May 18th, 2010
They May Not Like You.
Source: WSJ Online
David Wessel’s column on 13 May made the point that in the country today there is a significant amount of distrust, frustration and anger.
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“The distrust goes beyond government: People are angry at pretty much the entire establishment. More than 60% of Americans in Pew Research Center polls say banks, big corporations and Congress have a negative effect on the way things are going in the U.S.—and the national news media don’t do much better.”
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“… … … they see unemployment at nearly 10% and more than five jobless workers for every job opening. For those with jobs, they see wages are languishing despite an eye-popping increase in labor productivity, or output per hour of work. Private-sector hourly earnings in the U.S. have risen at a 0.4% annual rate over the past three months, while prices have climbed at about a 1% pace, the Labor Department says. Weekly earnings are growing at about a 1.5% rate, but that’s because workers are putting in more hours.”
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It strikes me as a time to continue to be extremely careful in HR communications. A focus on doing and the telling about how an employer delivers simple fair play into the work place, transparently presented, is an important focus to have.