Skip to main content

Why is it always about employing people?

Whenever we get stories on the news about the recession, there is always stress on the need for companies to create jobs so more people can be employed. I can see why this is important - but what I don't understand is why they don't also mention the benefits of people employing themselves.

I left British Airways in 1994 to set up my own creativity training company and later to get into writing. Since then I haven't been a drain on the state,  and I have been paying taxes and all those good things. But I don't employ anyone (except myself). I do work with several others, but we all have our own companies. They are resources I can call on if I need several trainers for an event (say), but I don't have all the hassle of employing people.

Now I'm not getting into hyper-Tebbit mode and saying everyone should get on their bikes and work for themselves. It doesn't suit everyone - that's fine. But I do think we could do with a bit more recognition, when the media and the government are droning on about how important it is for companies to take on more workers.

This message has been brought to you by the Federation of Small Businesses. (No, it hasn't, in case they complain. But you know what I mean.)
Labels:

Comments

  1. Peter Cook2 March 2011 at 11:01

    Absolutely spot on. In my 'mini Tebbitt' moment, it does rather inflame me when, as soon as some threat of Darwinian cuts comes into the public sector, they all get their placards out and strike.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Brian Clegg2 March 2011 at 12:34

    Tebbitt lite?

    ReplyDelete
  3. laurasdad8 March 2011 at 19:00

    Having been an employee for 22 years and then an employer (of up to 100 staff) for a further 10, I've decided never, ever, to be an employer again.

    My business is now a true SME with one employee (me) and if anyone wants to come and work with me, or even for me, they can sort out their own tax, NI and pension and have whatever time off and holidays they want knowing that if they don't perform there will be another earnest, willing and probably keener, worker ready to take their place.

    Plus, big benefit for me, the knowledge that I won't be taken to an industrial tribunal for some casual remark made to a member of staff in a stressful moment. And I don't have to be nice to anyone simply because I'm their employer...

    I've had enough of the bureaucracy, petty rules and form filling plus general state interference and union busybodies with personal and political agendas who act as a leach on their employers

    And neither will I ever bid for any work in the public sector again....that's even worse than being an employer.!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Brian Clegg9 March 2011 at 09:06

    My view entirely, Ian, as far as not employing people goes, though I am currently doing some sort-of public sector work that is very enjoyable.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous16 March 2011 at 01:05

    I recently discovered a wonderful TED talk about raising our children to be entrepreneurs -- a really beautiful and inspiring speech about making the world a better place through better business practice. Hope you enjoy!

    http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/cameron_herold_let_s_raise_kids_to_be_entrepreneurs.html

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Why I hate opera

If I'm honest, the title of this post is an exaggeration to make a point. I don't really hate opera. There are a couple of operas - notably Monteverdi's Incoranazione di Poppea and Purcell's Dido & Aeneas - that I quite like. But what I do find truly sickening is the reverence with which opera is treated, as if it were some particularly great art form. Nowhere was this more obvious than in ITV's 2010 gut-wrenchingly awful series Pop Star to Opera Star , where the likes of Alan Tichmarsh treated the real opera singers as if they were fragile pieces on Antiques Roadshow, and the music as if it were a gift of the gods. In my opinion - and I know not everyone agrees - opera is: Mediocre music Melodramatic plots Amateurishly hammy acting A forced and unpleasant singing style Ridiculously over-supported by public funds I won't even bother to go into any detail on the plots and the acting - this is just self-evident. But the other aspects need some exp
117 comments
Read more

Is 5x3 the same as 3x5?

The Internet has gone mildly bonkers over a child in America who was marked down in a test because when asked to work out 5x3 by repeated addition he/she used 5+5+5 instead of 3+3+3+3+3. Those who support the teacher say that 5x3 means 'five lots of 3' where the complainants say that 'times' is commutative (reversible) so the distinction is meaningless as 5x3 and 3x5 are indistinguishable. It's certainly true that not all mathematical operations are commutative. I think we are all comfortable that 5-3 is not the same as 3-5.  However. This not true of multiplication (of numbers). And so if there is to be any distinction, it has to be in the use of English to interpret the 'x' sign. Unfortunately, even here there is no logical way of coming up with a definitive answer. I suspect most primary school teachers would expands 'times' as 'lots of' as mentioned above. So we get 5 x 3 as '5 lots of 3'. Unfortunately that only wor
25 comments
Read more

Why backgammon is a better game than chess

I freely admit that chess, for those who enjoy it, is a wonderful game, but I honestly believe that as a game , backgammon is better (and this isn't just because I'm a lot better at playing backgammon than chess). Having relatively recently written a book on game theory, I have given quite a lot of thought to the nature of games, and from that I'd say that chess has two significant weaknesses compared with backgammon. One is the lack of randomness. Because backgammon includes the roll of the dice, it introduces a random factor into the play. Of course, a game that is totally random provides very little enjoyment. Tossing a coin isn't at all entertaining. But the clever thing about backgammon is that the randomness is contributory without dominating - there is still plenty of room for skill (apart from very flukey dice throws, I can always be beaten by a really good backgammon player), but the introduction of a random factor makes it more life-like, with more of a sense
6 comments
Read more