November 30, 2024 • 32 mins
SMNTY takes a look at women's labor, both when it comes to the emotional variety of the holidays and the women making up a majority of the Great Resignation in this classic episode.
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Speaker 1 (00:05):
Hey, this is Anny and Samantha. I want come to stuff.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
I never told you production if I hired you, and today
we're bringing back an episode we did about women's holiday
labor as we move into the holidays. As this comes out,
(00:30):
I was thinking about this actually when you were talking
about your recent Monday mini about hobbies, women and hobbies,
because I was trying to come up with some holiday
topics that we haven't already covered.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
One thing that my mom and I do is we
do puzzles together when I go home.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
And so then I went on a like rabbit hole
about the history of puzzles and women, and I learned
a lot and we'll have to come back and talk.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
About that later.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
But but then I got to thinking, as we do this,
I'm preparing to go home for the holidays, and I
was thinking about how that the fact that women have
less time for hobbies like is almost it becomes apparent
(01:19):
to me during the holidays because I'm like not preparing
to relax, I'm preparing to cook, I'm preparing to like decorate,
I'm preparing to like shop, like all of these things, like,
and my mom is doing more than me, Like she
does all of the like grocery shopic. She does the planning,
she does the hosting, the decorating, cleaning, entertaining, And it
(01:44):
is one of the things that frustrates me the most
in my particular house holiday situation is that I feel
like we do all of that work and then they
just they being In this case, dudes generally eat the
food and then leave and then go watch TV, and
we're like to stuff it has gotten better.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
They typically clean the dishes.
Speaker 3 (02:08):
Now, Okay, wasn't that a helpful like move by your
brother's fiance though more so than yeah.
Speaker 1 (02:17):
But I appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
I mean, it's something, But it's just like when you
were talking about the hobby, I was thinking about that.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
How we've also.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
Talked about our work and how it can be hard
to have a holiday with our job. There's a lot
of benefits to our job, don't get me wrong, but
one of the things is it feels like we're constantly working.
But then also just I was thinking about all the
stuff my mom and I've got to do it it
does not feel like a holiday. That does not feel
(02:46):
like a break to me at all. Right, Yeah, So
with that in mind, please enjoy this classic episode. Hey,
this is Annie and Samantha. I'm welcome to Stefan never
told you a production of iHeartRadio. So I'm gonna go
(03:14):
ahead and timestamp this one because we're talking about something
that is actually a lot of stuff is being written
about right now, and that is the Great Resignation as
it's called, among other things. So today is November twenty third,
twenty twenty one. This is our last recording session for
(03:36):
about a week. So yeah, that's exciting, and we do
have a bit of a mixed Santa labor bag on
this one. Now that we're in December officially, or we
will be when you.
Speaker 1 (03:48):
Listen to this. We are not currently.
Speaker 4 (03:50):
Right, we are not the future at this point in time.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
Well not at this point. We wanted to do a
very brief revisit of holiday emotional labor. We've been talking
about that kind of a lot recently, but also yes,
issues that are impacting women when it comes to things
like the Great Resignation and all of these labor shortages
are just product shortages that we've been hearing about. So
before we get into it, we have gone over emotional
(04:15):
labor before. But just as a reminder, Ourie Hostchild first
defined emotional labor as quote, invoking and suppressing feelings to
fit the job for which you are paid, especially in
jobs often helped by women that involve personal interaction, customer service,
and empathy.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
Things like that.
Speaker 2 (04:30):
Nowadays, we've expanded the meaning to include a plethora of stuff.
Speaker 1 (04:35):
That we, and again usually women in this.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
Context do outside of work to maintain relationships, like getting
cards and gifts, remembering important dates for you or your partner,
mood management, all kinds of things like that.
Speaker 1 (04:50):
And we talked about how.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
Emotional labor is often heightened for women and especially for
mothers our caregivers during the holidays last year, and how
it would be even more heightened during a pandemic. Since then,
a few articles have come out about it, as well
as some new challenges for this year that have shown
up in this discussion.
Speaker 3 (05:13):
So many challenges, one interesting but not at all surprising
theme for the articles that have come out from last year,
where all the women who reported they just didn't have
it in them to do the traditional holiday labor during
the pandemic, and then the guilt that many felt alongside
that realization, Yes, people and women more so felt burnt out.
(05:34):
They were and are taking the brunt of housework and caregiving.
More women experienced loss of jobs for whatever reason and
cuts in pay, which made the holidays more difficult. On
top of that, there was all that tragedy brought on
by COVID nineteen, and in the face of all that,
many women reported wanting to give and feeling pressure to
(05:56):
give and even more positive experience, but just flat out
not having the energy or resources to do so. For some,
this resulted in a simpler celebration that was in many
ways a relief, and for others, a conversation with a
partner about taking on some of the responsibilities she'd traditionally
been doing.
Speaker 4 (06:16):
They're saying throwing as.
Speaker 3 (06:17):
Traditional a holiday as they could give them some resemblance
of control in a time where everything else felt out
of control, and again for some just a feeling that
they'd filled.
Speaker 1 (06:29):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
Yeah, I mean it was a real mixed fag overall.
I feel like there was a lot of conversations people
were having in these articles. I was reading about like
what can we give up and what can we let go?
And I've been doing all this work and the other
person didn't like what right, Yeah, So that's interesting and
it'll it'll be interesting to see after this year how
(06:52):
it sort of goes after this is sort of our
second time round. Although I do feel like this one
the different challenges and there are still some of those
things going on, absolutely, but it does feel quote more
normal than last year, at least for me, right.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
So we'll see, we'll see.
Speaker 2 (07:14):
Hilariously to me, some articles cited Malaia Trump's words, who
gives it about Christmas stuff and decorations?
Speaker 1 (07:22):
But I have to do it right.
Speaker 3 (07:24):
I feel like that might have been her attitude throughout
her administration, So fair enough. One thing that's weighing on
all of us, and in this conversation, women planning holidays
are all the shortages that we've been hitting, from toys
to food. A survey from October twenty twenty one found
(07:44):
that thirty eight percent of women were anxious about holiday costs.
At the same time, holiday prices are expected to rise
by twenty percent this year.
Speaker 4 (07:55):
Read the room, y'all capitalism in the room.
Speaker 2 (08:01):
Yeah, my mom was like, I've got an emergency turkey
frozen and I'm gonna try.
Speaker 1 (08:05):
I heard there's gonna be a turkey at this store
at this time, and I was like, Wow, what is happening.
Speaker 3 (08:11):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
I did spend a good hour today trying to get
a PlayStation five. I failed, but I was close. It
was in my cart.
Speaker 4 (08:20):
Oh no moment.
Speaker 3 (08:23):
Yeah, I'm planning to go to a little market. And
this is just because this artist and this crafter is fantastic,
But I'm planning to go to a little market here
in Atlanta to get something that is on demand. It's
impossible to get and I'm planning to go thirty minutes
before it even opens to get in line. I guess
I'm gonna be one of those people because the last
(08:44):
time she had an online shop similar to this, it
was in my cart and as I was checking out,
it was gone.
Speaker 1 (08:48):
I was like, oh, oh, I hate it.
Speaker 2 (08:54):
This isn't part of that kind of labor we're talking about, though,
Like it sounds kind of silly, but I mean, if
you've got kids and you got plan these things, and
you've got to know that that's an issue, and then
you've got to plan around it, like it's just taking
up some of your mind space. And I think I
said recently, I bought most of my presents in October
and so did my mom because we were anticipating you
(09:15):
know this shortage or delay and delivery and yeah, my
mom brought a lot of food already and froze it.
