Most workers are too young to remember the days of corporate paid medical insurance and defined benefit retirement that people could have all of their careers and through retirement. Autoworkers are probably going to lose some of theirs soon. Even Wall Street’s exploitive financial wizards are losing jobs and perks. My heart bleeds.
Not that we can feel really sorry for Wall Street. This writer lost everything twice when an employer was taken over by groups of Wall Street investors. 2 weeks pay doesn’t last long.
Workers over 40 are typically the first to go because they are seen by companies to be the most expensive to retain and insure and support into retirement. Most of us barely feel grown up by that age but it doesn’t matter. Age discrimination laws have not been helpful at all for these workers or even for those older than 50. The risks involved in being an employee no longer seem worth the possible gain. Neither does constant moving seem worth it to families.
Congress has been uncaring at best and aided and abetted the process at worst. Workers are bearing the brunt of the loss of manufacturing and other industries while Congress fiddles, uncaring of what happens to tax payers. What happens when no one has money to pay taxes because they don’t have jobs?
Many people have been forcibly pushed out of corporate life. We decided we had to have a more secure and settled lifestyle even if we had to be self-employed.
Years ago people didn’t want to be self-employed because of the financial risks. But these days a job with any kind of big company is pretty risky. The stresses are incredible. People feel that if they work a hundred hours a week they will be less likely to be laid off, but it makes little difference in reality. Big companies are more likely to lay people off in order to raise their stock price, regardless of whether the worker is working hard or not. Then many corporate workers get transferred frequently and have to move their families, too. Those moves are hard on everyone but they are especially hard on kids. The benefits of being an employee have eroded so much that it is becoming less and less attractive.
Medical coverage is no longer much better for employees than it is for independent and/or self-employed people. You have a lot more choices you can control if you pay for your medical coverage yourself. Even if you are an employee, you have a good thing if you keep a continuous medical policy that breaks your employer’s hold on you in the event of a boss who is a jerk or abusive. Too many bosses and even companies don’t treat employees very well. The stresses get to them too and they get cranky.
So wake up and smell the roses. The next time you are updating your resume or searching for jobs online, stop and think. That time could be better spent developing entrepreneurial skills as well as preparing financially for a voluntary or unfortunately an involuntary move to work for the greatest boss in the world, you.
Ron Stone is a lifestyle and financial professional. Among his companies is an insurance agency specializing in low cost coverage for people with pre existing health conditions. Learn more about the surprising benefits and affordability of pre existing conditions insurance at his websites, Pre Existing Insurance and Guaranteed Health Insurance