By Tony Huppert, CEO of Team Oil Inc.

As I drive the highways, I can’t help but see ‘Help Wanted’ signs everywhere. Fast food, factories, hospitals, etc. all have ‘Help Wanted’ signs in their yards.

I can’t help but wonder if the ads are misleading. Back in the 70’s I was working at the Armour Meat Packing plant in St. Paul, Minn. As my helper and I were finishing up on a cleanup job, I told him to take the cleanup scraps to the inedible tanks. He told me he didn’t want to. He turned and punched out on the time clock and said “I came here for the job, not the work, the job supplies the check.” After that statement he neither had a job nor work, but it got me thinking.

Maybe the signs should say, ‘Jobs Available.’ ‘Help Wanted’ ads are from the old school. Now with the modern teaching of, ‘Everyone is a winner and everyone gets a trophy’, the ‘Help Wanted’ ads might be sending the wrong modern day message. If modern society has a hard time with the old phrases, ‘Turn it clockwise or counter clockwise’, because of the digital clocks and watches, maybe ‘Help Wanted’ doesn’t provide the correct message.

I don’t believe employers can assume anything anymore. Trudy and I will drive down the road and she will spot a ‘Garage Sale’ sign. She will say, “Garage Sale.” I just keep on driving. She will ask “Why didn’t you stop?” I will say, “You didn’t say to.” Maybe the same goes with the ‘Jobs Available’ signs versus ‘Help Wanted?’ Maybe the modern day future employees are looking for ‘Available Jobs’ not employers just ‘Wanting Help?’