Trends in the Business World

I know nothing about the business end of the business world, but have noticed an odd trend during the last few years. From what I've seen, it covers "in-person" companies and companies which operate online as well. Perhaps someone can fill me in on how widespread this is, and how anyone could possibly think it is positive for anyone concerned.

My first experience was in this particular locale, listening to people talk about their job situations. The companies they worked for had the habit of hiring many, many more people than they actually needed, thus making it impossible for a person who was hired for a "full-time job" to work full time. Instead of working shifts, they work "hours" which consistently change. I have seen numerous drawbacks to this policy, on both the sides of the companies and their employees. On the employees' side, adults often find themselves in the position of having no choice but to have roommates, are unable to make ends meet, and are unable to adequately budget either their money or their time. On the companies' side, they are not getting the best from the people who work there. Rather than having a legitimate number of employees who take their jobs seriously, they also have a large number who do not. I was told that the reason for this policy is that many people don't take their jobs seriously, don't bother to show up, do poor work, etc., so the companies need to have plenty of extra people available to make up for the slack. Is it only my outdated opinion, or wouldn't companies be better off to retain those who take their work seriously and get rid of those who do not?

I've also seen similar policies in a number of businesses which operate online. When I first addressed this subject on AC a few years ago, someone responded with "Think of it as competition!" In my opinion, "competition" does not make for good business. A company which thrives at its best operates on teamwork-- each person putting forth his or her best efforts on a consistent basis. The "competitive spirit" of trying to beat out other people or step on other people to gain work or recognition doesn't cut it. At its worst, when people realize that they are expendable, and that their work isn't really valued, their incentive to consistently produce at the highest quality is minimized.

I honestly fail to see how anyone thinks that either businesses or employees benefit from this. When employees who take their jobs seriously are consistently in competition with those who don't, they often find themselves being penalized for the lower standards of the few. I'd think that those who are in charge of the businesses also get a raw deal-- instead of dealing with legitimate workers, they need to sift through those who really don't care about the job and don't care if their work is up to par or not.

Again, I know nothing about the business world, but it would seem more sensible to hire and retain people who have the desire to do the job well and right, and simply dismiss those who are only in it for the joyride. This would make much more sense than having huge pools of employees where the workforce is all about competition and the chaos which goes along with it.