"Why Don't You Just Get a Job?"

Unemployment numbers fluctuate. One day things look bleak, and the next, there is optimism. One thing is certain...behind the statistics, everyday people are walking paths of despair. Many of these people were already among the "working poor"- living one paycheck away from being homeless and hungry. Then, the nightmare they feared, came true- they sank deeper. Many lost their jobs with no warning or severance pay. For some, poverty is no longer an isolated incident - it has become a way of life. Being $10.00 short for the rent, having the car break down for the third time in months, or facing utility shut-offs can certainly create stress. Stress can be a pre-cursor to malnutrition, panic/anxiety, continuous fear, desperation, substance abuse, heart attack or stroke, sleeping disturbances and many mental health issues. It is an emotionally exhausting way to live. So people tell these folks to just put an end to it. In other words, just get a job!

Employed skeptics are often the first to scoff at people who have lost their jobs due to the economy. They boast, "There are jobs out there. I could go out today and get one." They then suggest the local fast food restaurant. The challenge here is that a job cannot pay merely a wage, it has to pay a living wage. Employees who report to work fatigued from being up all night-worrying about how they will pay their escalating bills, do not perform at their best. It is a sure bet that the folks who claim to know where the jobs are, have never worked two jobs in what is a typical 12 hour work day, and then arrived home to an eviction notice!

Today in Anytown, U.S.A., a brilliant songwriter is doing telephone soliciting for minimum wage. In a warehouse, a once famed guitarist drives a forklift. An artist will go home tonight and create her masterpiece after she is done giving 20 baths as a Nurse's Aid. A Social Worker may deliver your pizza this evening after you phone in your order. People do what they must to support their families and survive. We would certainly not expect anything less. Still, there is a problem with expecting people to just go out and accept any job. A creative person who has spent his entire life perfecting his craft- what he believes to be a "gift from God," dies a slow, internal death. It can be the start of a spiral into depression and feelings of hopelessness. Money is important but so is stable mental health.

Still, most stuck, disrespected employees in mindless jobs are smart enough to know they have to play the game. So, they fake interest to the boss. They smile, pretend to have energy and act as though the job is their entire world. Some of these disgruntled, older employees can master their performances to the point of perhaps deserving an Oscar. . Then, they go home and let their passions shine...you know, they do what really matters.

An employer sits in an absurd job interview, telling a woman who is approaching age 60 that the company wants an employee who is eager to "grow with the company." Grow with the company? Is he kidding? This applicant - like many, has probably not only raised a family as a single parent, but worked two jobs while doing it! She has weathered life's greatest triumphs and tragedies - grandchildren, the burial of her spouse, maintained a home, managed household finances, survived Cancer, etc. Sometimes job applicants have co-managed companies with their spouses or managed their own businesses. There is nothing they would love more than to start over in an entry level position! It is the opportunity of a lifetime...helping to build someone else's company and lining the boss' pockets with money! It is just a hunch, but maybe this applicant is secretly exhausted. Still, potential applicants will tell a job interviewer what he or she wants to hear...after all, their families need food and medical attention. Surely, employers cannot complain when they are conned. After all, job interviewers rave about their work environments. They omit the day an employee walked in on two people engaging in a sex act, they keep secret that your job will be to lure customers into the vehicle service center where the Service Advisors will bilk customers by convincing them they need unneeded repairs, and they forget to tell you employees have not had a raise in pay since the first day they walked in the door. Aren't employers also dishing out some of that same workplace manure?

People will be serious about seeking jobs with permanent employers when employers invest in them. The employer's rewards for investing will likely be increased production, team work, enthusiasm, motivation and less calling in sick. Employees need to feel valued. The happiest employees are ones who want to be in the workplace....not ones who watch the clock while collecting their mundane paychecks. Satisfied employees have adequate medical and dental coverage. This affords them peaceful nights of sleep because they can afford medication for their arthritis and high blood pressure. Let's face it, an employer is not going to get a top notch work performance from an employee who has suffered the past 10 days with a raging toothache. The employer does not seem to care that the employee is working with a 101 degree fever. How do employees take care of themselves physically and emotionally when they are given hours just short of full-time, so the employer can avoid paying medical benefits? Then the employer wonders why the company has such a high turnover and absenteeism.

It is often the people who feel the most secure in their jobs who tell a 60 year old man to just go get a job. What these people do not realize is that their jobs could disappear next. It is the 55+ year old women who have worked in customer service their entire lives who now receive rejections telling them they do not even meet the minimum requirements for an entry-level job. Age discrimination? Oh of course not...that's supposed to be against the law, isn't it? So, why do older employees who desperately need to support their families lose job prospects to 23 year old grads with no work histories? A wise employer would not dream of discarding older workers, but would embrace them. For it is these workers who have unsurpassed varieties of skills - they have worked for years to support their families, they offer maturity, they understand the meaning of genuine team work, they can handle rejection, they are not cocky or arrogant, and they have endured and survived more life and growing experiences, than employees half their ages. They have solid, proven track records. In short, they are gems!

Some aging women are now seeing the long term consequences of their work histories. Today, interviewers can surmise because a woman chose continuous low paying jobs throughout her life, that she has a self-esteem issue or lacks confidence. After all, she did not exactly select quality employment positions in the past. They figure they will reel her in on a low wage and she will put up with anything. After all, look at her track record. What they don't know is she had hungry children at home when she accepted those jobs. Should she have waited to land a dream job or take the low wage offered to her because her children were on the verge of starving? It is all about priorities.

