What could be wrong with someone who is unable to hold a minimum wage job? Can't pretty much anyone do an?

Question

adequate job at one?

Answer 1

No not everyone can, there are reasons why some can't;

Answer 2

Minimum wage jobs are as a rule the worst of the worst. I don't know if I could hold one myself due to the low pay, the lack of respect, the working conditions, the hours, the attitudes of supervisors, and having some co-workers who are difficult, immature, combative and lazy. I have worked minimum wage jobs before and have worked with some really fine people, but also with some really immature irresponsible ones that would not have been able to get a higher paying job. So, I do not think just anyone can do that sort of work. Sometimes a person needs a job where he or she is more highly regarded and more autonomous. Another thing about minimum wage jobs is that oftentimes employers have to, or feel they have to, micro-manage their workers, and this interferes with a worker who is self-motivated and capable.

It could be there isn't anything wrong with a person who is unable to hold a minimum wage job other than they need a different type of work more closely suited to their skills and interests. Or I suppose its also possible there is some other problem going on with that person making it difficult to function in a work environment.

Answer 3

Most minimum-wage jobs require interaction with people or repetitive execution of simple tasks.

Most folks can START a minimum-wage job, but boredom, bad attitudes and the small amount of pay for long hours will do them in after a while.
Add to that the reduction of hours on a week-to-week basis, may mean that the total pay is insufficient due to the reduced hours. Grocery stores are like that.
Having to work nights, weekends, holidays also impacts the social life, so the party people just don't show up, leaving the business short-staffed.

For the above reasons, YES: almost anyone can do the work. It's not particularly difficult work. NO, there are not nearly so many who can/will HOLD a minimum wage position.
There is no particular loyalty today for employers to retain people nor for people to stay, particularly in these entry-level positions. The company can always get another body (aka "human resource") and the employee can always get a position down the road that's just a little better for them. It does not take much for them to leave. They are not abandoning anything like benefits, bonuses or seniority after all.

Answer 4

I've got a great job now and I have every intention of holding it down but when I was younger I did a ton of crappy jobs and either got myself fired or simply walked away. It did me no harm whatsoever and I got to meet loads of different people and gain invaluable experience in a variety of different fields. The reason I got bored is that most of these jobs required you to learn a skill and it took somewhere between 1 hour and 2 months to learn all the skills necessary to accomplish daily tasks in the job at hand. Once I had the skill I certainly wasn't keen on hanging around.

Now that I hold a position of responsibility and have a very good salary as a result, in part, of the application of the knowledge I gained doing minimum wage jobs, I feel strongly motivated and extremely well prepared.

My advice is to job hop if you're on the minimum wage; you meet more interesting people that way and never feel you're stuck in a rut... after a while someone will notice that you're just wasting time until you get your break and doors will open.

Learn a number of Western European languages in your free time and go and ply your (various) trades overseas! That's what I did and I've been travelling the world ever since.

Answer 5

There is a laundry list of things that could make a person on be able to hold a job. alot mental health related and some not like not being taught responsiblity and gets fired etc. I have been thru about 2 jobs a year when i worked. stay at home mom now. I tended to go so over the top happy then burn out. or i would say somthing to a customer that was inappropriate when they were rude to me. some people are not people persons and most minimum wage jobs include dealing with the public.

Answer 6

Minimum wage isn't enough to live on, so the stress is higher than a high paying job. In my experience, the higher the pay, the less the stress, and so it's easier to hold the job.

Remember, this is a capatalist society. That means that if you're paying minimum wage, you are only going to get minimum effort. The blame for a poorly done job shouldn't go on a minimum wage worker, but on management that thinks it's getting away with something by paying such low wages.

Answer 7

Before I completed my education, I had several minimum wage jobs. I was able to hold them, but the lack of respect with which I was treated motivated me to continue my education and develop skills that would allow me to become more appreciated and more highly compensated.

Now I am a teacher. When I interact with people, especially other adults with minimum wage jobs, I treat them with a great deal of respect. I respect them for working even though their jobs are often boring, exhausting, and depressing. I respect them because, at this stage in my life, I'm not sure if I could handle a minimum wage job.

People who hold minimum wage jobs often have a stronger work ethic than other workers. For the most part, they are not treated well. I really don't blame those who tire of the work and quit or get fired. I think the solution is to pay a living wage and to have more respect for those who work at minimum wage jobs.

Answer 8

well, some minimum wage jobs aren't THAT easy- you show up to dig a ditch at a construction job and you will need to do actual manual labor, which can be hard.
usually though someone who has difficulty holding a menial job its because their personal problems get in the way- they may drink too much, fight with their family, be into drugs, have sleep problems, transportation problems, health problems like migraine headaches, there potentially are a lot of reasons folks fail at jobs. but mainly, its because they don't place a high enough priority on holding the job, if they did, they would think about it before getting wasted the night before or whatever

Answer 9

Most minimum wage jobs are for beginners, and young people, or the uneducated, or the getting educated. The rich don't want to PAY people good money if they don't have to after all. (Trust me I've worked for 30 years in the worst and in the best!)

Some people just dont want to work...they feel they are being controlled and they want to be in charge of their own life, even if it's unproductive and going nowhere, they'd rather that, than work.

Maybe that really awful and menial job is just a reminder that that's the best they can do too and it's probably extremely depressing and stressful to stay in it.

I had a really high paying job with great responsibilities before I had my children. 10 years later I try to get back into the workforce and doors slam in my face. Everyone wants young babes as the first thing people see. Those are the worst jobs of all too, everyone dumps on you and you are paid the lowest.

I could never take on these awful low paying jobs again....I'm just past that....if I have to work for peanuts, it's going to be at least in a job that has good people in it and no brainwork required....people are out to kill you these days for $8 an hour....no thanks. I've been savvy enough to make money from home over the years and will continue doing that before I clean someone's toilet thank you.

I kind of have a deep respect for people who work so hard for nothing these days. I don't want to be that person however. I've ruined my back doing menial jobs when I was young...no more thank you.

So I am going to keep looking and upgrading my skills in the meantime until I can get my foot back in that corporate door and do what I am capable of doing. I'm not even sure I want that...but if the right thing comes up.

It's a shame that so many people come here to our country who are doctors and nurses and other skilled trades and end up cleaning toilets because they don't meet this country's criteria for working.

I long for the days of the industrial revolution when this country was booming with opportunity and there was money to be made for everyone who wanted to work. I bought and paid for my own house in less than 7 years in those days!!! Would take a lifetime if I had to start over now. No one stands a chance without an education these days.

Those days of making good salaries are long gone (thanks to free trade and those who get paid $3 a day...but hey, share the wealth around the world no?)

Here's an interesting fact. The US makes less than 5 percent of the worlds goods yet purchases 80 percent of other countries....scary isn't it?

Answer 10

I seem to have a different answer here, but I don't necessarily think that minimum wage jobs are always the easiest, they are simply the lowest paid. I might look into a career counselor, usually offered free through local agencies, community colleges, etc.

Answer 11

Yes indeed most everyone can and should work even part-time but some people are adept at working the system enabling them to lie about all day watching t.v and eating government cheese while the rest of us slave away at 9-5 jobs that are slowly sucking the life from us!