She's like, what if I can't get it later, So
that's just like an extra thing to kind of plan.
Speaker 3 (09:27):
And yeah, with that the gift, because Etsy does this
a lot where you're like looking at a gift like
hurry up, there's only three left, and you're like, oh no, please.
Speaker 4 (09:36):
Don't go away before I make my decision.
Speaker 3 (09:39):
On top of the fact that, yeah, you know, you
don't know where it's coming from. Sometimes I'm like, oh no,
this is from Mexico. It's going to take two more weeks.
So having to plan perfectly as well as trying to
find the perfect thoughtful gift, y'all, it's a lot.
Speaker 1 (09:54):
It is, It really is.
Speaker 2 (09:57):
It feels great when you do it, when you pull
it off, but if you can't work.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
To get there, yes, yes, if you can.
Speaker 2 (10:03):
And also like we're throwing out a lot of company
names in those one but currently not sponsors or that's
not why.
Speaker 1 (10:08):
We're mentioning them anyway.
Speaker 2 (10:12):
And then yes, of course there are the arguments, as
always about politics, but also about masking and vaccination. I
did see a recent study where seventy five percent of
American households were like, you know, we're having a small
gathering this year vaccination and mask.
Speaker 1 (10:27):
So that's interesting.
Speaker 2 (10:28):
Yeah, women tend to do more of the controlling of
a family's narrative on social media, something that can be
really fraught if your family doesn't agree on things like that,
which I thought I hadn't really considered that, but yeah, yeah, it's.
Speaker 4 (10:44):
A it's a stressor.
Speaker 3 (10:46):
I'm trying to figure out how not to be the
person to start an argument.
Speaker 2 (11:04):
Something else we wanted to talk about is all these
labor shortages we're hearing about and also the Great resignation.
In September twenty twenty one, a record four point four
million people quit their jobs. According to the US Labor Department,
that's on the tail of four point three million. Resignations
are about three percent in August of twenty twenty one,
(11:25):
which is way larger than the number of layoffs at
one point three million. Data from small to medium sized
payroll provider Gusto suggests that of those quitting, more of
them are women. The company started tracking the gender gap
in resignations in January twenty twenty, and according to the
information they've collected. The gap was at its highest in
August twenty twenty one, with a one point one percent
(11:46):
point difference between the number of women quitting versus the
number of men quitting.
Speaker 1 (11:50):
Since then, that.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
Percentage just dropped a bit, but is still hovering around
one percent. Three hundred thousand women quit their jobs in
September compared to the one hundred ninety four thousand jobs
added to the workplace. So I mean, we don't really know,
We don't know the breakdown of the second number, but
more women quit than were hired, right, weall.
Speaker 3 (12:11):
Right, which we talked about when we said that we
were losing the gender gap.
Speaker 4 (12:14):
At one point we were like.
Speaker 3 (12:15):
Oh yay, it's happening, it's moving forward, and then pandemic
just swept all of that away, as well as the
fact that a lot of these jobs that have higher
resignations are probably the essential quote unquote essential jobs which
have more women as a part of that, so that
could explain a lot. And so data from LinkedIn found
that the number of women reporting job transitions, which can
(12:36):
mean anything from leaving the workforce or switching jobs, has
jumped fifty four percent for women in twenty twenty one,
compared to forty six percent for men. One third of
women surveyed said their income wasn't enough to pay for
their families, and the number one reason the women gave
for changing jobs, which, yes, that makes a lot of sense.
Speaker 4 (12:56):
This isn't just limited to the US.
Speaker 3 (12:58):
At the same time, a recent survey of fourteen thousand
corporate leaders, middle managers, and individual contributors from twenty seven
countries found that in twenty twenty two, sixty three percent
of women were planning on staying with their current employer,
down from seventy one percent in twenty twenty one. That's
compared to sixty seven percent of men planning on remaining
(13:21):
with their current employer in twenty twenty two, down from
seventy percent in twenty twenty one, So that's a more
precipitous drop among women. When it comes to leaders. Of leaders,
the number of women intending to stay in twenty twenty
two dropped from eighty seven percent to sixty six percent.
Before the pandemic, women had a majority of the country's jobs.
(13:42):
So this is a big deal for multiple reasons.
Speaker 2 (13:45):
Yes, yes, yes, yes, And of course this is impacting
companies diversity quotas. The report included this quote. With companies
competing for the same highly skilled talent, action on DEEIB,
which stands for republic de diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging
in fostering a culture of belonging will be a key differentiator,
(14:05):
but our research shows there's still a ways to go.
Four and five eighty percent senior leaders say their actions
show they are genuinely committed to a greater DEIB, while
only three and five or fifty eight percent individual contributor
to say the same. Closing this gap will play a
leading role in retaining people too, making it one of
the key areas of focus to get right during the
Great Resignation. A separate recent study found that a large
(14:28):
amount of people will leave if they are made quote
uncomfortable on a job because of their gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic background.
Speaker 1 (14:35):
Or neurodevelopment condition.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
And then over in Canada, a study found that one
hundred thousand working age women left the workforce since the
beginning of the pandemic as of spring twenty twenty one,
more than ten times than the number of men. Some
analysts suggest that if it were reversed and men were
the ones leading in such high numbers, there would be
more concern, which is also a problem.
Speaker 3 (14:58):
So there are a lot of reasons for this, and
many of them we've discussed before. The most commonly cited
is a desire for a better, higher paying career, women
start their own businesses, burnout, and child or elder care concerns,
and the words of an economist at Gusto Luke Pardu,
he said, this pandemic has been particularly difficult for women
at jobs who also need care for families.
Speaker 4 (15:21):
They've been the ones who.
Speaker 3 (15:22):
Needed to take that step back in their professional lives
in order to meet their family's responsibilities.
Speaker 4 (15:28):
And yeah, we talked about that previously.
Speaker 3 (15:30):
Twenty twenty Women in the Workplace survey found that women
on average were spending twenty hours a week on housework
and caregiving.
Speaker 4 (15:38):
Yep, again talked about that hasn't.
Speaker 3 (15:39):
Really changed since, according to some sources, two out of
three caregivers are women, and that same survey found that
one in three women have considered leaving or down shifting
their career in twenty twenty one, compared to one in
four at the start of the pandemic.
Speaker 4 (15:56):
Yeah, that's what we were talking about with the gap
at one point was like, oh, yeah, it's again. Oh no,
it's gutten wider yep.
Speaker 1 (16:03):
Yeah. There are a few episodes I looked back that
we did before the.
Speaker 2 (16:05):
Pandemic and I'm like, oh, we had no idea, We
had no idea, but we did one that was like
very hopeful of like women are made all these strides
or doing all this.
Speaker 3 (16:16):
It's like oh, and then when we had to review
after all the reports are like, yeah, mostly women are leaving,
Like yeah, goodype.
Speaker 2 (16:25):
So yes, as you were kind of saying, Samantha. All
of this has been compounded by the fact that many
essential workers, many of them women in fields like nursing, teaching,
and childcare, are also leaving the workforce. Indeed, dot com
found that more and more companies are posting quote urgent
hirings that start immediately, and most of those industries three
(16:46):
of the top four in fact, are dominated by women.
