The Great Workforce Exodus

While we seem to be focused on Omicron infections and paper shortages, the long-term crisis remains the shortage of workers. At PIASC, we provide a service to our members that works to connect candidates with open jobs at our member companies. In the last six months, this service team has been swamped.

As reported across the country for the last several years, there is a growing shortage of trade workers caused, in part, by the focus on STEM curriculum in our high schools. Wood shop, auto and printing classes went the way of budget cuts. The focus on driving young people to four-year colleges has created a real drain on the supply of technical workers, and our industry is suffering.

The shortage was exacerbated by the pandemic, which caused companies to downsize and furlough or lay off employees. We all thought they would come back as soon as the pandemic passed. The reality is that many had time to reflect on what they were doing and ultimately concluded, in my opinion, “Life is too short for me to be unhappy or unsatisfied at work.” In large numbers, older workers have opted for retirement. Other workers have decided to change careers. The result is a large number of unfilled open positions.

So, what is the answer? I suggest that we must first accept the fact that the problem is not going to be resolved quickly. It may not be solved in some of our work lifetimes. I also believe that throwing money into wages is not going to cure the problem. It will come back and haunt companies, because higher wages are not going to address the need for fulfillment. It has always been the belief that people do not work merely for money. Those who do, lack engagement and will likely cost more due to lack of attention to quality while they focus more on clocking in and out.

The first focus must be on retention of the existing workforce. It is likely foreign to the Baby Boomers, but we need to get in touch with what our workers’ need to feel engaged and fulfilled. How can we make their jobs better and more productive from their perspective? This could be as simple as the management team being more accessible and asking open-ended questions and listening (e.g., it takes two to communicate). It could be as complex as giving up some control and engaging workers, the experts in certain operations, to make and/or to participate in decisions or, at least, to make recommendations that are pursued.

That leaves attracting new people to the industry. I am bewildered as to how we expect people to find our industry when we do so little to promote it. In my opinion, much of what we communicate is focused within the graphic communication industry, including print buyers. Unfortunately, this is not the only audience we need to reach.

We must devote ourselves to telling our story to the general public. We need promote our significance and technologies to the younger generation and their parents who, by the way, are ultimate consumers of print. Doesn’t it seem strange that such an important industry that touches almost every waking moment had to fight a fierce battle to be considered part of the critical infrastructure during the pandemic? In California, we only solved this problem when the politicos realized that ballots by mail required the printing industry.

Google “Imagine: A World Without Print” and watch a couple of the short videos. We need to get this type of messaging out to the general public, coupled with showcasing the great things produced by the industry, along with insights into our incredible machinery and new technologies. We need to create excitement. When we can do this, we not only will create interest in young people for the industry but we will also give our employees a sense of pride and acclaim, which will further engagement and retention.

As I was told by an industry veteran, we need to quit thinking like printers.