Mike Rowe explains why more workers are 'quietly quitting' | Brian Kilmeade Show 

It's simple really, American workers have finally decided to give back to their employers exactly what they have been receiving...... the bare minimum.

We’re tired of being overworked overtaxed and underpaid. It’s that simple.

Workers are finally giving their employers the same amount of respect they've been given over the years and it's a beautiful thing. Turnaround is fair play

I learned that being loyal to a job is a good way to get nowhere fast. I work for whoever pays the most and irritates me the least. Loyalty doesn't put food on the table anymore

The concept of "quiet quitting" reminds of the old Soviet joke "We pretend to work; and they pretend to pay us."

I remember learning a hard lesson. I worked for a company for 7 years and I asked if I could have sundays off because I had no one to watch my kids. They denied it and told me I’d have to quit. We’re just a number at the end of the day unless you’re in corporate they don’t care.

I think Mike Rowe has diagnosed half the problem. Yes workers are less motivated but also companies do not treat employees as well as they use to. There is no loyalty on either sise and that is the true problem.

"Quiet Quitting" has always existed. Thirty years ago I had a class in college titled "Some People Quit and Leave, Some People Quit and Stay".

I'm 41. I've worked in manufacturing/ warehouse, most of my working life. It's not one thing causing people to leave the workforce, it's a multitude. We're overworked, and underpaid. Breaks have gotten shorter, completely disappeared in some cases. 401k's are to market dependent to be worth anything, especially in todays climate. Insurance is usually expensive and doesn't cover enough to justify the cost. I've had companies running me 80 hours a week straight for months. Who wants that? I'm a father, and now a grandfather, I don't want to spend 12, 13 hours a day enriching someone else, while I get to miss out on what enriches me. Companies take advantage of their workers, have been for years. It gets old, and kids grow up watching it happen to their parents..... and then what? We expect them to grow up and want to endure the same? That's absurd. The corporations have done this to themselves, and I for one have no sympathy for them. I mean, there was a time when a man could go to work, his wife stayed home, and he made enough to support his family, live a decent middle class life......... now both parents work, and people struggle to obtain, and or, maintain a middle class life. The people, the workers, didn't do that, the corporations did. Oh, plus, we keep bumping the retirement age up, because apparently working up until you actually die is expected now..................

The work ethic went out the door when the ability to become successful and retire went out the window.

Wall Street pitched so-called quality stocks with high profitability and low debt, as a kind of insurance against whatever the economy might throw at you. Quality stocks have underperformed the S&P500 this year, My $400k portfolio is down by approximately 20 %, any recommendations to scale up my ROI before retirement will be highly appreciated.

I totally respect the younger generation for their view of work: they’ve witnessed Gen-x and boomers break their backs for ungrateful corporations that just dump on them.

I spent 23 years at my last job. Started at the lowest rung and worked my way up. Worked nights, weekends, holidays, got called on my days off, did a good job for the company. After those 23 years of wacky schedules and mediocre pay, I left. And other than my direct coworkers, no one at the corporate level cared. Im a big believer in hard work and loyalty, but I found out the hard way we’re all just a body and when we leave, another body will take our place. So work hard and be a good worker, but when an opportunity comes along that will better your situation, go for it.

The corporate mentality has created unhappy employees by creating an unhappy work place. I’m 62 and self employed. The day after I graduated high school I went to work full time for a small company. Everyone was treated like family. I worked there for over 28 years. I left after the owner let outside management come in. The job was no longer a place I enjoyed going to every day. This is what’s happened across the country, small business’s being bought out by large corporations that only care about the numbers, not the employees.

Getting ahead is all about who you know, not what you know or how hard you work.

I wish that I could live in the same world as these guys.

You wanna know why people don't want to work anymore? It's because on an average wage, for the first time in modern history, we can't be home owners, we can't have more than one kid, we can't have a cottage or a getaway cabin, or own any land for ourselves. We work to rent, we work to lease, we work to subscribe; we work for the privilege of living to see another day, all the while the profit margin of our bosses goes through the roof and the income gap continues to grow by the year. We own nothing, and we're not happy. My dad worked an average job and owned a house by the time he was 25, with two kids before he was 30 and a stay at home wife to raise their kids properly. Today, in the same city, I'd need to be in the top 10% to have what he and nearly everyone else had. The economy is being destroyed, the family is being destroyed, and society is being destroyed as a result.

