 Hey, welcome back to my YouTube channel guys today. We're meeting up with Christie and we're catching up about How she's doing and what's going on but also more importantly We're talking about the topic of working in Wisconsin at the moment because she has been making some comments to me in our Personal discussions that I think you're gonna find very interesting So she kind of talks about what it's like going back to work full-time And then we go into what's happening with unemployment right now in Wisconsin and it's very interesting So stay tuned subscribe. Here we go. Hey, welcome back. Christie. Good to see you. Look at how tan you are. Oh my goodness Look at this. I'll kill across season So is that your hair? Is it getting colored that color is that from the Sun? Oh my No, I think this is from aging It's white. Oh, it's really blonde like I mean we've been on videos with you all year and it's not normally this blonde Okay, well it might be between hair dye getting older and I've completely sunburned myself This is my skin people not a tank top. Okay, so let's just see it say the SPF 50 Well when you put it on after the day is over and then you put it on it doesn't work as well. Oh My goodness Just saying just saying it's good to see you house with her. Oh, yeah, it's not too bad. I yeah, it's pretty nice. We have like random days of just like solid rain, but then it's like totally sunny today and beautiful so Oh my gosh. I just I don't wear more than a sweatshirt going out Where I am. Please. Where I am. Yeah, if you went north, it's going to be warmer. If you went south, it's going to be colder, but I'm kind of in the middle. So anyway, today, let's talk about let's just catch up. Right. It's just been a while since we've kind of talked on here. And then also let's talk about like working and I just want to talk about some of the things that I've heard you kind of comment on Recently that's going on in Wisconsin with the unemployment and the new benefits due to COVID and just people kind of starting to get back into the real world and then adjusting to You know, job loss from last year and then like when to go back to work and then maybe I want a different job and all these things going on. All the Yes, all the things. Well, you know, I've had a huge transition because I went back to work full time and I haven't been full time in 10 years. Wow. So that was a huge transition and I transitioned into our summer working full time while I'm used to being with kids full time in the summer and Doing the beach and running people here and there. So getting dressed and looking nice and going to a building eight hours a day has been a little brutal for Fear enough. And also if people don't know the summers in the US are three months there. They're very long. They're not the six weeks like you get here. So, yeah. Yeah, so we covet those and and it's really hard on the like you only get the weekends to really do anything. But if you have children and if they're in sports of any kind. Well, that's when the sports are is done the weekend. So you don't really get like downtime per se or like, Hey, time to do laundry time like Right. No, it's an adjustment going back to work for sure. Oh, but in some ways a lot easier. Can we just say that is a lot Okay. And I say depending on what ages you're dealing with. It's just a whole different ball game. Yeah. Yeah, I some days I'm like, Hey, and then other days. I'm like, Oh, I wish we were going to the beach. And then I'm like, Right. So, yeah, but Right. So true. It here's what I am having such a hard time adjusting to. Okay. And let me just say getting to know New Zealand a little bit more. It's making me a little bit jealous. That you people seem to have figured out how to work and work well and rest and rest well in America. We do not do that. Okay. So with the social media with the cell phone with the email. Now you can't get a day off. I mean, even when you're off, you're not off. And it's expected here to work, work, work, work, work, work, work and my top priority is my family. So this is a huge adjustment for me as I go to ask my employer for different things did this in the past, even now it is definitely frowned upon to take time off. How about 100% that's what I remember to like even just a little bit of time off, even if like even if you're supposed to work from like eight to five and like but then everybody actually works seven to six right I'll do each other. And so like when you leave at five because you have a family, they're like, oh, she's leaving it. Girl. Yes. Yes. Yes. Karen stop overworking Karen stop telling me you know what is going I have things to do I have a life outside of this little bubble thing we've got going here where I get paid poorly. So. And yeah, it's just very working hard and always being at work is I think you said it recently to me is like it's just you have that you're a team player, if you do that, if you go home you're not a team player. Yeah, I mean value. Yeah, so you feel guilty. Yes. So like I'm still for mothers that work in the US is way different than here. Brutal. Brutal. I really don't even know I never had to go back. I'm very grateful. I never had to go back when my kids were babies. How in the world do women go back when they're not sleeping through the night their body has completely had an overhaul and it's not fun. I know because you have to go back at six weeks. Then you have like Nobody's sleeping. You get six more weeks, but I believe like they're unpaid like I don't know I'm not up to date on my FMLA. You don't get paid. I think they are unpaid. I can't remember or you can paid and then like six weeks and it all depends on your company. Some companies are a lot better. Do you know what I mean I'm just talking in general, though. And then there's then there's the daycare costs are very expensive. In fact, I looked at a statistic recently is much more expensive than is in New Zealand. And so like going back to work and you're barely, you know, you're working like