Personal care and home health, nursing, and childcare.
Speaker 1 (16:53):
A lot of these jobs require.
Speaker 2 (16:54):
In person interactions, meaning that health concerns are primary concern
for employees as well. So this is you can find
articles specific to each of those professions that we just
mentioned of, like why it's a big deal, why it's happening,
and a lot of it is related to what we're
talking about, but it does have that ripple effect then
of you know, I get there's no teachers or there's
(17:14):
that childcare aspect is so.
Speaker 1 (17:17):
Big in this conversation.
Speaker 2 (17:20):
When it comes to burnout, an increasing number of women,
and especially women of color and LGBTQ plus folks, are
taking medical leaves to cope with stress, exhaustion, and burnout.
Speaker 1 (17:30):
For many women, working at.
Speaker 2 (17:31):
Home has blurred the lines between work hours and off
work hours, meaning that a lot of us are working
ten to twelve hour days for the same amount of
pay or even less pay. Eighty percent of women surveyed
over ten countries reported that the pandemic had increased their workload,
and sixty six percent reported that their home responsibilities had
also increased.
Speaker 1 (17:53):
So that's that's just a lot. It's just a lot.
Speaker 2 (17:56):
Don Lee over at the Los Angeles Times wrote about
all of this, especially for working moms, quote, the pandemic
has exacted a heavy toll on millions of moms in
terms of job security, pay equity, and long term career
opportunities loss as many will likely never recover in significant numbers.
They endured pay cuts, reduced hours, diminished retirement benefits, and
(18:17):
lost promotions. As we discussed in previous episodes, some experts
predict the pandemic will set advancements made in gender equality
back fifty years, and those are like, really guesses right.
Speaker 4 (18:31):
And yeah, that didn't have all the numbers that we have.
It is not pretty. It's like as bad as they expected,
or a little bit worse.
Speaker 3 (18:38):
And on top of that, yeah, I find it interesting
when we talk about these gender gaps that most of
the companies are ragging about how well they've done. And
when I say company, I mean these like big corporate ones,
obviously not the small businesses which have been.
Speaker 4 (18:51):
Had pretty hard.
Speaker 3 (18:53):
But again, typically these small businesses also like impact women
just as a reminder pretty greatly.
Speaker 4 (19:00):
And I find that.
Speaker 3 (19:00):
Interesting as well, when we're sitting here going, oh, no,
it's gotten bad. But at the same time, we're getting
reports from corporations and big stockholders were.
Speaker 4 (19:09):
Like, but we've made a lot of money, right.
Speaker 1 (19:13):
Again read the room. I feel like we've been saying
that a lot.
Speaker 3 (19:16):
I mean, it just feels like, I don't know why,
you feel like it's time to brag right now? This
is the worst time, be quiet, sit Yeah, have all
the seats. On the other hand, another study found that
about ten percent of Americans quit their job to pursue
something they were more passionate about. Good on you, ten
percent of the people's. On top of that, the study
(19:37):
found that fifty percent of women were more open to
doing that compared to forty four percent of men.
Speaker 5 (19:42):
Good on you, ladies, yeah yeah, And so there have
been numerous articles aimed at employers about how to keep
workers and women at their jobs, suggesting things like flexible
hours and flexible work options, student loan assistance, higher pay,
and four day work weeks.
Speaker 2 (19:59):
How have experts warned that, if not carried out carefully,
some of these options could backfire and further exacerbate problems
that the pandemic made worse. For instance, if most women
at a company choose to work remotely due to childcare,
the office might be full of men. And multiple studies
have shown that in person interactions are beneficial when it
(20:21):
comes to things like promotions. So that's like I know
we've discussed before, it is really beneficial to have this
like flexible work schedule and remote work options, and that
is really beneficial for women.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
But it's one of those things, like we also have
to keep in mind.
Speaker 2 (20:37):
These other things, and so we talked about this, but
also like the ploring of work lines and finding like
work life balance. It's just nothing in here is so
simple as this, Like we should definitely talk about this,
it should be an option.
Speaker 3 (20:51):
But also right, and let's also think about the fact
that if a woman is staying at home to be
with their child, their double working, like they are doing
two jobs at once. So that's not necessarily a benefit
other than saving money, which should not have to be
for a woman who wants to continue in hard profession
or has to continue in hard profession.
Speaker 2 (21:12):
Right right, right, right, And all of this has also
led to a lot of conversation around updating how employers
find employees. Maybe the resume is no longer the way
to go or not as important, or maybe a college
degree is and always so important, and right now analysts
think women have more negotiating power. Of course, yeah, that
won't matter if we don't get to the root of
(21:33):
systemic issues, like if there aren't affordable care options or
elder care options for those that need them. Even the
term the great resignation is disputed for what's happening because
it implies a level of choice not present for all workers.
Some have called it the Great Reassessment. Others say it's
just women being four set of jobs to take care
(21:54):
of children, and that's what it is.
Speaker 3 (21:56):
Right.
Speaker 2 (21:57):
Many have caution that while coverage of this be quite inspiring,
it often focuses on those that have.
Speaker 1 (22:03):
The resources, time, and health to undertake something new.
Speaker 4 (22:08):
Right.
Speaker 3 (22:08):
One of the surveys mentioned added that a part of
the solution has to be quote, doing the work at
the root of the problem, as you were saying, the
systemic part a toxic culture that rewards workplace martyrdom over
self care and self awareness. And yeah, it's obviously and
we see this in a lot of like you need.
Speaker 4 (22:25):
To sacrifice your life to be here. That can't happen.
Speaker 3 (22:29):
And so many women interviewed reported being frustrated at the
lack of advancement, opportunities, support, financial compensation, and just general
respect and basic necessities, which you're like, why is that
not a part of this?
Speaker 4 (22:42):
Why is this something that we have to compromise for?
Speaker 2 (22:45):
I know, I know, And yeah, the recent passing of
the infrastructure bill here in the US and what got
cut also plays into this conversation. We're planning on returning
to that to discuss it in a future episode. I
will say, just because it kind of stuck out to me,
some women interviewed in all of these articles about this
(23:05):
chose not to get vaccinated and reported difficulties finding jobs,
while others quit because their companies didn't have a vaccine mandate.
So that's also something that's happening.
Speaker 4 (23:14):
Right.
Speaker 1 (23:14):
As we said at the top, this is like people.
Speaker 2 (23:17):
Are really writing a lot of articles about this all
the time, and since I've researched it, I get like
an update every day, so it's ongoing. It's you know,
relatively new, so data collection is still happening. But that's
what we know for now. Maybe we'll revisit.
Speaker 3 (23:32):
So for the very little I knew of it beforehand,
I felt like the great resignation was the stories about
all of the like the fast food workers who would
just up and quit, and you would see the massive
science that says not able to be open.
Speaker 4 (23:45):
Including one of the zaxbies here in Atlanta.
Speaker 3 (23:47):
I went and they didn't have enough employee, so I
had this shut down for a few weeks.
Speaker 2 (23:51):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (23:51):
I found it interesting.
Speaker 2 (23:53):
Yeah, I mean there are a lot of a lot
of very interesting conversations happening around this, I think because
that aspect I've also seen and has been pretty widely covered,
and I think that is you know, another like when
we talk about the minimum wage and stuff, what we're
asking people to do for so little and people just
(24:16):
being fed up with it, paying people.