When companies hire new employees at a much higher rate than they pay their faithful employees that made the company prosperous, it does not instill a good atmosphere for all.

People are quitting because it’s crazy to want to work in jobs where favoritism and nepotism makes it impossible for a lot of people to promote let alone thrive

Yes I quit my job as an RN last two years ago after almost 18 years in the field. It was not an easy decision, but life is too short to dread going to work everyday. No amount of money can buy real happiness, but friends I'm not asking you to resign from your job or abandon your business but be wise!

After 30+ years busting my backside and going above and beyond at my job I came to realize this. If you are a hard worker the boss will keep pilling work on you instead of a slacker. The boss knows the job will get done on time, with good results, and no supervision. If he has to deal with a slacker then the boss has to put effort in to make sure it's done right and on time. I just got sick of seeing slackers not being asked to do anything or have anything expected of them because management is lazy. They get paid the same as I do but I have to do twice the work.

In the last 10 years, I’ve worked for a fortune 300 company. Currently a store manager. I can tell you right now, it’s never enough for these corporation. The push for more and more never stops and it feels like it’s never enough. It gets to the point where you get burnt out and you lose that “desire to wanna work”.

I'm Gen X, had my first job at 12 and started with great work ethics. I always gave 110% and went above and beyond. I'm here to tell ya it doesn't matter. Go to work with a poker mindset, never show em your hand. if you go the extra mile the corporate mind will just want more of the same and when you make too much money well adios. You will almost never find a company these days that will appreciate you. The best you can do is find something you like doing.

I'm nearing standard retirement age and I've worked for several companies through the years. One thing I learned early on is life is to short to work with jerks. I was fortunate that I got in with a good company that cared about employees and treated us all well. Then we were bought by a much larger corporation. Salaries were higher, but the company didn't care about employees and it quickly became an unhappy place. In the years since I've managed to find good companies and know enough to leave if the company stopped caring. But it's getting harder and harder to find those good places. I look at the young folk coming out of college with decades in the work force ahead of them. I hope they have the opportunities I have had but I'm not overly hopeful. And it's such a shame. Everybody loses when companies can't see further than next quarter's balance sheet.

We used to feel like we were working towards something...a home, family a good life. That doesn't seem possible to many anymore. Why work hard if you will have nothing to show for it?

Anyone who has EVER been to the DMV knows "quiet quitting" is not new by any means.

Why would intelligent people purposefully allow near-enslavement of self for the betterment of billionaires if there are other options?

I had a job before where every time you gave 110%, %110 became the new %100. Everyone went above and beyond maybe two or three times, realized that all that did was get them more work for the same pay, then did exactly what was expected of them and nothing more from then on. I think that is the main problem nowadays, once managers see a person can do something, even if its way above and beyond their job requirements, they expect nothing less than that non-stop, even if that worker is burning out. I love Mike Rowe, but I feel this is rather out of touch with what the reality is for a lot of people stuck in jobs with crappy management and little prospect for advancement.

"The reason they call it the American Dream is because you have to be asleep to believe it." George Carlin

I'm retired worked in a trade 39 years. 5 different companies. 4 states. Each and every time once the company reached a certain sales level it was sold to investors. They borrowed the money from Wall St. In less than a year hundreds of people were layed off. Stripped the company off there sales. And shut each plant down. All in the name of greed. There is no such thing as loyalty anymore. I was very fortunate to be at craftsman level. I could go anywhere. But the hundreds of others that were put on the street had kids and all that goes with that. Could not move. I retired at 55. I was done with all the greed. Never trust anyone in the corporate world. Always live within your means. And be prepared. Good luck.

And those of us that WANT to work and do good things... we are taken advantage of and companies treat us like crap. All the other lazy employees eat at us, and mock us, so we are literally chased off.

