Covid, Social Justice, and the Altered Landscape of Employee Recruitment

Beyond Covid’s catastrophic human toll, the pandemic has also profoundly altered countless professional spheres. The business world has experienced one of the most prominent and impactful of these Covid-inspired alterations. Although many high-profile corporations saw intense losses, it was ultimately small businesses that faced the worst effects of the pandemic. In the restaurant industry for example, where the margin between making a profit and going out of business was already brutally thin, countless independent establishments had no other choice than to close their doors once dining restrictions went into effect in the United States.

In addition to its direct financial impact, Covid also forced businesses to reconsider how they engage with issues of culture and ethics. During a time when the nation’s populace was facing unprecedented and sometimes traumatic changes in lifestyle as well as social and economic capabilities, businesses could not afford to remain disengaged and seemingly unmoved by their customers’ troubles. There quickly began a rush across disparate sectors of the business world to identify with the feelings of isolation, frustration, and loss that enveloped so many American consumers. The cultural upheavals that began with the murder of George Floyd in the summer of 2020 further increased the urgency businesses felt to demonstrate that they are on the side of progress and social justice.

Indeed, consumers as well as potential employees have indicated an increased proclivity to judge a company not simply by its products and services, but also by its political track record and commitment to philanthropy and social change. Millennials have come to constitute nearly half of the United States workforce, and with the rapid ascension of Generation Z into adulthood, the pool of potential employees has come to reflect the expansive and increasingly borderless nature of contemporary American social discourse. With growing frequency, job applicants are evaluating employers not only for their fiscal and logistical benefits, but also for their corporate social responsibility (CSR). Considering the current decline in labor force participation rates that has seen the national fill rate drop to 83% in December 2020,  as well as the oft-noted recent decline in female labor participation, businesses cannot afford to lose employees because of inadequate or tone-deaf messaging.

Due to their greater job security, most white-collar professions, despite financial cutbacks, have been able to retain workers at a higher rate than their blue-collar counterparts. This disparity has much to do not only with the relative disposability of most blue-collar workers, but also with their frequent and often necessary direct contact with customers and other workers. This regular exposure to Covid that many blue-collar workers must endure has led 71.3% of the demographic to report that they have considered changing jobs since the pandemic began. Data from the Economic Policy Institute demonstrates that the majority of essential workers in such diverse fields as industry, residential facilities, and commerce are people of color. Ironically, these same people, the recognition of whose oppression has inspired such a drastic cultural shift in the corporate world as well as in the moral values of many white collar employees, are themselves often unable to reject work for a company based on its ethical track record. Vast corporations such as Amazon, Walmart, and Tesla are able to hire from the same demographics they exploit simply because these disadvantaged employees must contend with poverty and do not have the luxury of turning down work because of personal qualms. Even after accepting the job, these blue-collar workers are frequently unable to meaningfully negotiate with their employers and thus their leverage regarding basic workplace conditions, not to mention the company’s ethics, is severely curtailed.

Although major companies, shielded by the bulwark of corporate bureaucracy, are able to routinely ignore the politics and objections of their blue-collar workers, small businesses lack such imperviousness. Considering that their pool of potential employees is inherently much smaller and that they lack the gulf between CEO and employee that so defines the corporate world, small businesses are more vulnerable to workplace dissatisfaction from their blue-collar workers. Thus, for small business owners, it is vital to actively combat the decline in American labor standards that has occurred over the past several decades. This would involve going beyond the federal minimum wage by instead paying one’s workers at least $15 per hour and giving them the right to unionize if they so desire. These steps along with smaller interpersonal demonstrations recognizing their humanity will encourage candidates to apply for blue-collar positions.