crazy. You're barely making any money after daycare costs and you're not with your child. So Like okay, it's a total catch what I would call 22 it's a catch 22 because 20 years ago when I worked in the sales world doing advertising sales. I didn't have children yet. Okay, so I'm traveling making commission making a base salary while the gal next to me has two children. Okay, she's dishing out 20 years ago $30,000 a year. I said to her, I hope you are making a killing in here because if you're not, you're spending half of your salary to drop your kid off. What? Yeah, I mean, it's Before tax, before tax tax taken the other half. So what are we really doing so that a lot of people that was an actual decision that people made in the US to stay home because it doesn't make sense. It doesn't mean depending on what industry and how much money you make in it doesn't make sense. And so at different times it didn't make sense for me either. And so it was like that. But here you get you can get like a year off for sure. Then I think there's more you can get. Yeah. All paid and you're not losing your job. And yeah, there's just like a lot of support for that. There's no thought of like that you can't go to work because you have kids. And if you have to go get a kid or you have to leave to do that, I do whatever I want, whatever I want, basically. And that's okay. They just like get your job done, whatever, if you need to get your kids, you know, put me like it would if I ever said that to my boss, it would never be a problem. The only problem that they ever have with me is that I'm not taking my paid time off. They're like, you need to take your weeks because they really believe that you cannot work efficiently. They actually believe this. They believe this like in a value system here that you cannot work efficiently for a whole year without, you know, your four weeks holiday. And a significant portion at a time. No, I know, like it's okay. Okay, with all the, okay, I don't know if New Zealand talks about this a lot, but especially since COVID and especially since kind of after COVID, the big words this last year has been mental health. Yes. Here's the thing. Americans are literally making ourselves crazy, because we we tap ourselves out. We tap ourselves out at home we tap ourselves out at work, and then even vacations are tapped out, because you're trying to cram everything into a five day week, because you most people only get two weeks off when you first started job in America, you get two weeks paid vacation, and like at my personal job now I get PTO say I don't really understand these words. PTO and vacation. So I thought PTO was like, if I'm going to like a doctor's appointment, I guess PTO, but I don't know if that's right I might have to take vacation for that. See this is where it gets confusing. But you have to be at a company for years before they give you three weeks off. No, I know it's very hard to get three weeks. Very hard. Yeah. And you need to be a VP if you're going to get four. Yeah, absolutely true. In general, in general. Yes, Americans that have just moved here, and the consistent message that I hear is that they haven't taken a day off in years. You know, like just because okay just because you are technically allowed HR wise rules laws whatever employment law, get the two weeks it doesn't mean it's encouraged. Your boss would be like you want to take the two weeks and I think you're going to take your two weeks and make you feel bad about it, you know what I mean. It's, I still know what you mean. I, I am having such a hard time adjusting because, again, my priorities are so, so different than many that work, and have always worked like women as you know I'm talking about women because I know what I am so this is I can speak to this, where my, if I asked to leave early. It's, it's, we're not sure if that's going to work. If I want to take time off. It has to be like pre plant so. Okay, so like let's say I wake up tomorrow, and I can tell my daughter's having a hard day, and I really need to just take a personal day to just be with her. And that would be nearly impossible to pull off. And that doesn't work for me. I'm like, what is happening, why are we allowing this in America. Now that I'm kind of in the corporate world, I'm like, No, I don't want to do this, why are we doing this. And, you know, I know someone who's at a VP level, where he works. He worked through his weekend. He, you know, at his kid sporting event, he had to keep thinking about what he had to do when he got back to the hotel, you know, it's that kind of stuff and you're like, For what I don't know, I don't know if we're, I get it that there's some jobs you have to be on like that but holy crap, we are really killing ourselves. We're all exhausted. We all have anxiety, we have depression and nobody can sleep. What. Yeah. So that that doesn't surprise me now that I was looking at some of the new laws specifically in Wisconsin now there's, you know, 50 states so we're not trying to talk about everything when I talk about trying to talk about the right because we got state law we got federal law, you know, it and then like, like, like going back into like all of this rules and regulations and unemployment and what you can get and all these services and then just pulled me right back in to the freaking hassle it is to try to get anything and I read story after story after story about different people situations and how this government program didn't work for them in full and this government program didn't work for them and all these different situations you're like, oh my money so like if someone's on disability for like the last 20 years and they go to file for this extra unemployment they can't get it because they're already getting and it was like but they still lost their job I mean it was just like services cannot connect. So anyway, no, the audience yeah that like the summary of what is happening so during COVID. If you lost your job unemployment was like $600 a week