Unemployment Rate sky-rockets!

We keep hearing the numbers bantered about. Unemployment is at 10%; unemployment is at 10.5%. I found information on a new search engine, www.glearch.com, and Encarta which indicate that in the 1930's Great Depression the unemployment rose to almost 25%. Wow, and we are ONLY at 10% now. Things must not be too bad, right?

I believe that today's published unemployment figures are understated. I know of many (and you all know of some/many) people who are still 'employed' but who have taken substantial cutbacks in hours working and in pay. Many friends have had their pay rates reduced by 10 to 20%. They have also had their working hours cut from 40 hours a week to 32 or 36 hours a week. They gladly accepted this substantial cut in hours and pay as they still have a job! The alternative for the company was to lay off 15 to 20% of its workforce.

Instead of that drastic measure, and to be as loyal as they could to their workforce, companies reduced hours and pay in lieu of putting good employees out on the street.

How does this affect our unemployment statistics? We have 10%+ or our workforce still working who would have been out of jobs in the 1930s. So, we ONLY have a 10% unemployment rate. Things can't be too bad if unemployment is ONLY at 10% versus 24% in the Great Depression, right?

I recently drove through the Central Valley of California. I was astonished at the number of vacant and deserted buildings! - Everything from gas stations, to warehouses, to massive agriculture buildings, to car dealerships. I constantly receive mailing from automotive dealerships advising me that they are 'losing' their franchise for one brand or another.

Yes, we are in the Greater Depression. What are some things that are different from the Great Depression?

News travels faster - Internet and television versus daily newspapers. We hear ALL the news as it happens, from hurricanes to bankruptcies to up-to-the-minute stock prices.

Preparation. I believe that we are better prepared. I am very concerned about many of the things that are happening in our country and our economy; however, I believe we have learned from the history we have studied. Just the fact that we are cutting hours/pay versus massive layoffs is a huge step in the right direction. We have fewer people who are totally unemployed. Having to cut back on meals out, cable TV, weekend drives, etc. is surely much better than having no income and going through our savings at a rapid rate as it is used for our monthly obligations - we all know how well we Americans save our money! We have all been told and have known that we should save for a 'rainy day.' Well, it is raining on our parades and we either had learned the lesson before or we are LEARNING it now.

Resiliency. We Americans fight back. We have 'been through it before' and we will most likely go through it again. I think of the song, Tub Thumpin' by Chumbawamba: "I get knocked down, but I get up again, you're NEVER gonna keep me down!" That's right, we won't be kept down. We will fight. We will win. We will revive the greatest economy in the World. We will all have employment. We, again, will enjoy all the things we took for granted.

Hang in there. Keep your head up. Keep fighting. Help your neighbor. Let your neighbor help you. Let’s work together. There has never been and there will never be a country as great as this. Let’s write history.

Overcoming Bystander Apathy

You are walking down a crowded sidewalk in a large metropolitan city. You start feeling numbness in your hand and then your arm. You then begin feeling numbness in your face and a severe headache hits quickly. You are having trouble seeing with one or both eyes. You are feeling a bit dizzy. You are having trouble walking and feel that you are losing your balance. You decide to sit down on the sidewalk next to the building. You are confused and find it difficult to speak. You think to yourself, “Oh, my gosh, I am having a stroke!”

What do you do?

The natural response would be to yell that you needed help. Now picture yourself – slumped on the sidewalk against a building, one arm dangling and slurred speech yelling at the passing crowd. What do you think would happen? Right…probably nothing. People would be passing by and observing how others are reacting. With no one else reacting they will just keep on going.

Groups of bystanders in this situation usually do not help for a couple reasons. One - they think someone else will. Two - they are unsure if there really is an emergency situation and whether they are responsible to do something. We have all experienced people on the sidewalks screaming incoherently at us and other passersby.

But we REALLY need help! What can we do to get the help we need?

According to Robert Cialdini, in a book I am currently reading, there is something we can do to insure we get the help we need. We need to cut through the social programming inherent with passing crowds.

Time would be crucial as your symptoms increase. You must define your need as a real emergency situation. So, you find someone coming towards you, stare directly at them, point at them and in a loud voice say, “You, in the red dress, I need help. Call an ambulance!” You have now put that person in the position of a ‘rescuer’ for you. They will not be asking themselves: What aid is required here? Should I do it or will someone else? Has someone else already done it? You have removed all doubt – they now know it is an emergency, that you need help, and what you want them to do.

You need to avoid the tendency to ask the entire group of bystanders for help. Make a request to a single individual. Pick a person and ASSIGN them the task of helping you.

Naturally, I was reading this book, Influence - the Psychology of Persuasion, with an eye towards helping businesses overcome customer and employee bystander apathy. But in studying ‘social proof’ I came across the above situation of how we all might be in need of getting through to people to help us on an individual basis.

I hope that you will never need to apply this technique; however, if you do, I hope that you will remember it.

Take care.

Tom States