When you work hard for years and continually get a 2% salary raise while inflation is 3-4x that amount, of course people are going to start doing the bare minimum. The employers have been giving us the bare minimum for years

Young people don't want to work: "Entry level job , 10 years experience needed pays less than your rent"

Problem I see is I personally know people who work hard and sacrifice for the company they work for and get treated like garbage. People are tired of living at the work place and not being able to enjoy life, you need a healthy balance of work and personal time. Most people are not getting that, hopefully this all makes sense.

Every time in recorded history that the wealth gap grew to this level, there was a revolution of some kind.

I've worked hard my whole life for nothing. I am 40 and homeless. Don't fall for it. The corporations will use you and spit you out.

As someone who works for a small office, I take pride in my work. But as people in this small office retire, they are not hiring new employees to replace them, they just dole out their job to the remaining employees without added compensation. This is where part of the problem lies.

They're missing the whole point. The point is; - no I won't answer my phone past business hours unless you're paying me. - no I won't come in on my days off, due to poor planning or failed procedures. - no I won't do my job and someone else's because you want to save on labor. Unless you want to pay me my rate plus the rate of the job you're having me cover. - no I won't put my life on hold to be "on call" and get nothing for doing that. - I WILL fulfill my side of the bargain for the pay we agreed on. I will do nothing more, and nothing less. Should you want more, I expect more pay. I've worked my way up to a Plant Manager (salary) position for a fairly big company. I was paid well, but not close to what my predecessors made. I figured, I would take that pay now, as I am young and need experience under my belt. Nonetheless, I lost friends and missed many family events in order to move up. After I was promoted, I received so many calls at night due to machines breaking that I had to sleep on my couch so as to not wake my wife. 9/10 times I would have to get dressed to go to the plant at 2 or 3 am to help the third shift. Worse, I still had to do my 9am to 6pm shift even if I worked 2am to 7am to get production moving. I felt sick asking people to come in on their weekends to run production, because of machine failure. So I figured if I could come in, and get the place running faster, I would reduce the OT needed from my employees. I asked for capital expenditure to fix the machines, and I got told no. One weekend - the main machine broke, I stayed 54 hours straight (not seeing daylight outside of the plant) to help get this machine up and going. I did take a two-hour nap during that time. I tried the "hustle culture", but it does not work. I expressed to my superiors (VPs), after 4 years, that I needed to stop getting calls at night and coming in on weekends, as I wanted to return to school for a higher degree. "oh yeah go ahead and get more maintenance guys, we'll get you an assistant manager". Seven months later, no budget increase for maintenance personnel or an assistant manager. I quit. I got the response on my exit interview: "oh, we forgot you wanted to go back to school" Now they are dealing with the phone calls at 3 am. They are dealing with insane employee turnover rates. People are tired of being asked to do more when the company won't themselves.

I once worked for a small company. I was employee 3 and employee 2 had left. The owner kept promising to send me for more training and talked about giving me a small piece of the company. I worked hard, put in long hours to get the job done, and went over and above. None of those good things happened. He laid me off and hired his brother. The company grew and grew. The last that I could find numbers, he was making about $3.5 million a year.

The problem I have found is that companies embrace mediocrity and attack, suppress, and fire those who excel, who have exceptional work ethics, who want to help the company excel, who strive to continually learn new things while also having a substantial knowledge base, who have lots of experience, who have outstanding customer service skills, and who even get along with fellow employees. This is supremely frustrating for those of us who WANT to work, but our genuine efforts mean nothing to companies who are content with being average and fearful of excelling. Self-employment is so much more worthwhile!

Another contributing factor is that employers expect 16 hours of work done in a 8 hour day. Constantly working overtime as a permanent solution for the lack of staff.

People are tired of going above and beyond everyday for their employer and not be compensated.we are all tired of being taken advantage of

Man, I wish I had a nice job so I could also complain about people not wanting to work a job for 40+ hours a week to barely afford a tiny apartment, a used car, and a fast-food diet to essentially stay alive to pay off the degree that got them the job in the first place.