Speaker 1 (24:19):
A living wage. But yeah, there's a.
Speaker 2 (24:23):
Lot more going on than we can really simplify. But
I do think after reading all of this, I do
think a lot of it when it comes to why
more women are quitting, is definitely childcare based or just
like other responsibilities based, Yeah, which is, yeah, something we
need to be talking about.
Speaker 1 (24:56):
All right.
Speaker 2 (24:56):
To wrap this one up, this episode actually started with
this news story that I heard, and then it expanded
into a great resignation. But I actually wanted to talk
about Missus Glaus. Yes, so this is our holiday themed
section of labor shortages, and you can see the past
(25:18):
hosts have done episodes on Missus Clause. But yeah, very briefly,
if you're wondering, she does not have a definitive first name.
Some more recent pieces of entertainment give her one, but
it's not the same name. So I think she's called
Anna and something and like something else with an A
and another thing, but they're not the same name.
Speaker 1 (25:37):
So that's kind of where we are with Missus Claus.
Speaker 2 (25:40):
And as more and more malls and venues are looking
to hire someone to play Santa Claus after missing out
the last year, they are running into a shortage of
folks available to play. So this is for a few reasons, older,
heavier setmen that are typically sought after to play Santa Claus,
or at a higher risk for more severe case of
COVID nineteen. Since the job requires interacting with hundreds of
(26:04):
people in public, many are opting out this year. Several
died from COVID since the pandemic started, and they actually
keep some of the Santa Schools keep statistics on this
since it's pretty it's pretty gram.
Speaker 4 (26:16):
Wait wait, they're Santa Schools.
Speaker 1 (26:17):
Yeah. Oh yes, Samantha, and we're going to talk about
some of them.
Speaker 4 (26:20):
Oh, thank you, going okay.
Speaker 2 (26:22):
Other Santa potential Santa players are deciding they'd rather spend
more time with their family during the holidays. Many are
sticking to digital visits as they did in twenty twenty,
and actually found quite a bit of success in that
all this is coupled with a significant increase in demand.
According to the founder of a Denver Santa school, Susan Mesco,
(26:45):
on an average year, she receives around fifteen to twenty
requests for Santa in July, but by February of this year,
she'd already gotten seventy requests.
Speaker 1 (26:54):
A school in Texas.
Speaker 2 (26:55):
Reported around a twenty percent shortage of available Santas in
a one hund undred and twenty one percent increase in demand.
This does mean that Santa's are making more money. And
you know, there's still a lot of concerns about COVID
and all this, so there's a lot of like safety things,
but in place it's still you know, a mall and
kids and all that stuff. Somebody doing like plexiglass or
(27:18):
you know, six foot distance. But they people who are
doing it are making.
Speaker 1 (27:23):
A lot of money, a lot more than they normally make.
Speaker 4 (27:25):
Nice.
Speaker 3 (27:26):
So it also means that some bookers are turning instead
to a Missus clause. And I'm not gonna lie. So
there is an episode in thirty Rock where Jack Donaghy
talks about Missus Claus in one of their holiday specials,
and he's like where's missus Claus. And they're like, we
didn't need one, and he's like, there's always a missus Clause.
And it turns out that his mom, who his father
(27:49):
was not in the picture, would have Missus Claus doing everything.
Speaker 4 (27:52):
Because they had no seta. I just oh, and so
he thought that was a tradition, right, right, right right.
Speaker 3 (27:59):
So more and more women are receiving solo bookings on
top of this, in part because of anticipated toy shortages,
The Jammy Claus Company is set to publish Jammi Claus
The Christmas Tradition of unconditionally giving all about how Missus
Claus delivers pajamas on Christmas Eve.
Speaker 4 (28:19):
I like this.
Speaker 3 (28:19):
The kids are supposed to put out the bag on
Christmas Eve and then she'll fill it with pajamas, whether
the children have been naughty or nice. You know. The
company is partnering with Domestic Violence and Homeless Shelters in
conjunction with their annual Pajama drive.
Speaker 4 (28:34):
Very smart, I want some pajamas.
Speaker 1 (28:36):
Pajamas are great. Pajamas are great.
Speaker 2 (28:40):
And then in November, Old Navy hosted a Santa boot camp,
claiming they wanted Santa to be quote more representative of
modern culture, representing all backgrounds, ethnicities, and heritage. And I
also saw just today that they have training on how
to handle ridiculous gift request.
Speaker 4 (29:02):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (29:03):
I mean, like I always think about that when you
have a child going to Santa telling secrets and the
thing they want is like a horse, and you're absolutely
not getting this child a pony or a horse? So
how do you deal with this? And for me, who
have never actually believed in Santa Claus, it was not
a big deal. Knowing that we had cash limits. We're
(29:25):
told we had cash limits. Didn't really you know, care
much other than comparing with all the rich kids who
were like I got.
Speaker 4 (29:31):
A new phone with my own private number. I'm like,
I got.
Speaker 1 (29:37):
A hug.
Speaker 3 (29:39):
But I'm just wondering that's not true adequate Christmas. I
was just just wondering in that, like what do you do?
What do these parents do? Another reason that I'm glad
I don't have children in that so this would make
me panic, Yeah, trying to figure out what to do
for these kids who are like, hey, well this and this,
and especially you know, you see the really sad tales
(29:59):
of like kids wanting people to be healed or wanting
to help people and there's nothing you could do about this?
Speaker 4 (30:05):
What do you do?
Speaker 1 (30:07):
Yeah, I would not.
Speaker 2 (30:08):
That is not a job I would want. Nope, Nope, nope.
Another job I wouldn't want being Santa Disney World. But
they also have now s they have their first black
men playing Santa.
Speaker 1 (30:23):
I think I like it. Yeah, but yeah, there's no
way that sounds like a job.
Speaker 4 (30:30):
It sounds like just a nightmare in general.
Speaker 3 (30:32):
To have to have kids, one right after another. Tell
you like you hope it's great experiences, and I'm sure
the sweet ones are so fantastic, but then the ones
you're like, yeah, I really want to just push you down.
Speaker 2 (30:46):
Right into the crass, like right, get away from me, kid, Yes, And.
Speaker 1 (30:56):
I guess related.
Speaker 2 (30:56):
Santa Con is back this year, So okay, what is this?
Speaker 4 (31:00):
Is that just because I've seen pictures? Is it a race?
Is it just a convention? Is it? Someone tell me.
Speaker 2 (31:07):
There might be a race involved, But it's a convention.
And it's sort of notorious for drunk people who address
to saying getting really drunk in like puking in the
streets and getting in fights on the streets in New York.
Speaker 4 (31:19):
Oh fighting, Oh yeah, yes, don't.
Speaker 3 (31:25):
There's so many things that worry me about this. Hey,
if y'all have gone, any of y'all have gone, and
you can tell us the tales of Santa con Please,
I'm very thoroughly confused.
Speaker 2 (31:37):
Oh yes, any yeah, any convention can get a little
yes and please, if you've got any stories you want
to share, whether it's holiday related or resignation related, we
would love to hear from you. You can email us
at Stuff Media, mom Stuff at i heeartneed dot com.
(31:58):
You can find us on Twitter at mom Stuff podcast
or on Instagram at Stuff I've Never Told You. Thanks
as always sure our suproducer Christina, thank you and thanks
to you for listening. Stuff I've Never Told You is
a production by iHeart Radio. For more podcasts on my
heart Radio, visit you i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts
Speaker 1 (32:11):
Or ready listen to your favorite shows.
