Modest Proposal : Golden State Firms Need to Try Golden Rule

It recently occurred to me that numbers lie. Take the 8.6% unemployment rate, for example. It really only means that 8.6% of Californians who are ready, willing and able to work are receiving unemployment compensation insurance benefits. But it seems to imply that the other 91.4% are gainfully employed and doing just dandy, thank you. Yet nothing could be further from the truth.

The unemployment rate doesn’t tell the story of the hidden victims of the recession: the miserably employed. All across the state, and in the city of Los Angeles in particular, people are stuck in jobs they hate, putting up with abusive supervisors, punishing hours or scanty compensation because when the job market is this bad, there’s nowhere else to go. Worst of all, some unethical employers take advantage of the fact that their workers have fewer options by demanding more and giving less.

All this contributes to tremendous job-related stress, which can’t be good for business. How productive can workers be when their stomachs ache and they can’t sleep because they spend the better part of their lives in fear?

I know. I used to work for a firm that used the bad economy as an excuse for bullying employees, discouraging use of sick time and personal days, and spreading layoff rumors to keep their workers in line. I saw the vast amount of energy wasted on tears, griping and grievance meetings that might have been better spent attending to the day’s work. Now I’m lucky enough to work for a company that fairly compensates its workers not only with money, but with support, encouragement and fair dealing. There is a spirit of teamwork and company loyalty here that was almost entirely lacking in my previous firm.

I think our state and city leaders should encourage business owners to do everything possible to keep up employee morale: Maintain fair compensation; give yearly bonuses, however small, to show appreciation for those long, hard hours, and reward employees with a smile and a good word for their best work. I bet the payoff in quality and output would help end the cycle of fear and belt-tightening that has powered California’s downward spiral and help make it once again the Golden State.