In late 2021 and into 2022 the media frequently reported about employers difficulties finding workers. This alleged worker shortage primarily affected low paying low skilled jobs, while competition for work from home jobs has never been higher.
There's many reasons to believe that work from home jobs are under greater threats from recession and economic challenges than traditional on-site jobs. Remote workers are more easily replaced at lower wages, or can be outsourced to freelancers.
It's more important than ever for employee's to be proactive about their careers and building high value skills to earn money long term. The same market forces that threaten work from home jobs, also make it easier than ever to create your own job and build your own business.
High Demand Jobs vs. Low Demand Jobs
Some jobs like food service and retail have higher employee turnover than most jobs. Food service and retail are physically demanding jobs with lower pay than specialized jobs. This can make it difficult to attract quality talent.
Semi-skilled workers who primarily use phones and computers are in an especially difficult position as they face more national competition for entry level remote work. As software tools become more advanced, less people are needed to provide customer support for issues.
The best thing job seekers can do is to develop high demand skills with the most long term earning potential. Anyone who has ever had frustration with an automated phone system understands that soft skills like customer service and sales are difficult to replace with computer systems.
Too Much Employer Choice
Businesses that require on site employee's are limited to hiring employee's that live within a reasonable commuting distance. This drastically reduces the available candidate pool for employers to choose from, which makes finding specialized, skilled workers more difficult.
It's been documented that having too many choices can actually cause people more stress than just having a few choices. The fear of missing out (FOMO) on the best product can cause indecision and often the consumer leaves without choosing a product at all.
The prices of goods and services are determined by market forces such as supply and demand. With many more people looking for remote work jobs, employers have a massive market to choose a candidate. This also makes it much more difficult on the average remote worker to find work.
Work From Home Job Shortage
Browsing different job related online forums such as reddit.com/r/recruitinghell/ gives a fantastic insight from the perspective of the countless people looking for professional jobs. Reading job postings myself have some exceptionally specific skills such as 3+ years in Mining related SaaS Sales.
It's hard to imagine finding a candidate with that specific of a background, if they even exist at all. It's posting like these that illustrate some of the difficulties in the current job market between companies and their employee's.
Working from home is quickly becoming one of employee's top job requirements and major selling point for companies. While local on site jobs seek local employee's, remote job postings are frequently flooded with stacks of applications.
For someone seeking a job quickly, good work from home jobs are difficult to find. It may be necessary to find an onsite job temporarily while you continue your work from home job search. This is another example of why creating additional passive income sources is so important.
High Work From Home Job Demand
Since the events of 2020 forced many businesses to adopt a work from home business model, employee's are very reluctant to return back to the old ways. With so much of modern business being automated anyways, there's very little reason to require workers to commute onsite each day.
Employee's were forced to adapt and reconsider their career and professional goals. Many people decided that a 1-2 hour daily commute simply wasn't worth the stress and the amount of gas it cost to go to work each day. This work from home job demand caused a massive real estate increase in rural areas.
The job market is changing and employee's are seeking more flexibility in their work life balance. Jobs that involve physical products and services will always require people onsite. Most office type jobs can easily be done from home, yet companies are still reluctant to fully embrace working from home.
Work From Home Jobs Hurting Commercial Real Estate
The massive rise in work from home jobs has had a massive effect on the commercial real estate market. Office parks sprang up in the late 1970's through 1990's as more people moved into the suburbs. Today these type of buildings are quickly becoming obsolete and a relic to the past.
While companies clearly save money by having employee's work from home, they may be lose money in other ways through related financial interests. Some companies spent tens of millions of dollars or more on their corporate office infrastructure which could fall in value if suddenly left vacant.
New businesses without these pre existing liabilities are best able to position themselves for long term growth. Companies can focus on recruiting the best talent from all over the world instead of worrying about paying for office related expenses and they can easily scale their team as needed.
A Race To The Bottom For Employee's
From all indications it appears the demand for work from jobs is much more than the current supply. This puts job seekers at a disadvantage where they have to compete harder for jobs. Employers are able to benefit by being able to negotiate lower salaries and increase job responsibilities.
Work from home jobs are essentially following the basics of a [drop-service business model]. Websites like fiverr have thousands of freelancers who have your exact job skills employers would need. Through freelancers they can avoid paying employee benefits and other expenses.
As companies seek ways to reduce costs, employee payroll is typically the #1 target. New tools have given massive boosts to productivity, reducing the need for employee's. These same tools also give average people a chance to build their own business easier than ever before.
Protecting Yourself From Unemployment
Getting fired from your job can be a terrifying and stressful event in someone's life. Especially if your termination was through no fault of your own, after years of dedicated hard work. Suddenly your next thought turns to how you will pay your bills, and if you have enough money saved to make ends meet.
One of the best ways to protect yourself from unemployment is to create additional income streams. There are countless side hustles people start based off their hobbies and interests. Learning high income and future proof skills are also a great way to build the life you want for yourself.
You can demonstrate your value and skills to the world and future employers by starting a website and/or social media pages. This can also quickly become a passive income source when you begin to monetize your traffic.
As your side hustle begins to earn more money, you will have less and less fear about getting fired from your job. Eventually your side hustle can grow into a full time business that will start earning you more money than your current job.
If you want to learn more about how you can start your own online businesses to protect yourself from recession and unemployment, enter your email below to receive our free collection of business and marketing e-books for beginners.