Hey, this is Anny and Samantha. I want come to stuff.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
I never told you production if I hired you, and today
we're bringing back an episode we did about women's holiday
labor as we move into the holidays. As this comes out,
(00:30):
I was thinking about this actually when you were talking
about your recent Monday mini about hobbies, women and hobbies,
because I was trying to come up with some holiday
topics that we haven't already covered.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
One thing that my mom and I do is we
do puzzles together when I go home.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
And so then I went on a like rabbit hole
about the history of puzzles and women, and I learned
a lot and we'll have to come back and talk.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
About that later.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
But but then I got to thinking, as we do this,
I'm preparing to go home for the holidays, and I
was thinking about how that the fact that women have
less time for hobbies like is almost it becomes apparent
(01:19):
to me during the holidays because I'm like not preparing
to relax, I'm preparing to cook, I'm preparing to like decorate,
I'm preparing to like shop, like all of these things, like,
and my mom is doing more than me, Like she
does all of the like grocery shopic. She does the planning,
she does the hosting, the decorating, cleaning, entertaining, And it
(01:44):
is one of the things that frustrates me the most
in my particular house holiday situation is that I feel
like we do all of that work and then they
just they being In this case, dudes generally eat the
food and then leave and then go watch TV, and
we're like to stuff it has gotten better.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
They typically clean the dishes.
Speaker 3 (02:08):
Now, Okay, wasn't that a helpful like move by your
brother's fiance though more so than yeah.
Speaker 1 (02:17):
But I appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
I mean, it's something, But it's just like when you
were talking about the hobby, I was thinking about that.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
How we've also.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
Talked about our work and how it can be hard
to have a holiday with our job. There's a lot
of benefits to our job, don't get me wrong, but
one of the things is it feels like we're constantly working.
But then also just I was thinking about all the
stuff my mom and I've got to do it it
does not feel like a holiday. That does not feel
(02:46):
like a break to me at all. Right, Yeah, So
with that in mind, please enjoy this classic episode. Hey,
this is Annie and Samantha. I'm welcome to Stefan never
told you a production of iHeartRadio. So I'm gonna go
(03:14):
ahead and timestamp this one because we're talking about something
that is actually a lot of stuff is being written
about right now, and that is the Great Resignation as
it's called, among other things. So today is November twenty third,
twenty twenty one. This is our last recording session for
(03:36):
about a week. So yeah, that's exciting, and we do
have a bit of a mixed Santa labor bag on
this one. Now that we're in December officially, or we
will be when you.
Speaker 1 (03:48):
Listen to this. We are not currently.
Speaker 4 (03:50):
Right, we are not the future at this point in time.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
Well not at this point. We wanted to do a
very brief revisit of holiday emotional labor. We've been talking
about that kind of a lot recently, but also yes,
issues that are impacting women when it comes to things
like the Great Resignation and all of these labor shortages
are just product shortages that we've been hearing about. So
before we get into it, we have gone over emotional
(04:15):
labor before. But just as a reminder, Ourie Hostchild first
defined emotional labor as quote, invoking and suppressing feelings to
fit the job for which you are paid, especially in
jobs often helped by women that involve personal interaction, customer service,
and empathy.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
Things like that.
Speaker 2 (04:30):
Nowadays, we've expanded the meaning to include a plethora of stuff.
Speaker 1 (04:35):
That we, and again usually women in this.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
Context do outside of work to maintain relationships, like getting
cards and gifts, remembering important dates for you or your partner,
mood management, all kinds of things like that.
Speaker 1 (04:50):
And we talked about how.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
Emotional labor is often heightened for women and especially for
mothers our caregivers during the holidays last year, and how
it would be even more heightened during a pandemic. Since then,
a few articles have come out about it, as well
as some new challenges for this year that have shown
up in this discussion.
Speaker 3 (05:13):
So many challenges, one interesting but not at all surprising
theme for the articles that have come out from last year,
where all the women who reported they just didn't have
it in them to do the traditional holiday labor during
the pandemic, and then the guilt that many felt alongside
that realization, Yes, people and women more so felt burnt out.
(05:34):
They were and are taking the brunt of housework and caregiving.
More women experienced loss of jobs for whatever reason and
cuts in pay, which made the holidays more difficult. On
top of that, there was all that tragedy brought on
by COVID nineteen, and in the face of all that,
many women reported wanting to give and feeling pressure to
(05:56):
give and even more positive experience, but just flat out
not having the energy or resources to do so. For some,
this resulted in a simpler celebration that was in many
ways a relief, and for others, a conversation with a
partner about taking on some of the responsibilities she'd traditionally
been doing.
Speaker 4 (06:16):
They're saying throwing as.
Speaker 3 (06:17):
Traditional a holiday as they could give them some resemblance
of control in a time where everything else felt out
of control, and again for some just a feeling that
they'd filled.
Speaker 1 (06:29):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
Yeah, I mean it was a real mixed fag overall.
I feel like there was a lot of conversations people
were having in these articles. I was reading about like
what can we give up and what can we let go?
And I've been doing all this work and the other
person didn't like what right, Yeah, So that's interesting and
it'll it'll be interesting to see after this year how
(06:52):
it sort of goes after this is sort of our
second time round. Although I do feel like this one
the different challenges and there are still some of those
things going on, absolutely, but it does feel quote more
normal than last year, at least for me, right.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
So we'll see, we'll see.
Speaker 2 (07:14):
Hilariously to me, some articles cited Malaia Trump's words, who
gives it about Christmas stuff and decorations?
Speaker 1 (07:22):
But I have to do it right.
Speaker 3 (07:24):
I feel like that might have been her attitude throughout
her administration, So fair enough. One thing that's weighing on
all of us, and in this conversation, women planning holidays
are all the shortages that we've been hitting, from toys
to food. A survey from October twenty twenty one found
(07:44):
that thirty eight percent of women were anxious about holiday costs.
At the same time, holiday prices are expected to rise
by twenty percent this year.
Speaker 4 (07:55):
Read the room, y'all capitalism in the room.
Speaker 2 (08:01):
Yeah, my mom was like, I've got an emergency turkey
frozen and I'm gonna try.
Speaker 1 (08:05):
I heard there's gonna be a turkey at this store
at this time, and I was like, Wow, what is happening.
Speaker 3 (08:11):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
I did spend a good hour today trying to get
a PlayStation five. I failed, but I was close. It
was in my cart.
Speaker 4 (08:20):
Oh no moment.
Speaker 3 (08:23):
Yeah, I'm planning to go to a little market. And
this is just because this artist and this crafter is fantastic,
But I'm planning to go to a little market here
in Atlanta to get something that is on demand. It's
impossible to get and I'm planning to go thirty minutes
before it even opens to get in line. I guess
I'm gonna be one of those people because the last
(08:44):
time she had an online shop similar to this, it
was in my cart and as I was checking out,
it was gone.
Speaker 1 (08:48):
I was like, oh, oh, I hate it.
Speaker 2 (08:54):
This isn't part of that kind of labor we're talking about, though,
Like it sounds kind of silly, but I mean, if
you've got kids and you got plan these things, and
you've got to know that that's an issue, and then
you've got to plan around it, like it's just taking
up some of your mind space. And I think I
said recently, I bought most of my presents in October
and so did my mom because we were anticipating you
(09:15):
know this shortage or delay and delivery and yeah, my
mom brought a lot of food already and froze it.
