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The Rise of BS Jobs

Entry 2267, on 2023-04-03 at 16:06:04 (Rating 3, Comments)

At the moment unemployment is very low, presumably meaning most people are working, although the exact definition of the word "unemployment" does open the claim to some uncertainty. Low unemployment is good, in general, and I think most people would agree with that, but is that really true?

A common theme I have noticed in news reports from recent months is the lack of people working in important roles, in both high profile and "lesser" work.

For example, just this morning, items on Radio New Zealand talked about the lack of nurses in the country and how many were moving to Australia where they could make double the salary they are paid here.

The increased income was one obvious reason for this, but the work conditions also were a factor, because staffing is so low here, that nurses have to work long hours, leading to even more of them "burning out", then leaving, and initiating a nasty positive feedback loop of: work too hard, burn out, leave, less staff leading to the remainder having to work too hard.

And also this morning, I heard that the NZ military are so low on staff that they have trouble finding people to operate their ships and aircraft in emergencies. An inappropriate type of aircraft (a Hercules instead of an Orion) was used on a search and rescue operation, and the fleet of Orions was retired early because there just weren't enough skilled people to fly them.

The military recently paid their staff a $10,000 bonus and are paying another one soon, but even this hasn't stopped the excessive number of them leaving.

And then there is the situation with bus drivers. Many bus services are being cancelled in multiple locations around the country because there aren't enough drivers. In a situation where the government is encouraging people to use public transport instead of private cars, this seems doubly unfortunate.

Whether you think more public transport is a good idea or not, for you personally, at last it gets some vehicles off the roads leading to less congestion for those who choose to continue to drive.

Finally, today, there are reports of a shortage of cancer specialists at our local hospital, leading to treatment being delayed, or people being forced to get treated in other cities which are already overloaded themselves.

Other professions which seem to be short staffed include general practitioners, some levels of teachers, police, prison officers, and vets. Try to get enrolled in a medical practice in many centers and you will have big problems. Try to find a vet open for new customers here and you might be out of luck.

So what's going on? Apparently, most people have a job, but most of them don't seem to be doing anything useful. Is it so easy to get a meaningless job now that people are choosing that option instead of doing something we actually need? Maybe this is the ultimate outcome of a phenomenon I have described for a few years now after reading an article titled "the rise of BS jobs". By some estimates, the number of people doing work we really don't need is about 50% or even more.

I completely agree that what is useful and what is useless involves a partly subjective appraisal of value, but I think there would be broad agreement on this.

Here's how I get this information out of people: I use a thought experiment. Hey, it was good enough for Einstein! Imagine you are creating a community on a desert island, and have to choose who should live there. Now, choose between a doctor and a tax accountant, or a rescue helicopter pilot and a marketing specialist, or a teacher and a middle manager. Which would you choose? I know the skills which are valuable on an island, and those which are valuable in modern society aren't the same, but I think this thought experiment does reveal some underlying truth.

Imagine living on an island full of tax accountants, marketing specialist, and middle managers. Not a pleasant thought, is it? Hey, I've got nothing against those professions... actually, yes, I have. But even if you accept the legitimacy of jobs like that, having them in preference to doctors, rescue pilots, and teachers doesn't seem quite right, does it?

So what's going on here? Why does our society here in New Zealand, and in other western countries if the reports I hear are correct, not have more of those more valued members?

Maybe the amount of training required is just too much. Maybe the work conditions are not pleasant, or maybe we don't pay them enough. I suspect it is all of those things to some extent, but for many of these groups, work conditions are the primary problem. According to surveys, most people would substitute more money for greater autonomy, more flexible working hours, and other non-monetary benefits.

Maybe it's about time we tried to make working conditions better for workers, but do it by asking the workers what they want, instead of imposing "better" conditions on them through management fiat. And at the same time, make training for these essential roles a bit easier. It's tough to know what is worse: no doctor, or a doctor who might be of a slightly lesser skill level, but I suspect none at all is worse than some we might get if the level of training was lessened slightly.

I would also like to see our immigration settings adjusted. If a doctor, vet, or bus driver from a respected western country, like the US, most of Europe, or Australia, wants to live in New Zealand, let them in, no questions asked (apart from confirming their credentials and work experience). I know there have been some efforts in this direction, but they seem to be mired in bureaucracy, which is exactly what many people want to avoid.

So the government should forget about being such a bunch of control freaks, and just try to make life better for everyone. That's the only way we will reverse this slide into a society full of useless people. One things for sure: we're doing something wrong right now, and something needs to change to reverse the rise of BS jobs.

Comment 1 (7411) by Anonymous on 2023-04-03 at 16:30:39:

I know what everyone is doing... they are all working in the government bureaucracy (15,000 more since Labour took over) or as high paid consultants for Jacinda and now Hipkins.

Comment 2 (7412) by OJB on 2023-04-03 at 17:01:35:

Well, exactly. That is just the sort of thing I was suggesting.

Comment 3 (7413) by OJB on 2023-04-04 at 14:51:38:

Today, I read this, in a report from the Taxpayer's Union...

Since 2017, the frontline workforce for social services, health, and education has increased by 24.6% with nurse numbers up only 18.3% while doctors are up only 19.2%. In the same period, however, the number of managers rocketed up by a staggering 43.4%. Who exactly are these people managing?

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