“Nobody Wants to Work” — But Job Seekers Say the Hiring Process Is the Real Problem

PULSE RADIO 96.1 | THE BEAT OF LAKE COUNTY

The familiar claim that “nobody wants to work anymore” is facing growing pushback from job seekers who say they are applying for jobs — but struggling to make it through increasingly complicated hiring processes.

The frustration is particularly noticeable in retail, where customers can walk into stores and find closed checkout lanes, limited staffing and long self-checkout lines while “Now Hiring” signs remain posted at the entrance.

At the same time, some applicants describe spending weeks trying to land those supposedly available jobs.

Online applications can now involve automated questionnaires and assessments before an applicant ever speaks with a manager. Candidates may then go through multiple interviews and wait weeks for a decision, only to receive a rejection while the same position continues to be advertised.

That disconnect raises a larger question: Is there really a shortage of people willing to work, or has the system designed to hire them become part of the problem?

Automated applicant-tracking systems have become commonplace among large employers, allowing companies to process large numbers of applications more efficiently. But critics argue that heavy reliance on automated screening can also eliminate potentially qualified candidates before a hiring manager gets a chance to consider them.

There are other factors at play. A business displaying a hiring sign does not necessarily mean it is hiring for every shift or position. Employers may need workers with specific availability, maintain listings for anticipated vacancies or continuously collect applications because of high turnover.

For job seekers, however, those distinctions can mean little when they repeatedly see businesses operating short-staffed while their applications are rejected.

The issue also extends beyond whether someone simply “wants to work.” Pay, available hours, scheduling, transportation, childcare and benefits can determine whether a job is realistically workable for an applicant.

What looks from the outside like a worker shortage may therefore be something considerably more complicated: employers looking for a very specific candidate while qualified people looking for work struggle to get through the screening process.

So perhaps the conversation needs to change.

Instead of asking why “nobody wants to work anymore,” businesses and workers may need to ask a different question:

If people need jobs and businesses need people, why has getting hired become so difficult?

Pulse Radio 96.1 — The Beat of Lake County