Supply and demand

The emergence of labor unions was due to the rapid phase of industrialization in the late 1800s. The demand for products, such as steel, coal, and fabrics doubled and immigrants entered US in great numbers looking for jobs. Work hours were then long and the conditions were unsafe and unsanitary. This encouraged workers to unite and demand changes in the workplace.

Globalization

The number of Americans who belong to unions dropped by 11.9% in 2010. While union efforts remain firm, companies are pressured to keep up with the rising demands and foreign competition. Now, companies no longer need to accede to unions’ demands. They can simply outsource jobs overseas where labor is cheap.

Age of automation

Nowadays, machines dominate production lines. This caused a significant decrease in the number of workers needed.

Service industry

Trends explain that fields concerned with hospitality, food service, and others under the service industry, have had few union members in the past. For this reason, even if there’s an increase in demand, the need for unions didn’t follow.

Bad press

News about corruption and politics inside labor unions smeared its reputation. Now, younger generations of workers are skeptical and choose not to be part of any.

Economic upheaval

Due to the economic chaos fueled by the banking industry, globalization, failed real estate industry, unemployment, and a decline in locally-produced goods and services, sentiments for unions swayed negatively.

Although the future of labor unions remains unclear, the benefits it brought to workers are beyond clear – ensuring the best working conditions and the ability to fight against abusive managements. Labor unions need not to be threatened. The workers’ spirit will sustain them.

http://financialedge.investopedia.com/financial-edge/0311/6-Things-Putting-Unions-Under-Fire.aspx

Don’t bad-mouth the new employer.

Think of your reputation as boss. Bad-mouthing is pretty classless. Take the high road and do the right thing. Even if you hold grudges, speak well of other businesses. Speaking rudely of others might even justify your employee’s reason for leaving you and the company.

Come up with a counteroffer, but only if they really want one.

If it’s party about money, then negotiate for some more. If it’s party about the title, that’s easily manageable – those are just words. But if your employee really needs/wants to embrace a new career, then let them have it. If they really have to leave, they’ll leave.

Don’t be a hypocrite.

As a boss, you probably have moved from one job to another. The offer was probably better, or the new job probably has allowed you to grow a career to be where you are right now. So, it’s pretty pointless to condemn a talented worker for leaving with the same reasons that were once yours.

Keep in touch.

Stay connected and remain friendly. Remind them that they can come back. But even if they don’t, connections might still work in a good way. Former employees can be a good reference in case it’s your time to leave and look for a new job.

http://management.fortune.cnn.com/2011/03/09/what-to-do-when-your-star-employees-quit/

Nursing home/child-care workers

Everyday workers feed, bathe, and take care of people who rarely express gratitude or appreciation – perhaps they’re too young, too ill, or just not used to it.

Food service staff

Wait staff often get low pay despite demanding, exhaustive jobs.

Social workers

To deal with abused children, or families with all sorts of issues – coupled with bureaucratic red tape – social work can really be a stressful job.

Health-care workers

Doctors, nurses, therapists, and other health professionals often exert tremendous amounts of effort for others, forgetting to save a little for themselves.

Artists, entertainers, writers

Lifestyle pretty much contributes to stress and depression. Paychecks can be irregular, work hours are uncertain, and they’re often in isolation.

Teachers

The pressure comes from different sources – from kids, their parents, and schools trying to meet standards among others. They all have different demands that, oftentimes, need to be catered at the same time.

Administrative support staff

High demand, low control – people in this field take orders from all directions, without even having much influence in making these orders to happen. When they succeed, they often get unrecognized. But when they fail, they always take the blame.

Maintenance and grounds workers

How would you feel if you know that the only time you’ll be called is when something goes wrong?

Financial advisors and accountants

As a financial advisor or an accountant, there is so much responsibility for other people’s finances, even in the absence of control of the market.

Salespeople

The uncertainty of income, tremendous pressure for results, and long work hours contribute to high-stress levels.

Health

Here’s a great article over at Fortune CNN on this issue containing an insightful excerpt from The 3 Imperatives for Becoming a Great Leader. It practically sums up the differences between friend and manager that simply won’t go hand in hand:

• Friendship exists for itself
• Friends are equals
• Friends accept each other as they are
• Friends don’t check up on each other all the time
• As practical matter, you cannot be friends with all your people equally
• Another paradox: Caring even close, but focused on the work
• Why it’s hard to get the relationship right and keep it right

The level of familiarity that friendship introduces into the boss-subordinate dynamic is a disaster waiting to happen. But that doesn’t mean that you should never try and create positive relationships with the people reporting to you. The most memorable and valued managers I’ve encountered are the ones who have served as mentors.

The position basically entails managing a department in an IT firm’s research and development division so the management graduates felt that they had the necessary education to do the job better than my friend. But is this the case?

But here’s my take on this. In this age of the internet, it’s great to be an autodidact (self-learner). Perhaps you can miss out on some pretty interesting discussions and debates that can happen inside the classroom while discussing case studies but everything else. Besides internet forums have some interesting discussions going on as well.

Even without formal schooling, my friend became quite well-versed in management principles and even studied the PMBOK and applied it quite well while serving as a lead for his development team.

Qualifications isn’t just about having a fancy resume any more. I can claim that I can fly and shoot laser beams out of my eyes in my resume and that won’t count for anything unless I can prove that I can. It’s all about evidences of performance (portfolios) and track records.

My friend just had that. He was a capable project manager and leader and has displayed the business sense during meetings with upper management. What he also had was a knack for leading people.

What you don’t get out of business school is leadership. It takes years of honing leadership skills and it doesn’t need to start later in life. In fact, years of nurturing creates the necessary conditioning to be quite adept in leading. Some even argue that leadership is some form of talent.

My friend had the personality and experience of leading people that traces back to his younger years as the captain of his pee wee football team, his work as a camp counselor and as head of his fraternity in college.

So do you need a management degree to manage? No.