Landlords with mundane rental units and employers with entry level jobs are now requiring credit checks. If people had excellent credit ratings/scores, would they really want to live in the run-down, crowded apartment complex in an area known for gang activity? If a potential applicant has been unemployed due to the economy- for a lengthy period of time, wouldn't it be logical to assume that he or she has not been able to meet their financial obligations? It is as if there is an underlying message here that a negative credit score equals a negative person. Marrying the love of your life and watching the union end in divorce or death can create a negative credit score. Losing your job and ultimately losing your home can result in the same. Ditto for a parent involved in a child custody battle, who gave all of their earnings and life savings- even signing over equity in their home, to attorneys to fight for custody of their child. The parent did not want their child to be molested one more time by an abusive parent. The woman who spent every dime desperately trying to save her husband from death due to illness, knows all about negative credit. Compared to the burial of her husband, credit has no significance. Often, it is these negative credit scores, along with unplanned life experiences and the wrinkles on our faces that are indicative of learning and growth. It is still possible to balance an overdrawn bank account with class, self-respect, integrity and courage. We never know what the person beside us has had to endure, that resulted in that negative credit rating. As long as employers continue to demand good credit checks, the unemployment numbers will continue to stay down.

Unemployment is a problem that belongs to all of us. It affects our families, neighborhoods and our mental and physical health. Corporate executives can lose everything when a company fails. They eat at soup kitchens and sleep on the streets.

Do not ever think it could not happen to you. Refuse to be part of the problem and instead, vow to be part of the solution. Within each of us lies the power to make each day a little brighter for those around us. It is such a simple thing to do.

Perhaps we need to get with the program and change with the times! It is time for an attitude adjustment! Today, more respect and compassion are required. Less judgment is mandatory. The "angels on this earth" when unemployment numbers are at an all time high, are everyday people in our communities. They are the ones making the difference. They are comprised of empathizing landlords who cut tenants some slack when they have had crisis or life events that were not budgeted. They are our neighbors who will go the extra mile by fixing extra when they prepare dinner tomorrow evening, and who will take that dinner to the single mother or father in the next block. They may shop the bargains in the local grocery and take a small bag of groceries to an elderly person. They may purchase a prescription for a mother who has lived weeks with a double ear infection because she cannot afford an $800.00 Emergency Room bill. They may install a new battery in a run down car for a friend, sit with a disabled person so the caretaker can have some "me time," take a new parent a box of diapers or offer to drive a friend's car to the gas station to put $5.00 of gas in the tank. No money? Just call someone to say you are thinking of them, you apologize or you forgive...saying I love you is free of charge!

So, how do we have an attitude adjustment? We consider the following:

Being gracious and thankful for blessings

Being more tolerant and respectful of the situations and circumstances of others

Adopting the belief that we are not defined by our circumstances

Understanding that our bank accounts, status, wealth and outer beauty do not define us

Maybe someday, schools who want our telephone numbers for their calling lists, will stop posting phony/spam employment ads that appear to be employers...don't waste our time and we will not waste yours.

Remembering that homeless people or ones who spiraled into poverty still have hearts

Remembering that people in poverty have a pretty good idea what people who act like "snobs" think of them

That people who seem the poorest often are rich and people who seem the richest often are poor

People we meet when we are down and out -through our crisis situations, can be blessings. Perhaps God placed them in our paths for a reason...

We sometimes must become uprooted and have our worlds turned upside down before we become really settled.

A crisis is a turning point and change occurs...often in the form of new opened doors.

Putting into smaller perspective- what appears to be a major problem in this huge world, is helpful.

Prioritizing a list a mile long has saved many people from going insane.

God, prayer, faith, herb tea, a self-composed list of blessings for reflection, loving others, tender words, hugs and the act of being humble, work wonders

Consider doing the following:

If you are a landlord, reduce rents - at least for a short time. Sometimes, being humane and compassionate is more important than dollars and cents. You also may find yourself with a caring, long term tenant which provides stable, cash flow.

Your neighbor or friend may suddenly move in with or marry someone to live more economically, or to obtain medical insurance. This act alone may save their life or prevent their homelessness so try hard to be non-judgmental.

How do we ride out a recession or negative economy? With heaping helpings of kindness, support, compassion and love. Also by supporting our President- whether Democrat or Republican, working together in our communities and as a united nation.

By not telling others to merely go get a job, but by educating ourselves as to why employment is not happening

By passing on to others the kindness that is given us

By sharing with the local food bank and other charities

By not wavering in our faith, but standing rooted in it... after all, without faith and hope, we are doomed!

"Why don't you just get a job?" People will land jobs when 100,000 new jobs per month are introduced into the economy. It is predicted it will require this many jobs to keep the current high unemployment rate steady, and to keep up with new people entering the workforce. With a mandatory three job contacts required each week to obtain unemployment checks, people must apply for any position. There are not many choices so they are forced to apply for jobs in which they are not qualified . Odds are, applicants will not receive responses because of their incapabilities. Also, there are often too many applicants applying for a single job. Job applicants tend to go through the motions of learning from employment and resume writing workshops and preparing for job interviews. This helps the facilitators of these workshops - often state workers, to continue to collect their paychecks. The reality is that if there are not enough jobs, hopeful job seekers will continue on a wild goose chase, for opportunities that do not exist.