Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard that now that millions of people have received the vaccine, businesses are reopening left and right.
On the flip side, you have also probably heard that many companies are struggling to fill open positions. You yourself may be looking for a new job, which means that you may have considered taking one of these open positions. However, if other people aren’t taking those jobs, then why should you?
If you have struggled with deciding whether or not to return to work as the pandemic nears its end, follow these tips to determine whether or not it is a good idea for you.
A lot of the jobs that are struggling to fill open positions are jobs that require people to work on the “front lines,” but with pay that does not reflect that risk.
For example, a job posting went viral on social media after a restaurant owner posted a passive-aggressive job posting saying “nobody wants to work.” Someone who was annoyed by the job posting did some research and discovered that the open jobs only paid about $2.50 an hour plus tips.
Furthermore, people have discovered that they are actually making more money receiving Unemployment benefits than they were when they were actually working. The reality is that people are unwilling to take jobs on the frontlines if the pay does not reflect the risk.
It’s not that people are unwilling to work; people are unwilling to work for less than what they need. If your line of work doesn’t follow under this criteria, then you should consider returning.
Before you dive back into your career, you need to ask your boss/potential boss a few questions to make sure that you are making the right decision. Just because your job may not be on the front lines does not mean that you aren’t taking a risk by returning to work.
The first question you need to ask is what new safety precautions have been put in place. A lot of businesses have reduced their employees risk of contracting COVID almost entirely by having them do their job remotely. Others have added temperature takers and COVID monitors to make sure that employees and customers are not entering the business sick, and that once they are in the building, they are following CDC guidelines.
The next question you need to get answered is how has this job adapted to the pandemic. The businesses that have survived the pandemic are ones that changed how they conduct business rather than did the usual. Find out what your job is now doing differently and how it has worked out for them.
You now need to find out what your job will do in the unfortunate event that you do get COVID. You need to make sure that you will get paid sick leave should this happen.
Finally, you need to compare the pros of this job versus staying on Unemployment. Granted there are hardships that come with being on unemployment, but if you are making more money on Unemployment, it’s worth considering saying on it.
If after reading these tips you still don’t know if you should return to work, you probably need to look at your own personal reasons for why you might not want to. For example, your family may really need you to stay at home. You also may have some underlying health concerns that make you more at risk than others.
If you have similar issues, then you should either hold off a bit longer, or look for some remote work opportunities. However, if you think it’s time for you to return to work, then allow us to help. Since you’ve been out of work for awhile, your resume could probably use some assistance.