it sounds like in the US in Wisconsin specifically, and then that ended, and then now they're at but they still have added 300 on top of what it would normally be just to get people back on their feet through starting September 1. So I'm going to do away with the additional $300, although the governor saying that he is going to keep it, people are lobbying against it, because businesses are having a hard time hiring so what I'm hearing is it's summertime there people are like, over the summer because this goes until September 1. And so like there's apparently like tons of and this is what you've been saying like there's everybody is searching for workers are giving $1,000 bonuses, they're increasing their per hourly rate and like this is so interesting. So like you're trying to help people get back in the workforce, but yet they're not going to go until September 1 and so now have all these businesses can't even now I'm seeing that these businesses cannot even run their full business, right. Because of workers to do it so they're doing partial partial business and so if you don't have businesses running, then doesn't mean that that business even going to survive till September. I don't know. I have never, I do not remember this in my lifetime my little life. I don't remember this. I go the other day to Culver so Culver's is like a high end fast food place. So good. Yeah. Yeah, so love the chicken tenders how large. Anyway, so I'm pulling in. Oh, I'm going to go in so I feel like I'm getting a break on my 30 minute lunch break. Okay, what can you do in 30 minutes when you have to get in the car get to the anyway. Okay, so that's the same point. So 30 minute lunch break. I go to get out to go into the lobby, and I'm pulling on the door and the door is locked and I'm like okay it's 1130 am. This is your prime time working. I look up there is a, um, a sign that says, sorry, lobby closed, because we don't have enough workers say what. What is happening? What is happening? I look over to Taco Bell. Again, fast food don't eat there. I'll give you stomach ache. But anyway, beside the point, they have a sign that says part time full time $18 an hour. Now you guys have to understand, I think our minimum wage is still 725. I believe it's something like that is minimum wage. Wow. Now it's starting to get pushed up to around 15 seems to be like when I'm looking on indeed which is our, our way to look for jobs that are available online. It, everything is now $10 and higher. It like there's no more under $10 now. So that's very interesting. Yeah. So again, minimum wage hasn't gone up, but the employers are so wanting workers. I okay my favorite small shop in town who's locally owned by this woman really love her stuff. Just got an email yesterday. She no longer can keep her cute little shop open. She's going to have to go online, because she cannot get workers. Oh my gosh. So here's, here's my, again, everybody has an opinion about how the money thing is and unemployment and blah, blah, blah. This is literally just my opinion. We all get them so have a heyday, but unemployment has been going too long. We have been giving free money which I think it's hilarious because it's not free, we will end up paying this back in some way shape or form in taxes. So, right. So like we just now got another child tax credit. Now we're getting like $250 per kid under the age of 18. Why is another one coming. Yeah, I just we just got it this month we're getting it again next month and the month after I don't get it. Oh, is this is this from the state or from the federal level. I think it's the state, the state. Okay. Yeah, I really wish God bless him that he was stopped doing that, just because again, it, it's encouraging people in general. Like you said, why would you go to work if when you go to work you can't even make as much as you do staying home. So it's not even a financially wise choice to go to go back to work. Yeah, so this is crazy. It's so interesting because like it's cool because like people could have get a really great job at a great price right now. I was even reading that like people that were working in with like a waiter waitress you know how they rely so much on tips. Yeah, we're like not going back to that job and going working at the quick trip, which is a gas station petrol station, and because they're getting you know 11 $15 an hour, whatever, so much more than they get paid. Because you're going to put the time in, you know what I mean. And then there's a lot of issues I was reading also about people not wanting to go back to work as a bartender or whatever because, even though people are supposed to wear masks they don't always and it just like you're just feeling like you're, you know, like you don't have any control and they don't really treat you like a person that was their perspective, you know, that they just want what they want when we want it, you know, and so that's interesting. Yeah, so like just, and then people were saying that a lot of times families are waiting till September 1 specifically because then they wouldn't have to pay the daycare right so the kids go back to school in September. And so then might as well make sense for me to go back at that point or start applying at that point and so that should be interesting I'm interested to see how the shift changes, starting September but it may not if you know they're still going to get pay the unemployment so Right, it's going to be really interesting to see and and don't get me wrong there. I believe there is a small few that really do need this help right now and I'm happy to do that and I think that's the right right because some people have no job. Right, like, yes, and we and I'm all for it I'm all for helping out people who are down and out and work, you know, doing their best can't seem to get on their feet. It happens. My question is, if you're collecting unemployment what are the rules around actually applying for work. So, like when I was on unemployment you have to apply for work and