The whole world is short staffed. Be kind to those that showed up.
I saw this image on a 3rd+ connection path on LinkedIn. I don’t know the person, they don’t know me, but regardless, I felt seen.
It looks like a Dunkin Donuts fast food service window, with a sign that simply reads “The world is short staffed right now. Be kind to those that showed up.” It wasn’t until recently that I realized the staffing shortage was everywhere, impacting everyone. I’ve been running on fumes at work for over 18 months, trudging along, doing often 3x the work load I did pre-pandemic. Why? The work load increased a bit, but not that much. No, the reason is because often I was literally doing the work of 3 people. There were 3 of us pre-pandemic, and 1 of us now.
Not all of it is due to layoffs or furloughs. My organization kept us all employed. We did have a long hiring freeze though, and as people left, positions remained open. Then when the hiring freeze was released, we couldn’t seem to find interested candidates. Meanwhile employees were leaving for new opportunities, looking for change, moving with their family to another state, or unfortunately getting COVID or exposed to it and that resulted in a mandatory 2 week quarantine. That left us, those that remained that is, in a constant state of being overworked and understaffed.
That was my personal experience and because I was overworked and stressed, it took a while to step outside of my bubble and realize that it wasn’t just me- it’s everyone, everywhere.
Everyone everywhere is short staffed. So as the sign says, please be kind to the ones who showed up. We keep showing up day after day, doing the work of everyone who left. So please be kind. Be patient. Wait a few extra minutes for your Starbucks coffee. Anticipate a longer line at Chik-fil-A. If the retail associate doesn’t get to you right away, it doesn’t mean they’re not doing their job- it might mean that they’re doing 3 jobs. Finally, don’t lash out when we tell you that it’s online tickets only. It takes 4 minutes to purchase those tickets on your own, you don’t need someone else to swipe the card for you.
Regardless of where it is, give them a break. They showed up and they’re doing the work for the people who didn’t.
