This blog post describes the problem of short-staffed restaurants and explains how Newberg locals should see how they are affected by it, and why they should support local restaurants.
One of the problems facing Newberg, Oregon currently is a shortage of employees for local restaurants. This lack of workers is largely due to covid; current employees are more often sick and unable to come to work, or else it is easier for them to call in sick whenever they don't want to come into work. Prospective employees are less likely to apply for a job because they may feel more comfortable working from home, or even not working at all since they can get a free unemployment check.
It is also affected by the rising minimum wage in Oregon, which makes restaurants hesitant to employ more workers. With the idea of an easier job with competitive pay and better hours from home, many people don't even consider applying to a job where they know they will likely have to work more hours, and often earlier or later in the day than they would like.
This is becoming a problem for several groups of people. For one, the managers of the different businesses are having a hard time attracting not only employees but also customers.
The remaining staff is affected as well because they are being overworked. For some George Fox students who have jobs at local restaurants, they are being asked to work more and more, and their schedule is becoming less dependable than ever because of how many constant changes there are.
But it also affects the locals that live in Newberg. For example, the local Dairy Queen has started closing an hour earlier than normal because they don't have the right amount of workers to stay open. This makes it much less convenient for the customers, especially the students who like to make a food run after classes or right before bed.
In the light of everything, this may not seem like that big of a problem. But as we can see, it affects a lot of people in a lot of different ways: from inconvenience to unemployment. The solution may not be simple, but we can start by supporting local restaurants and showing that we care.
Hello Clara!
I really liked your reflection of this issue as I hadn't really thought this long and hard about it. I do know that Subway in the city of Newberg is really hurting for workers and I have even been denied service because of how few people there were to make the sandwiches. I can only imagine how hard it must be for all of the employees that are being overworked because I can definitely see it happening in local eating establishments in Newberg,
Matthew Scarry
Hello Clara,
This is a sad issue for a workers in the service industry like myself. What is so interesting is how the future will effected by this? Most workers like myself are either college students or high schoolers which is not a bad thing it just could add pressure for kids to get Jobs. I wander how we can keep small businesses alive and open during these times.
Josiah Schmidt.
Hi Clara,
This is a well-written blog. I loved it! I think you are right about this issue. It is truly sad seeing some of these local restaurants struggle in what seems to be a lose-lose situation. With the wages going up and the employees going down, it is hard for these businesses to even stay afloat. I know this first hand, I work at a burger shop in Sherwood called Super Deluxe. I have been there for over a year now and there are fewer reliable workers and less people scheduled due to labor hours adding up. Unfortunately, this had lead to many people working more than their scheduled shift. It truly is frustrating.
Hi Clara,
This is a very serious issue. You addressed it well and with pose. I can only imagine the strain on all sides. The works are feeling stretched to the limit, the managers are worried if they can survive another month, and customers are getting lower quality service. It’s a real mess.
-Prim Bloggins
Hey Clara! I think this is a super important issue to look into, because I know the pandemic has really impacted small businesses and their customers. My family actually owns a small business (though not a restaurant) back home in Australia, and I know they have found it hard to get/keep staff, and it has increased their hours significantly. I thought your comment about how service jobs don't have the option for remote work which people value a lot more these days was really insightful, because it definitely makes the job less attractive. It could be interesting to look into how this shortage is leading to places hiring super young too - because I've seen that a lot in Newberg…