you have to prove it and you have to go to a certain number of interviews. Okay, so for the last year. It has been no proof. Oh, well that's why that's why people are sitting at home. You don't have to do anything. So they, I know it's read. Oh, that's not good. Okay, no so they just started it. When did they start it was it March. Yeah it was March. Okay, that they just started it going back to you had to start applying. Yeah, apply yeah and start showing right because it looks like you applied at the Taco Bell they would hire you so. Yeah, and at this point you literally could get hired anywhere I'm half tempted. I have told you this before. I do not have a college degree. I am. I love people. I love to help I love to advocate I love networking sales marketing, and then also like counseling and that kind of stuff. I'm not tempted to go try to get a job that requires a degree right now, because I can be taught the things that most people need to go to college to learn. I can be taught that. But social skills and how you deal and interact with people, you either have it or you don't right and I'm curious in this economy, because there's nobody's working as if maybe people like me. They could just step up in a job that could be like, what they would have never looked at us before. And now we might get an opportunity so yeah based on what I was reading, that's definitely happening they're saying we'll take anybody will you know they're they're eliminating a lot of the requirements and college degree is just not as important in general in the world economy anymore. And it's just, you know, if you have the skills and you can do it and you're motivated and you're, you know, you know, a positive person. Right. That helps. Yeah, right. Exactly. I mean, it's just been wild here you just, you just another. Yeah, another point that I just thought of that was a big one is that there isn't a labor shortage so there's in Wisconsin specifically so much of the population is growing old. So there isn't a lot of younger people to do the jobs and so they're actually asking for retired people to come out of retirement and to do jobs if they're up for it, do you know what I mean. Yes. And yeah, like there's, I mean that's a big one so a lot of people are saying that this, this, this problem that they're having getting employees is it is something that more to do, not just with, you know what's happened in 2020 but it's also just this growing old shortage of labor. So that's interesting. So if you're not in Wisconsin and you really need a job might want to move there. Right. Well, and I feel like to the, the older generation the boomers they were, they were doers they were workers they were go, go, go, go, go, and now the other generation coming up. They're a little more savvy with, hey, if I'm going to use my time. I'm going to make sure I'm making more money with smaller amounts of time that I have to be stuck at a desk they're just smarter about digital things and, and online and the computer I don't feel like second nature for them. Right, my generation and older. It's not I'm really I mean unless you've stayed in the workforce. You're fine like you you've, you've stayed in it enough where you just read. I know she's the whole time she's like, I know what I'm doing. Yeah, well, I don't need to keep up for you. I'm trying to do an Excel spreadsheet today and I'm like, I'm highlighting I'm losing the cells or the columns or the cut and paste the cut and paste wasn't even working I'm like, cut and paste should be universal I don't care what little anyway. No I know 45 later. Right there's Microsoft, then there's Apple and they do it differently on purpose so that you continue to buy their product so don't get me started on that but. Anyway, so anyway, I really appreciate you taking the time to talk to me today about working kind of an update what's going on with custom because I find that fascinating that people are like they're trying to find workers and nobody's working everybody's saying hey and summer. Let's enjoy. So you know, talking about what you're talking about earlier in terms of like people not taking time to rest while they are now. Well, it seems like this the small few of us working aren't allowed to take breaks and then those who are not willing to work well hey. Hey, go get a drink go to the beach enjoy yourself and us working are like. We're dying over here. So, whatever, hopefully next year Wisconsin will be back in session of work. Everybody works everybody rests. Let's do it. Yeah. That would be a big value change. Otherwise. Yeah, you are. Yeah, you are. They don't know they don't know. They don't know what they're missing I'm telling you. Oh, they know, and they want you. Yeah. Girl, just tell them we need a show. We need a show. Yeah, we're doing a show girl we got to get a show going. We need a show. Yeah. And then I'll be your roommate. Don't you run time. I got plenty of room. Yes, I know the border is leaving there's a room. Come on over to baby can't get in. I know right. Darn. Oh, that's all that's for another day to all that right. We could like yeah we could get like a petition going. Yeah. And then I just need a lot of meds so that I can pass out on the fly. Yeah, we'll just pass you out and you wake up and we'll be like, Oh, like this. Welcome to New Zealand. I love it. I miss you girl miss you have a great day see you. You too. We'll see you. Well, thank you for joining us today. I hope you enjoyed the video with Kristie and talking about work life right now in Wisconsin. If you like this content and you like what you see, please subscribe below because we do a video every week and you're not going to want to miss it. Also, please click the link below and check out my new American recipe book, which is some of your favorite American recipes that I have adapted to New Zealand ingredients, New Zealand temperatures, just so making it easy for you guys to make it here in New Zealand. So hope you guys have a great week and I'll see you next week.