She's like, what if I can't get it later, So
that's just like an extra thing to kind of plan.
Speaker 3 (09:27):
And yeah, with that the gift, because Etsy does this
a lot where you're like looking at a gift like
hurry up, there's only three left, and you're like, oh no, please.
Speaker 4 (09:36):
Don't go away before I make my decision.
Speaker 3 (09:39):
On top of the fact that, yeah, you know, you
don't know where it's coming from. Sometimes I'm like, oh no,
this is from Mexico. It's going to take two more weeks.
So having to plan perfectly as well as trying to
find the perfect thoughtful gift, y'all, it's a lot.
Speaker 1 (09:54):
It is, It really is.
Speaker 2 (09:57):
It feels great when you do it, when you pull
it off, but if you can't work.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
To get there, yes, yes, if you can.
Speaker 2 (10:03):
And also like we're throwing out a lot of company
names in those one but currently not sponsors or that's
not why.
Speaker 1 (10:08):
We're mentioning them anyway.
Speaker 2 (10:12):
And then yes, of course there are the arguments, as
always about politics, but also about masking and vaccination. I
did see a recent study where seventy five percent of
American households were like, you know, we're having a small
gathering this year vaccination and mask.
Speaker 1 (10:27):
So that's interesting.
Speaker 2 (10:28):
Yeah, women tend to do more of the controlling of
a family's narrative on social media, something that can be
really fraught if your family doesn't agree on things like that,
which I thought I hadn't really considered that, but yeah, yeah, it's.
Speaker 4 (10:44):
A it's a stressor.
Speaker 3 (10:46):
I'm trying to figure out how not to be the
person to start an argument.
Speaker 2 (11:04):
Something else we wanted to talk about is all these
labor shortages we're hearing about and also the Great resignation.
In September twenty twenty one, a record four point four
million people quit their jobs. According to the US Labor Department,
that's on the tail of four point three million. Resignations
are about three percent in August of twenty twenty one,
(11:25):
which is way larger than the number of layoffs at
one point three million. Data from small to medium sized
payroll provider Gusto suggests that of those quitting, more of
them are women. The company started tracking the gender gap
in resignations in January twenty twenty, and according to the
information they've collected. The gap was at its highest in
August twenty twenty one, with a one point one percent
(11:46):
point difference between the number of women quitting versus the
number of men quitting.
Speaker 1 (11:50):
Since then, that.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
Percentage just dropped a bit, but is still hovering around
one percent. Three hundred thousand women quit their jobs in
September compared to the one hundred ninety four thousand jobs
added to the workplace. So I mean, we don't really know,
We don't know the breakdown of the second number, but
more women quit than were hired, right, weall.
Speaker 3 (12:11):
Right, which we talked about when we said that we
were losing the gender gap.
Speaker 4 (12:14):
At one point we were like.
Speaker 3 (12:15):
Oh yay, it's happening, it's moving forward, and then pandemic
just swept all of that away, as well as the
fact that a lot of these jobs that have higher
resignations are probably the essential quote unquote essential jobs which
have more women as a part of that, so that
could explain a lot. And so data from LinkedIn found
that the number of women reporting job transitions, which can
(12:36):
mean anything from leaving the workforce or switching jobs, has
jumped fifty four percent for women in twenty twenty one,
compared to forty six percent for men. One third of
women surveyed said their income wasn't enough to pay for
their families, and the number one reason the women gave
for changing jobs, which, yes, that makes a lot of sense.
Speaker 4 (12:56):
This isn't just limited to the US.
Speaker 3 (12:58):
At the same time, a recent survey of fourteen thousand
corporate leaders, middle managers, and individual contributors from twenty seven
countries found that in twenty twenty two, sixty three percent
of women were planning on staying with their current employer,
down from seventy one percent in twenty twenty one. That's
compared to sixty seven percent of men planning on remaining
(13:21):
with their current employer in twenty twenty two, down from
seventy percent in twenty twenty one, So that's a more
precipitous drop among women. When it comes to leaders. Of leaders,
the number of women intending to stay in twenty twenty
two dropped from eighty seven percent to sixty six percent.
Before the pandemic, women had a majority of the country's jobs.
(13:42):
So this is a big deal for multiple reasons.
Speaker 2 (13:45):
Yes, yes, yes, yes, And of course this is impacting
companies diversity quotas. The report included this quote. With companies
competing for the same highly skilled talent, action on DEEIB,
which stands for republic de diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging
in fostering a culture of belonging will be a key differentiator,
(14:05):
but our research shows there's still a ways to go.
Four and five eighty percent senior leaders say their actions
show they are genuinely committed to a greater DEIB, while
only three and five or fifty eight percent individual contributor
to say the same. Closing this gap will play a
leading role in retaining people too, making it one of
the key areas of focus to get right during the
Great Resignation. A separate recent study found that a large
(14:28):
amount of people will leave if they are made quote
uncomfortable on a job because of their gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic background.
Speaker 1 (14:35):
Or neurodevelopment condition.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
And then over in Canada, a study found that one
hundred thousand working age women left the workforce since the
beginning of the pandemic as of spring twenty twenty one,
more than ten times than the number of men. Some
analysts suggest that if it were reversed and men were
the ones leading in such high numbers, there would be
more concern, which is also a problem.
Speaker 3 (14:58):
So there are a lot of reasons for this, and
many of them we've discussed before. The most commonly cited
is a desire for a better, higher paying career, women
start their own businesses, burnout, and child or elder care concerns,
and the words of an economist at Gusto Luke Pardu,
he said, this pandemic has been particularly difficult for women
at jobs who also need care for families.
Speaker 4 (15:21):
They've been the ones who.
Speaker 3 (15:22):
Needed to take that step back in their professional lives
in order to meet their family's responsibilities.
Speaker 4 (15:28):
And yeah, we talked about that previously.
Speaker 3 (15:30):
Twenty twenty Women in the Workplace survey found that women
on average were spending twenty hours a week on housework
and caregiving.
Speaker 4 (15:38):
Yep, again talked about that hasn't.
Speaker 3 (15:39):
Really changed since, according to some sources, two out of
three caregivers are women, and that same survey found that
one in three women have considered leaving or down shifting
their career in twenty twenty one, compared to one in
four at the start of the pandemic.
Speaker 4 (15:56):
Yeah, that's what we were talking about with the gap
at one point was like, oh, yeah, it's again. Oh no,
it's gutten wider yep.
Speaker 1 (16:03):
Yeah. There are a few episodes I looked back that
we did before the.
Speaker 2 (16:05):
Pandemic and I'm like, oh, we had no idea, We
had no idea, but we did one that was like
very hopeful of like women are made all these strides
or doing all this.
Speaker 3 (16:16):
It's like oh, and then when we had to review
after all the reports are like, yeah, mostly women are leaving,
Like yeah, goodype.
Speaker 2 (16:25):
So yes, as you were kind of saying, Samantha. All
of this has been compounded by the fact that many
essential workers, many of them women in fields like nursing, teaching,
and childcare, are also leaving the workforce. Indeed, dot com
found that more and more companies are posting quote urgent
hirings that start immediately, and most of those industries three
(16:46):
of the top four in fact, are dominated by women.
Personal care and home health, nursing, and childcare.
Speaker 1 (16:53):
A lot of these jobs require.