It's simple. Workers are giving companies what companies have been giving us. The bare minimum.

I used to work for a company as an independent contractor. When I was hired, my contract stated that after working there 12 months, I would receive a $1/hour raise. But 6 months into it, I had to renew my contract, in which they changed the terms. They kept making the ability to earn a raise out of reach, though I had one of the top performance rates of 60,000 employees. Finally, I quit and have been working for a different company that actually appreciates my work. Today, I got an email from my previous company offering me a $2 sign-on bonus if I would come back to them. Yes, you read that right. $2! Wow. So tempting. I don't really think it's employees not wanting to work...we should probably start looking at the companies.

I was born in 83 and couldn't wait to start working. It started working at 13 at my stepfather's hotel getting paid under the table. I'll be 40 next year. Things have changed in the workplace. Almost every job out there pays poorly, well at least the majority of the jobs at the average person can get. On top of that it's become very regimented in almost every field. I started working in sales back in about 2003. I got into the cell phone industry while it was young. Sales used to be about cultivating relationships and I was good at it. People trusted me with a 5-minute conversation and they consistently came back to see me for all their needs. Through the years the cell phone industry decided that this was a waste of time. You're no longer allowed to be you, you're no longer allowed to be a person or to have relationships while at work. You are honestly expected to behave in a very robotic fashion, to have every answer scripted and rehearsed. It makes the work environment a very cold one. No level of performance seems to satisfy the higher-ups. "Hey you broke a sales record this month, that's fantastic. Let's see if you can do 15 more next month." No appreciation for the job accomplished instead they just raised the bar. And if you don't hit the bar next month then you're not putting in 100% of your effort in their eyes. This transition from treating customers like people to treating people like transactions came slowly through the next two decades. As far as most companies are concerned there is no such thing as good enough anymore. There is no such thing as surpassing goals because in their eyes there's always room for improvement. It really sucks the soul out of you and you get to the point where you get to hating the customer even though it's not their fault. You get to hating them because just a simple fact that they require service means that you have to put on this facade, it means that you have to manipulate them into purchasing services that they don't need and can't afford, services that typically over promise and under deliver, service that leaves you hanging when you need it most. And even though as an employee you know that the service is trash you are forced to pretend as if it's the greatest thing since sliced bread. I remember being proud of working at the hotel because we strive to make it a better place for our guests. We charged a reasonable rate and didn't try to upsell our customers. We rewarded frequent customers because we knew them personally and not because they signed up for an email advertising list. The youth entering the workforce today just went through two decades of the worst schooling this country has ever produced. And now they're entering into a work environment which doesn't allow them to be human. I'm a conservative who wants to work and who currently has a job so I'm not just some lefty complaining. This is how it actually is nowadays. I honestly don't blame these people for not wanting to work under these conditions anymore.

You can have a healthy work ethic while at the same time not letting your employer exploit you. I think employers have (always) been running a strong -con- campaign trying to disabuse workers of that idea but have pushed things to a point recently where workers are saying "enough!"

Looks like someone was “quietly quitting” when they were setting up that studio..

I work at a FedEx ground warehouse, and they give out “worker appreciation awards” every month that you can turn into literally FedEx merch. So the hardest workers here get a cool looking hat. Wow so rewarding. Yet everyday I’m doing the work of three people, loading three trucks at once. We are so understaffed that it’s taking a toll on my body. So I’m done.

Nope. Sorry. It's more like people are tired of the bullying, the harassment, the childish immature coworkers, the Corporations having almost total control over your life. The threats of being fired for being just a minute late. It's just like a bad relationship. If you can leave and find someone or something better, you will...

Where I live the average cost of a one bedroom to rent is $1275. Minimum wage is $13.50. Take home pay on that is $1,464 a month. Who wants to participate in that bs? I'd live with my parents as well and play video games.

It's already been said here, but my experience with going above and beyond is that all it does is make people expect more from you

57 years old...huge work ethic, driven for results, professional police, educated and experienced investigator...suddenly replaced by inexperienced newbies that fit the diversity equity and inclusion squads goal. Take the wind out of the sails much? Why put up with it? Retire.

