…no, that’s not a typo. September (unbeknownst to me at least) is Self-Improvement Month, Disaster Prep Month, Responsible Dog Owner Month, AND National Velociraptor Awareness Month… among other things.
So, let’s break this down.
In honor of Labor Day (yeah, that’s on the calendar too!) and kids going back to school (disaster!), we are focused on work-life balance (self-improvement) this month. With the kids gone for the day, the fur-babies (responsible dog-owner) remain underfoot and without their packmates (littermates?) to entertain them, well… they are more “attentive” to their adult humans. For those who bravely trek into the office, be on the lookout for those pesky velociraptors (need I say more…?)! The kids aren’t around to keep them entertained anymore either! Silly raptors!
On a more serious note…
This year is the 128th Labor Day celebrated in the United States. Labor Day was started back in 1894 to celebrate the American worker and their achievements. Workers (10,000 of them!) went on strike and marched in New York to protest unsafe and dismal working conditions; thus the first Labor Day parade was born.
A few things have changed since then. There was no minimum wage in the US until 1938 (a whopping $0.25 per hour!). The average workweek was around sixty hours a week, and usually seven days. The minimum age to be employed was 10 years of age. That’s not a typo. You read that right: 10 years old. By 1910, it was up to 14, but I digress.
The average wages in all industries at the start of the 20th century was $0.21 per hour and about 58 hours per week, according to the US Census Bureau. That’s $12.18 per week, roughly $630 per year. A half-gallon of milk at the time cost $0.13. Let’s put that in perspective.
The average annual wages in the US today are about $53.4k per year according to the Social Security Administration. That’s roughly $25.67 per hour. Given that ½ gallon of milk was 62% of your hourly wage in 1900, it should be costing $15.91! Yikes! I’d say things have improved.
Not only have our wages improved, but workers are also honored with safe work conditions, limits to the number of hours they are required to work, minimum wages, benefits like workers’ compensation and unemployment insurance, and.. you guessed it, child labor laws.
In honor of our first full year as an employer, Profit & Equity has started an annual Employee Appreciation Week during the week of Labor Day. We’ll be hosting a dinner, having daily Games, and maybe some other hijinks (after all, what’s a celebration without hijinks?)! How will you celebrate your employees this week?
Don’t have employees yet? Wondering if you can afford them? SCHEDULE A CONSULT to see if you can start your own Employee Appreciation Week next year!
Wondering how you can plan for your own Employee Appreciation Week? SCHEDULE A CONSULT to find out!
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