Speaker 2 (16:54):
In person interactions, meaning that health concerns are primary concern
for employees as well. So this is you can find
articles specific to each of those professions that we just
mentioned of, like why it's a big deal, why it's happening,
and a lot of it is related to what we're
talking about, but it does have that ripple effect then
of you know, I get there's no teachers or there's
(17:14):
that childcare aspect is so.
Speaker 1 (17:17):
Big in this conversation.
Speaker 2 (17:20):
When it comes to burnout, an increasing number of women,
and especially women of color and LGBTQ plus folks, are
taking medical leaves to cope with stress, exhaustion, and burnout.
Speaker 1 (17:30):
For many women, working at.
Speaker 2 (17:31):
Home has blurred the lines between work hours and off
work hours, meaning that a lot of us are working
ten to twelve hour days for the same amount of
pay or even less pay. Eighty percent of women surveyed
over ten countries reported that the pandemic had increased their workload,
and sixty six percent reported that their home responsibilities had
also increased.
Speaker 1 (17:53):
So that's that's just a lot. It's just a lot.
Speaker 2 (17:56):
Don Lee over at the Los Angeles Times wrote about
all of this, especially for working moms, quote, the pandemic
has exacted a heavy toll on millions of moms in
terms of job security, pay equity, and long term career
opportunities loss as many will likely never recover in significant numbers.
They endured pay cuts, reduced hours, diminished retirement benefits, and
(18:17):
lost promotions. As we discussed in previous episodes, some experts
predict the pandemic will set advancements made in gender equality
back fifty years, and those are like, really guesses right.
Speaker 4 (18:31):
And yeah, that didn't have all the numbers that we have.
It is not pretty. It's like as bad as they expected,
or a little bit worse.
Speaker 3 (18:38):
And on top of that, yeah, I find it interesting
when we talk about these gender gaps that most of
the companies are ragging about how well they've done. And
when I say company, I mean these like big corporate ones,
obviously not the small businesses which have been.
Speaker 4 (18:51):
Had pretty hard.
Speaker 3 (18:53):
But again, typically these small businesses also like impact women
just as a reminder pretty greatly.
Speaker 4 (19:00):
And I find that.
Speaker 3 (19:00):
Interesting as well, when we're sitting here going, oh, no,
it's gotten bad. But at the same time, we're getting
reports from corporations and big stockholders were.
Speaker 4 (19:09):
Like, but we've made a lot of money, right.
Speaker 1 (19:13):
Again read the room. I feel like we've been saying
that a lot.
Speaker 3 (19:16):
I mean, it just feels like, I don't know why,
you feel like it's time to brag right now? This
is the worst time, be quiet, sit Yeah, have all
the seats. On the other hand, another study found that
about ten percent of Americans quit their job to pursue
something they were more passionate about. Good on you, ten
percent of the people's. On top of that, the study
(19:37):
found that fifty percent of women were more open to
doing that compared to forty four percent of men.
Speaker 5 (19:42):
Good on you, ladies, yeah yeah, And so there have
been numerous articles aimed at employers about how to keep
workers and women at their jobs, suggesting things like flexible
hours and flexible work options, student loan assistance, higher pay,
and four day work weeks.
Speaker 2 (19:59):
How have experts warned that, if not carried out carefully,
some of these options could backfire and further exacerbate problems
that the pandemic made worse. For instance, if most women
at a company choose to work remotely due to childcare,
the office might be full of men. And multiple studies
have shown that in person interactions are beneficial when it
(20:21):
comes to things like promotions. So that's like I know
we've discussed before, it is really beneficial to have this
like flexible work schedule and remote work options, and that
is really beneficial for women.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
But it's one of those things, like we also have
to keep in mind.
Speaker 2 (20:37):
These other things, and so we talked about this, but
also like the ploring of work lines and finding like
work life balance. It's just nothing in here is so
simple as this, Like we should definitely talk about this,
it should be an option.
Speaker 3 (20:51):
But also right, and let's also think about the fact
that if a woman is staying at home to be
with their child, their double working, like they are doing
two jobs at once. So that's not necessarily a benefit
other than saving money, which should not have to be
for a woman who wants to continue in hard profession
or has to continue in hard profession.
Speaker 2 (21:12):
Right right, right, right, And all of this has also
led to a lot of conversation around updating how employers
find employees. Maybe the resume is no longer the way
to go or not as important, or maybe a college
degree is and always so important, and right now analysts
think women have more negotiating power. Of course, yeah, that
won't matter if we don't get to the root of
(21:33):
systemic issues, like if there aren't affordable care options or
elder care options for those that need them. Even the
term the great resignation is disputed for what's happening because
it implies a level of choice not present for all workers.
Some have called it the Great Reassessment. Others say it's
just women being four set of jobs to take care
(21:54):
of children, and that's what it is.
Speaker 3 (21:56):
Right.
Speaker 2 (21:57):
Many have caution that while coverage of this be quite inspiring,
it often focuses on those that have.
Speaker 1 (22:03):
The resources, time, and health to undertake something new.
Speaker 4 (22:08):
Right.
Speaker 3 (22:08):
One of the surveys mentioned added that a part of
the solution has to be quote, doing the work at
the root of the problem, as you were saying, the
systemic part a toxic culture that rewards workplace martyrdom over
self care and self awareness. And yeah, it's obviously and
we see this in a lot of like you need.
Speaker 4 (22:25):
To sacrifice your life to be here. That can't happen.
Speaker 3 (22:29):
And so many women interviewed reported being frustrated at the
lack of advancement, opportunities, support, financial compensation, and just general
respect and basic necessities, which you're like, why is that
not a part of this?
Speaker 4 (22:42):
Why is this something that we have to compromise for?
Speaker 2 (22:45):
I know, I know, And yeah, the recent passing of
the infrastructure bill here in the US and what got
cut also plays into this conversation. We're planning on returning
to that to discuss it in a future episode. I
will say, just because it kind of stuck out to me,
some women interviewed in all of these articles about this
(23:05):
chose not to get vaccinated and reported difficulties finding jobs,
while others quit because their companies didn't have a vaccine mandate.
So that's also something that's happening.
Speaker 4 (23:14):
Right.
Speaker 1 (23:14):
As we said at the top, this is like people.
Speaker 2 (23:17):
Are really writing a lot of articles about this all
the time, and since I've researched it, I get like
an update every day, so it's ongoing. It's you know,
relatively new, so data collection is still happening. But that's
what we know for now. Maybe we'll revisit.
Speaker 3 (23:32):
So for the very little I knew of it beforehand,
I felt like the great resignation was the stories about
all of the like the fast food workers who would
just up and quit, and you would see the massive
science that says not able to be open.
Speaker 4 (23:45):
Including one of the zaxbies here in Atlanta.
Speaker 3 (23:47):
I went and they didn't have enough employee, so I
had this shut down for a few weeks.
Speaker 2 (23:51):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (23:51):
I found it interesting.
Speaker 2 (23:53):
Yeah, I mean there are a lot of a lot
of very interesting conversations happening around this, I think because
that aspect I've also seen and has been pretty widely covered,
and I think that is you know, another like when
we talk about the minimum wage and stuff, what we're
asking people to do for so little and people just
(24:16):
being fed up with it, paying people.
Speaker 1 (24:19):
A living wage. But yeah, there's a.