Loyalty goes both ways. Employees in modern time are expendables. You work like a dog, make sacrifice to your own family and your health. All for what? Companies to make a record breaking profits? CEOs to gets huge bonuses, so that they can buy another mansion and go on a luxurious vacation? and you get discard like a piece of 💩when your service is no longer required? Nowadays, you don't grow with a company that you work for. Instead, company sucks your life dry while pretending to be care, spits you out, then look for a next victim.

You guys are spot on. No loan forgiveness. While you are at it, no tax loopholes. People that pay taxes should not have to pick up the tab for tax cheats.

As a single father of 4, one recommendation that I have for young people regardless of gender is this: Do not conceive more children than you can raise solely on your sole income. If you choose otherwise, just be prepared that you may have children that you cannot afford to feed.

I work for a large food manufacturer, been there almost 20 years now. 20 Years ago we had production bonuses, we had safety bonuses, we had yearly raises, we had Blue Shield/Blue Cross Health Insurance, We had a 401k that the company matched, we had a 40 work week with optional overtime, we had a training program for new employees, we even had monthly employee appreciation luncheons, we had Christmas Bonuses.... Today we have a 60 hour work week plus mandatory overtime, no raises, no company match to our 401k, Obama-care Insurance with a $10,000 deductible, no Christmas Bonus, No safety bonus, No production Bonus, No training, no employee appreciation lunches... Our profits are higher than ever, but the company no longer appreciates or invests in its workers.. so no one wants to work there, its become a sick joke revolving door and management is willfully ignorant of how they treat employees has a direct bearing on employee retention.

This ignores the decay of the corporate structure. Employees are less taken care of and more demanded of than ever before. Pensions are down, healthcare is down and demands are up

It's one thing to say a person should work hard and care about the quality of their work. It's another to expect a person to sacrifice their family, their health, and any other part of their personal life to be considered a "good worker". Work-life balance is about having both work life and personal life be healthy and thriving. And you can't just say that I should make my work more a part of who I am and things will be better because time spent working is highly exclusive. If I am concentrated on my work, I am taking away from the time and energy I can give to my wife and family, to the care of my home, to the care of my health, to the enrichment of my mind, and to many other things. It's called work-life balance for a reason - because it is meant to provide the proper apportionment of time and energy to both work and personal life, to create a balance between them.

Finding a good job is difficult to come by these days, and at the same time, good employees are also difficult to come by. For non college educated people, I have a few tips: stay away from dead end, fly by night proprietorship and partnership. Only hire on to corporations. Always keep your options open, and grade your employer as much as they grade you. Know your boundaries, and always have respect for yourself.

Management ruined the best job I ever had. They coddled those that didn't do their job and harassed those that did. I put in 90+ hours a week for them for 4 years. I'm now 57 and on a medical pension. Letting go of my work ethics was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do mentally.

I quit going above and beyond because there is no benefit to it. It doesn't lead to promotion, it just leads to abuse anymore.

No we’re tired of working hard, thinking of ideas to improve efficiency, first in last out, putting myself through school, being the best performer and still not getting paid enough to actually enjoy my life and move out of my parents

2 fulltime jobs won't allow you to live indoors!

If one employee works hard and another employee hardly works and they both get paid the same, then YOU can be the one that works hard and I'll play on my phone all day. If I work hard and show initiative only for the lazy bafoon to get the promotion, then I'm not working hard anymore. If I have to stay late so the boss can take all the credit and get a nice bonus, then I'm not working hard anymore. If I get yelled at for taking a bathroom break, then I'm not working hard anymore. If employees get laid off while management get raises, then I'm not working hard anymore. There are a lot of reasons why people don't want to work anymore and laziness isn't necessarily at the top of that list. Treat people right, pay them fairly, reward hard work, fire the deadbeats, quit micromanaging every aspect of their day, and maybe things will change. In short, start valuing hard work and people will start working hard.

