The thing most noted about the return to work, is how few are returning to work. And then, how few of those that return actually want to work. I have worked through the entire pandemic with the exception of reduced hours for a few months. Other folks left the job and have yet to return, leaving a big hole in the American workforce.

Retailers such as 7-11’s that usually stay open 24/7 are suddenly closing up during certain hours as they haven’t the employees necessary to keep their doors open. Other retailers are struggling long lines at the checkout stands, again because they lack the necessary employees to handle the task. Has America suddenly become lazy?

Small business Nation-wide have closed their doors. Stores and restaurants that have been in business for many years have given up and closed their doors for good leaving those that they employ jobless. Many of these jobless have discovered that their unemployment benefits coupled with pandemic benefits are making more money than when employed. They may find that sometime in their future they might need these benefits again only to discover that they have exhausted this resource. Unemployment benefits are like the Lottery, You have to play to win.

Bigger business has sent many employees home to work from the comfort of their own homes, many of which do not want to return to their company workspace. While some opf the home workers have maintained satisfactory performance, there are those that lack such quality and perform better with supervision provided in the workplace. Employers have accepted marginal performance during the pandemic, but likely won’t post pandemic.

Our Government has done a “back-ass-wards” in this situation. The Government should be giving those that have worked during the pandemic reward for doing so. Face it, being exposed to the threat of the virus plus actually working while others sat safely at home making more money than you should be commendable and worth something.

Employers anxious to fill vacant work positions are accepting lesser qualified people that are not up to the task at hand leaving others to have to pick up the slack created. What this all leads to is a barren workplace, worked and managed by a skeleton workforce, that ends up doing far more work than they previously had to do, and feeling taken advantage of. Regardless, trying to do your job during this pandemic has been difficult, and it promises to suck post-pandemic.