer more take-out).

Link to Food Marketing Institute's pandemic planning advice document in which this is discussed:

http://www.fmi.org/foodsafety/Avian_Influenzs_March_2006.pdf

 

[Amish Country]

Re: Pandemic Paycheck

For example, the Food Marketing Institute notes that restaurant workers might logically fill in for missing grocery business workers since restaurants are likely to be hard hit (though I suppose many will try to offer more take-out).

Thank you for your reply. I agree that many restaurant workers will probably be able to fill in for missing grocery workers. However, what about skilled labor and professionals? Plumbers, electricians, and line men will be harder to replace. Not to mention the terrible work load that will be put on health care providers.

It would be hard to expect some one used to flipping burgers to be able to correctly install a pneumatic gage on a nuclear reactor, install a electronic transfer fuse box or restore electricity and communications to a neighborhood with downed power and phone lines.

Some people may be more than happy to charge what ever the market will bare. As to employees charging more in wages than the employer can afford I seem to remember a case study (think it was a lighting fixture company) where labor did just that and the plant did not reopen. History has a habit of repeating.

With all the layoffs, reorganizations, plant closures, benefit cuts, pay cuts and downsizing employee loyalty may now be history. With many employers trying to attract a shirking labor pool there may be some problems.