There is no light at the end of the tunnel in todays work. Housing, Cost of living and the opportunity to raise a family is so far out of reach these days it is defeating

People are fed up with the disrespect the employers are giving to their workers

It’s because we’re told to do more tasks for less (inflation) pay. We grew up seeing parents work hard, “go above and beyond” - then laid off because stock traders risked too much. Then traders got a bailout and our parents got a divorce.

When the pigs took over the farm, Boxer, the hard working horse, never stopped working for the farm. He worked day and night until one rainy day as he was working he slipped and got himself hurt and was unable to work for the farm anymore. After years of loyalty and hard work and motivating the other farm animals, the pigs decided to turn Boxer in... to the glue factories.

In my 11 years at my job I've seen people come in and work hard, get no rewards other than management knowing that "this is the guy I delegate my tasks to." The task list for everyone keeps expanding but they pay doesn't. The task list for the hard workers REALLY expands and the pay still doesn't. You know the only time pay really increased? When there was a hiring crisis.

When we were kids and teens be felt blessed to have any kind of paying work. Before we had jobs we would collect returnable pop bottles, rake yards, baby sitting, pulled weeds and mow grass. There was no such thing as credit cards to buy now and the pay later mentality. After we could prove ourselves dependable we got newspaper delivery routes. In short, a days work for a days pay.

Mike has never done manual labor for anything more than a TV show

It’s so funny how they think that it’s because people don’t want to work it’s because people are sick of being treated like crap

When you create a society where you have no guarentee of owning a house no matter how small no matter how hard you work and your money is inflated away no wonder young people aren't engaged.

I can tell what happened..I am 70 years old..I have done all types of jobs since I was 15..waitressing, bartending, working hospitals in respiratory therapy, as an EMT. More jobs also..I was always treated very well on every job..I am a hard worker and still am..my management has been in a decline over the last 15 or 20 years..no pat on the backs no thank you for working overtime..NOTHING..No smiles at work anymore..young people at work no are surly and rude..they think their job is beneath them.They would rather be at home playing video games all day..I am glad I am old and will die probably in the next 10 or 15 years..this world is a friggin mess 😢

I don't understand the older generation, they do seem to want us to work like we're not human.

Former factory worker here...”IF YOU DONT LIKE IT YOU CAN LEAVE AND NOT COME BACK”. We were told this several times a week during the morning meetings. But the reason they can’t keep people is “laziness” and “people don’t wanna work”. They talked to people like dogs

In America today, when everyone gets a participation award, and the least demand "equity", the hardest, most productive workers are rewarded with MORE WORK!

Do real quitting. This country is going down. Why drag it out?

As a Sheet Metal worker that has been doing this for 40 years, in the Union and having to get out because I don't kiss but, but finding out no matter what kind of shop, there is the picking order, now saying this no matter how hard you work, and show them how much you know, it's not how much you know it's how much you blow.

I think the biggest problem is that we no longer feel that we have anything to work for.

It's because hard work, exceeding the metrics for your role, being reliable, working late, going above and beyond, doesn't turn into bigger raises and or bonuses for a lot of people. You just end up being someone taken advantage of while the money goes to others for one reason or another. People are sick of it.

Never thought I'd see Mike Rowe this disconnected. Such a shame.

I've over achieved, worked beyond what my job entails for decades. I've only made other people rich and built a paycheck to paycheck life for myself. Now THAT'S my fault, I didn't have the guts to go into business for myself. But I'm done killing myself for someone else. I LOVE Mike Rowe, respect his values but he doesn't actually work blue collar, he does bring awareness to it. But he doesn't work in the trades. But he doesn't live the be pressure to get it done, then hurriedly going to the next "get it done". People quiet quiting, go for it, don't commit so much that you are then exploited.

The younger generation watched their moms and dads work late, skip vacations, all go into work sick all their lives. Still, their parents struggle to save for retirement, get a promotion, and pay off their house. Their kids watched and learned how businesses and bosses treat their employees. Why break their back just to struggle the same way? At least they can take a vacation and spend time with family. Nobody on their deathbed wished they worked more.

Loyalty in companies is One Way ...from the bottom up. Workers are just items to be used by management and then throw out, to get more.

