Glenn is feeling a bit useless since he isn’t able to fix the heating system that’s pumping too much hot air into the store. Cheyenne tries cheering him up by listing all the things Glenn does to help his employees, but it turns out that a lot of the things Cheyenne mentions are actually controlled automatically. Routine tasks, like unlocking doors at the same time every day, are the easiest tasks to be replaced with automation.
The floor manager and the assistant manager have taken time off to host a ladies’ lunch at a nearby restaurant. The guys left in the store have designed a game in that lets them goof off. Since it’s not easy to monitor performance (because the stricter managers are away), it’s easier for the workers to shirk in their responsibilities.
The store’s pharmacist considers himself the doctor to the doctors. He doesn’t have a traditional medical degree, but there are clearly times when he regrets not getting his MD. Human capital acquisition can be thought of like an investment that requires upfront costs, but has benefits paid out over a long period of time.
Glenn announces a winner of the search for the store’s new Santa position. When the winner asks about the salary, Glenn tells him that he will be paid in smiles and wonder and so many other things. The winner quits, along with almost everyone else. There is one person who stays: an employee of the store.
Jonah is happy that he won the betting pool over which temporary employee would quit first, but it turns out that a lot of these temporary employees are part of a program at Glenn’s church that works with people who have trouble getting jobs. Many of the employees have criminal records or are former drug addicts, and that makes them less likely to be hired without assistance.
The employees are in a betting pool to see which temporary employee will quit first. For each temporary employee, the original employees are trying to make the work experience less enjoyable than the alternative option of quitting. By doing this, they are increasing the opportunity cost of continuing to work. Their tactics range from emotional stress, manual labor, sexual harassment, and increasing the risk of injury.
During the strike, additional Cloud 9 employees from the Kirkwood Branch show up, but they’re only there to replace the striking workers, not to join the strike. Jeff shares that he will welcome back any employees who come inside and apologize, and that is when the other employees realize they are easily replaceable. These employees do not possess any particular skills that other workers aren’t capable of doing. This labor market would be rather competitive since the workers are essentially homogenous.
While interviewing candidates for the assistant manager position, Amy and Glenn try to learn more about the potential candidates’ ability to move into this new role. They are surprised by the applicants, namely that the pharmacist is interested in switching roles or by Marcus’s accidental admission of stolen property. The interviewing process can be costly because it takes time and effort to find a good “match” for the company. Interviewing candidates from the pool of current employees helps reduce the cost of finding a worker, but it still requires Glenn and Amy to take time away from the floor to interview people.
After Dina stepped down as assistant manager, the store manager needs to find her replacement. Amy knows she is the likely candidate but declines the offer before Glenn can offer her the position. Her rationale conforms to the income-leisure tradeoff model. Since there is no increase in earnings from the assistant manager position, Amy doesn’t want to spend more of her time away from leisure. The scarcity of time available in her day means she must make tradeoffs on how to spend her time and she would rather spend it on her college classes.
On the hunt for a runaway friend, Amy and Dina take some time to hang out and get to know each other better. Right as they’re deciding to head back to work, Amy suggests they treat themselves a bit. Even though the store manager believes they’re away from the store searching for a friend, Dina and Amy are actually shirking
Teaching with Superstore