Baristas of the World, Unite!

Welcome back to The Supply Times! Here’s what we have on tap for you in this issue:

• The baristas are taking over!

• 4 ways bosses can reduce stress at work

• What I’m reading, watching, listening to, and thinking about

Shall we?

Industry Highlights: From Picket Fence to Picket Lines

You probably don’t give much thought to who’s handing you your morning coffee, but in the wake of The Great Recession, the average barista looks much different than they did just a few years ago.

According to a New York Times report, young college-educated workers are flocking to hourly wage jobs at companies like Starbucks, Amazon, and REI to pay the bills. Part of the reason for this shift is a growing desire to avoid being trapped in jobs that don’t make good use of their skills. A University of Michigan study found the pandemic reshuffled the priorities of many workers, who began placing a greater importance on work passion. Frontline jobs provide both the wages and benefits needed to get by and the flexibility for workers to pursue their passions while off the clock.

This side-hustle lifestyle has become so common that it’s changed the way most Americans view postsecondary education. According to a Gallup poll, only about half of U.S. adults view college education as “very important”—down from 70% in 2013.

But with that flexibility comes a hefty pay cut—and the realization that the American dream their parents achieved with relative ease is more difficult than ever.

How do these workers plan to attain their picket fence? By unionizing.

Gallup reported that support for labor unions among college graduates has increased from 55% in the late ‘90s to nearly 70%. And though they’re still a minority at most frontline workplaces, it’s the college-educated workers leading the charge. In April, the National Labor Relations Board reported a 57% increase in union election petitions—a good number of which are retail or spots like REI or Starbucks.

According to a Bloomberg article, the world’s largest coffee chain didn’t have any union locations in December, but that number’s quickly risen to 60—and 175 more have petitioned the government for votes of their own. It’s a move that’s made Starbucks interim CEO Howard Schultz a little nervous. “We can’t ignore what is happening in the country as it relates to companies throughout the country being assaulted, in many ways, by the threat of unionization,” Schultz said in a recent virtual speech to baristas nationwide. Schultz further claimed he wasn’t anti-union, but then added “we didn’t get here by having a union.”

Could unions be the way to the American Dream? If these college-educated workers have their way, it’s a distinct possibility. But would I bet on it? Probably not.

The Future of Work: Stress Less

For many, the idea of work and stress go hand-in-hand. Type the phrase “workplace stress” into any search engine, and you’ll receive thousands of disturbing statistics—83% of US workers suffer from work-related stress; US businesses lose up to $300 billion in annual revenue due to workplace stress; only 43% of workers think their employers care about their work-life balance.

But there are plenty of things bosses can do right now to help hack back some of their workers’ creeping dread. Here are four simple rules you can implement today, courtesy of The Wall Street Journal:

• Rule 1: Take the guesswork out of email. Ever gotten an email that says something like: “We need to talk. Can you come by my office on Friday?” It likely sent your mind spiraling. Are you fired?By writing a more explicit message—”I need to talk to you about your plans for the upcoming project”—it saves a lot of sleepless nights.

• Rule 2: Take creature comforts seriously. Stress is a bottom-up process. The more physically uncomfortable we feel, the more mentally worn down we become over time. Ensuring small things like ample parking or a reasonable office temperature—one study found the thermostat accounted for nearly 39% of the variance in workplace performance—can improve worker ROI.

• Rule 3: Bosses aren’t therapists. Yes, managers should have more than a transactional relationship with their workers, but trying to counsel employees about their personal life stressors is a bridge too far. You’re not a psychologist, so don’t act like one. Instead, make sure there are ample healthcare resources available for your team—and offer them as needed.

• Rule 4: Give people control over the small things. The American Psychological Association points out that a lack of control can be so stressful, it can lead to an early death. So stop micromanaging!Give your employees a forum where they can document the small ways in which they wish they had more control, and then offer choice in those areas. Think about it: Does it really matter if everyone has their cameras on during a Zoom meeting?

The Supply Aside: What I’m Reading, Watching, Listening to, and Thinking About

RE: Supply Chain, Work, and Beyond

• 📕 Read As much as I’m an actual book-in-my-hand reader, I must confess that I do have a few books that I’m reading on my iPad Kindle app. One such book that I’ve been consuming in bite size increments is a decent one called A Passion for Leadership: Lessons on Change and Reform from 50 years of Public Service by the renowned Robert Gates. It’s mainly an airplane read for me, so I’m only 42% of the way done. But as a fan of Gates since I read his previous book, Duty, I’m enjoying his perspective from heading up the DoD, bipartisan SecDef service under multiple presidents, and leading the CIA and Texas A&M. This no-frills and straight talk on leading diverse behemoths is rich with experience, examples and wisdom.

• 📺 Watch: It seems like a lifetime ago, but just last year, The Ever Given, a 219,000 ton container ship got lodged in the Suez Canal, blocking more than 400 ships and $10 billion in supplies from passing through. This week, PBS released a documentary called “Why Ships Crash” exploring the event and what the heck went wrong. It’s a great reminder of how fragile our global supply chain really is.

• 👂 Listen: If you’re in the market for a self-improvement podcast, the Finding Gravitas episode with bestselling author Daniel Pink fits the bill perfectly. Pink’s written seven NYT best sellers and was the former speechwriter for Vice President Al Gore, and in this conversation, he talks about the universality of regret. Pink believes regret can be a positive force for change, and he offers crucial lessons for leaders who strive for authenticity. Having known and worked with the podcast host, Jan Griffiths, I highly recommend it. She’s a former supply management superstar turned entrepreneur, and I’ve been a fan of her work for a long time.

• 💡 Think: Most of my think time this week has been consumed by the ISM World annual conference, which I’ve been attending in Orlando. It’s the first one since 2019, and it’s been good to see so many familiar faces and reconnect with old colleagues. The conference’s primary theme is ESG and sustainability, which continues to remain a crucial issue for the industry despite the myriad challenges supply chain practitioners are currently facing.

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