I've always taken pride in my work, and I don't think people are taught that anymore!!!

The first thing employers do to cut costs is cut employees. So the work is immediately piled on the employees left. You reach a point where all that additional work destroys you. It has been proven that employees are not the expense that a company should cut back on. The longer you overwork your employees, especially without compensation, the worse it will be for your company.

Most places now, take advantage of hard workers. It’s now at the point, where hard work is exploited, not rewarded, so do the bare minimum, for the most return. I work at a grocery store, and me, plus several others have stepped down to work easier positions. The people in charge, would keep adding more and more work, and then punish us, when it became to much. It’s not the person, it’s the out of touch leaders, making life hell for common employees.

We are seeing a lack of motivation for several reasons, but biggest is this: When people see no future in something they quit it. When there is no reward {or far too little} they give up. Living expenses are outpacing allot of people's income so they begin to question why they are wasting their lives for nothing or somebody else. People are getting priced right out of things their parents took for granted. In some cases it is a moral character flaw but for many it isn't.

So here's a problem that I see...people have 1 life and you expect them to spend EVERY waking hour working for money. You said people don't want to come to work early and stay late, no they don't because they grew up with parents that did that and they realized that living is more important than money. Living the one life you have doing what makes you happy is a great outlook; maybe that $15 isn't worth missing out on life.

I just knew for a fact that the dynamic of people waking up and going to work after Covid hit off would simply never be the same. If your job becomes “non essential” during a pandemic, it simply kills your motivation entirely.

Minimum wage buys the company minimum effort from the employee. Stop trying to convince people to do more than they are paid to do. These companies abuse employees.

Work is no longer worthwhile for many. If you cannot live even a basic decent life on current salary levels, why bother?

I work for a global company for 10 years. I chipped in every time when everyone was quitting, thinking I could help out and to work as much overtime as possible. I realized my worth when I saw a new employee's pay stub and realize he was being paid more than me. I now moved 2 time to different companies and now im making 3 times the pay and way less stressed. It would take me atleast 18 years of working to get where I am today if I stayed. My advice to any young person today is loyalty doesn't pay anything! My father and my grandfather who worked at the same company for all there lives said loyalty would benefit me and breaking your back will prove your worth, but thats false. You are nothing but cheap labor, so learn what you can and move on! POWER TO THE WORKERS!!! (as a blue coller worker)

Dear Mike,Lets think about the boomers were treated in the workforce. We worked hard and had to endure a lot of disrespect from the companies we worked for. If a younger generation notices our fate maybe that generation is smarter than we think. I will not bother to quote Rowe's comments on the health insurance crisis.

As an old retired guy I can tell you that the nature of work has changed. The nature of corporate America has changed. I worked for a company for a total of 24 years (with a 10 year break) When I started the company founders still ran the business and employees were considered to be the companies most valuable asset. At the end of my tour, the company was going through MBAs for CEO like clockwork. The jobs had changed from a cooperative atmosphere where employees were mentored to succeed and contribute to cogs in a machine that was controlled by edicts from above etched in rigid policies and regimented processes whether they fit the situation or not. When I left from my final tour, I and a few thousand others were now considered excess fixed cost overhead. I had a VP confide that he had 90 days to turn around our operation using failing processes he was not embowed to change. Several VPs cycled through. I was lucky as I was able to work in a non defined position of solving technical problems all over the floor and I was able to make a notable impact on the productivity of the operation. I kept a low profile and ignored the rules. From this position I was able to find job satisfaction. However, most of the other positions resembled trained animals in a circus act. I think most jobs have become over defined, over supervised, and over punished. I had my own company for a few years and generally all it took to motivate an employee was to be fair and say a few kind words.

When corporate America quits cutting vacations and pension, etc., then people will take pride in their jobs. Corporate America has been cutting benefits, making record profits, and understaffing for years. People are tired of it.

They don't take into account that the workday is 2-3 hours longer than our parents generation and our cost of living is double, and wages are almost the same.

MIKE ROW... VOCAL CORDS OF GOLD FOR NARRATION!!!