Speaker 2 (24:23):
Lot more going on than we can really simplify. But
I do think after reading all of this, I do
think a lot of it when it comes to why
more women are quitting, is definitely childcare based or just
like other responsibilities based, Yeah, which is, yeah, something we
need to be talking about.
Speaker 1 (24:56):
All right.
Speaker 2 (24:56):
To wrap this one up, this episode actually started with
this news story that I heard, and then it expanded
into a great resignation. But I actually wanted to talk
about Missus Glaus. Yes, so this is our holiday themed
section of labor shortages, and you can see the past
(25:18):
hosts have done episodes on Missus Clause. But yeah, very briefly,
if you're wondering, she does not have a definitive first name.
Some more recent pieces of entertainment give her one, but
it's not the same name. So I think she's called
Anna and something and like something else with an A
and another thing, but they're not the same name.
Speaker 1 (25:37):
So that's kind of where we are with Missus Claus.
Speaker 2 (25:40):
And as more and more malls and venues are looking
to hire someone to play Santa Claus after missing out
the last year, they are running into a shortage of
folks available to play. So this is for a few reasons, older,
heavier setmen that are typically sought after to play Santa Claus,
or at a higher risk for more severe case of
COVID nineteen. Since the job requires interacting with hundreds of
(26:04):
people in public, many are opting out this year. Several
died from COVID since the pandemic started, and they actually
keep some of the Santa Schools keep statistics on this
since it's pretty it's pretty gram.
Speaker 4 (26:16):
Wait wait, they're Santa Schools.
Speaker 1 (26:17):
Yeah. Oh yes, Samantha, and we're going to talk about
some of them.
Speaker 4 (26:20):
Oh, thank you, going okay.
Speaker 2 (26:22):
Other Santa potential Santa players are deciding they'd rather spend
more time with their family during the holidays. Many are
sticking to digital visits as they did in twenty twenty,
and actually found quite a bit of success in that
all this is coupled with a significant increase in demand.
According to the founder of a Denver Santa school, Susan Mesco,
(26:45):
on an average year, she receives around fifteen to twenty
requests for Santa in July, but by February of this year,
she'd already gotten seventy requests.
Speaker 1 (26:54):
A school in Texas.
Speaker 2 (26:55):
Reported around a twenty percent shortage of available Santas in
a one hund undred and twenty one percent increase in demand.
This does mean that Santa's are making more money. And
you know, there's still a lot of concerns about COVID
and all this, so there's a lot of like safety things,
but in place it's still you know, a mall and
kids and all that stuff. Somebody doing like plexiglass or
(27:18):
you know, six foot distance. But they people who are
doing it are making.
Speaker 1 (27:23):
A lot of money, a lot more than they normally make.
Speaker 4 (27:25):
Nice.
Speaker 3 (27:26):
So it also means that some bookers are turning instead
to a Missus clause. And I'm not gonna lie. So
there is an episode in thirty Rock where Jack Donaghy
talks about Missus Claus in one of their holiday specials,
and he's like where's missus Claus. And they're like, we
didn't need one, and he's like, there's always a missus Clause.
And it turns out that his mom, who his father
(27:49):
was not in the picture, would have Missus Claus doing everything.
Speaker 4 (27:52):
Because they had no seta. I just oh, and so
he thought that was a tradition, right, right, right right.
Speaker 3 (27:59):
So more and more women are receiving solo bookings on
top of this, in part because of anticipated toy shortages,
The Jammy Claus Company is set to publish Jammi Claus
The Christmas Tradition of unconditionally giving all about how Missus
Claus delivers pajamas on Christmas Eve.
Speaker 4 (28:19):
I like this.
Speaker 3 (28:19):
The kids are supposed to put out the bag on
Christmas Eve and then she'll fill it with pajamas, whether
the children have been naughty or nice. You know. The
company is partnering with Domestic Violence and Homeless Shelters in
conjunction with their annual Pajama drive.
Speaker 4 (28:34):
Very smart, I want some pajamas.
Speaker 1 (28:36):
Pajamas are great. Pajamas are great.
Speaker 2 (28:40):
And then in November, Old Navy hosted a Santa boot camp,
claiming they wanted Santa to be quote more representative of
modern culture, representing all backgrounds, ethnicities, and heritage. And I
also saw just today that they have training on how
to handle ridiculous gift request.
Speaker 4 (29:02):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (29:03):
I mean, like I always think about that when you
have a child going to Santa telling secrets and the
thing they want is like a horse, and you're absolutely
not getting this child a pony or a horse? So
how do you deal with this? And for me, who
have never actually believed in Santa Claus, it was not
a big deal. Knowing that we had cash limits. We're
(29:25):
told we had cash limits. Didn't really you know, care
much other than comparing with all the rich kids who
were like I got.
Speaker 4 (29:31):
A new phone with my own private number. I'm like,
I got.
Speaker 1 (29:37):
A hug.
Speaker 3 (29:39):
But I'm just wondering that's not true adequate Christmas. I
was just just wondering in that, like what do you do?
What do these parents do? Another reason that I'm glad
I don't have children in that so this would make
me panic, Yeah, trying to figure out what to do
for these kids who are like, hey, well this and this,
and especially you know, you see the really sad tales
(29:59):
of like kids wanting people to be healed or wanting
to help people and there's nothing you could do about this?
Speaker 4 (30:05):
What do you do?
Speaker 1 (30:07):
Yeah, I would not.
Speaker 2 (30:08):
That is not a job I would want. Nope, Nope, nope.
Another job I wouldn't want being Santa Disney World. But
they also have now s they have their first black
men playing Santa.
Speaker 1 (30:23):
I think I like it. Yeah, but yeah, there's no
way that sounds like a job.
Speaker 4 (30:30):
It sounds like just a nightmare in general.
Speaker 3 (30:32):
To have to have kids, one right after another. Tell
you like you hope it's great experiences, and I'm sure
the sweet ones are so fantastic, but then the ones
you're like, yeah, I really want to just push you down.
Speaker 2 (30:46):
Right into the crass, like right, get away from me, kid, Yes, And.
Speaker 1 (30:56):
I guess related.
Speaker 2 (30:56):
Santa Con is back this year, So okay, what is this?
Speaker 4 (31:00):
Is that just because I've seen pictures? Is it a race?
Is it just a convention? Is it? Someone tell me.
Speaker 2 (31:07):
There might be a race involved, But it's a convention.
And it's sort of notorious for drunk people who address
to saying getting really drunk in like puking in the
streets and getting in fights on the streets in New York.
Speaker 4 (31:19):
Oh fighting, Oh yeah, yes, don't.
Speaker 3 (31:25):
There's so many things that worry me about this. Hey,
if y'all have gone, any of y'all have gone, and
you can tell us the tales of Santa con Please,
I'm very thoroughly confused.
Speaker 2 (31:37):
Oh yes, any yeah, any convention can get a little
yes and please, if you've got any stories you want
to share, whether it's holiday related or resignation related, we
would love to hear from you. You can email us
at Stuff Media, mom Stuff at i heeartneed dot com.
(31:58):
You can find us on Twitter at mom Stuff podcast
or on Instagram at Stuff I've Never Told You. Thanks
as always sure our suproducer Christina, thank you and thanks
to you for listening. Stuff I've Never Told You is
a production by iHeart Radio. For more podcasts on my
heart Radio, visit you i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts
Speaker 1 (32:11):
Or ready listen to your favorite shows.
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