CLEVELAND — John Hoover is looking for a new career.
“I’ve been unemployed for just a couple of months,” he said.
Hoover, a Lakewood resident, quit his last job after 8 years there. He said he didn’t feel appreciated.
“I felt like I wasn’t being taken care of,” he said. “I couldn’t get back to the shift I wanted to work and I felt obligated to put in my 2 weeks.”
He’s not alone in his job search: According the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a record number of 4.3 million people quit their job in August.
“Folks are overworked and overstressed, and even with the raise in wages, I think this worker shortage is really exacerbating the worker experience to a point that some of them are leaving,” said Michael Goldberg, associate professor of design and innovation, Case Western Reserve University Weatherhead School of Management.
Hoover showed up to Cleveland USPS’s application workshop Wednesday. He hopes it’s the change he needs.
“I just wanted to come down today and apply for a different job and ask a couple of questions,” he said.
Michelle Lane, the workforce planning specialist for USPS Cleveland, said they have about 1,000 open positions, ranging from seasonal to full-time workers.
“We have had the same struggle as everyone in the United States has had and every position is needed,” she said. “Clerk positions, holiday clerk assistants, mail handlers, our city carriers.”
USPS Cleveland is hosting application workshops and drive-thru information sessions early this year, in hopes of filling the positions before the holiday season.
“Our city carriers that is what we truly need. We need people to come in and carry the mail, and deliver the packages that we are going to expect to rise during our peak season,” she said.
Goldberg said people are looking for new jobs for a variety of reasons: seeking higher wages, flexible hours and better benefits.
“There's other jobs out there that may be paying better or have more flexibility,” he said. “I think this traditional loyalty that workers had to their companies and that, hopefully, the companies showed to them is shifting.”
Goldberg said it is possible that employer vaccine mandates, may play a role in people leaving their roles.
“I think the reaction to the mandate is in the mix here. It is hard to, sort of, know how much of it is responsible. But, certainly, it is a dynamic that is having an effect.”
However, Hoover, who is vaccinated, said vaccine mandates aren’t a factor for him. He just wants something more stable.
“I hope to retire from the post office,” he said.
There are two more USPS application workshops: Thursday, Oct. 21 and Wednesday, Oct. 27. They’re both from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m. at the USPS Cleveland Administrative Building, 2200 Orange Ave, Cleveland, Ohio 44101.
Computers will be available to use for attendees. HR specialists will be onsite to assist applicants navigate the application portal.
There are also drive-thru informational sessions every Tuesday and Friday from 4-5 p.m.
More info on available jobs here.
