Beautiful. I will add one point specifically related to the physical labor/maintenance laborers shortage. As the debate around raising min wage has largely been focused on corporations that have retail or warehouse operations, those workers are experiencing a dignity lift, as some companies like Chipotle and Target have already raised their minimum pay to $15/hr or more. Whereas most electricians, HVAC techs, carpenters, landscapers, plumbers, graders, etc., folks that are required to keep our 1st world machine running, work for small business that are not in the news, not receiving that lift of spirit and pay from some corporate board room. Sure they are being compensated based on market rates and labor competitionā¦ But as more and more unskilled, air conditioned jobs raise their morale and pay, why sweat all day for $17/hr and no benefits when you can work inside for $15 plus some small benefits and a more predictable schedule? As you said, WFH is a small part of this complex labor issue, but it has certainly become a more prominent perquisite that people are looking for in a job offer. Itās just one more reason for someone to leave the ālabor forceā and join the tech world.
We are in a pandemic within a context of not knowing who is and who isnāt vaccinated. Thatās a problem for many people. Also consider that jobs go unfilled for a variety of reasons including protecting workersā children who are not yet eligible for the vaccine, or needing to be at home to supervise their distance learning, etc. My brother lost his hands-on job last Fall and hasnāt even considered going back to work because of these two issues. His family is finding a way to live off of one income until he feels that his kids are safe.
I have a very good friend who is a flight attendant who is stressed out over how nasty anti-mask people are on her flights and sheās about had it because of that, not because she canāt do her job at home or because of the pay.
I have a long time furloughed friend who works for operations at a convention center who canāt wait to go back to his job, but the demand isnāt there yet.
Remote work is going to hit an industry longer term, and that industry is commercial real estate. My company shed dozens of small sites around the country and is further developing its strategy more heavily weighted on employee choice, robust technology solutions and on-demand need for space at one of our sites or at a 3rd party space like Regus or WeWork. Frankly, WeWorkās business model was bleeding money pre-pandemic but the aftermath of the pandemic may be what saves it.
I think everyone here is making great points. And the current state of things is quite nuanced, so I feel like many of these points kind of work together.
As @keita mentioned, I donāt think everyone who would normally be drawn to hands-on jobs are being lured to WFH work. Some people want to work outdoors and hate the idea of being inside all day just like others canāt imagine working at a desk all day long but maybe still prefer to be indoors. Thereās also a difference between wanting to work a particular job and needing to, and that isnāt going to be changed by WFH.
For quite some time now, our society has completely devalued hands-on work by cutting out the expensive (i.e., human) element in industries that used to provide a decent living and replacing it with automation or by sending those jobs overseas where workers are paid practically nothing (see the once booming NC furniture and textile industries). The hands-on jobs that remain have few, if any, benefits like you mentioned. Employers are telling their employees that they donāt care by not offering benefits like sick leave to workers who must be present to do their jobs. WTF
As weāre seeing right now with the service sector and other industries struggling to staff up, people are fed up with working in jobs where they arenāt valued and are treated like expendable commodities rather than valuable assets. I canāt say that I blame them. On top of that, there is still the pandemic element as @John mentioned, which can make working conditions miserable, if not a health hazard, for some of these workers. If they already donāt feel valued, why would they risk their health for a mediocre job?
If the pandemic has taught us nothing else, itās that people who work in hands-on jobs need meaningful sick leave. Not just to help them avoid financial ruin due to illness but to keep others they come into contact with from getting sick, too. A healthy workforce is more productive, after all. They also deserve to be treated with dignity because we all do.
Until those jobs are more tenable for people to have good lives while working them, weāll see some workers looking elsewhere. But not all of them, because workers are not a monolith who all want the same thing.
I have a job that I could do from home (and in fact did for over a year) but itās a job that helps when youāre āin the arena,ā so to speak. Thereās a lot going on that you just donāt see when youāre in your own house all day. Heck, even if I donāt have a physical office to go back to, I love taking my laptop to a park or coffee shop just to break up the monotony. I also have toddlers at home so Iām sure that plays a part 
I feel like this is real real kicker here. As someone who manages trades workers who will never be able to work from home, there is a real sense of zero appreciation from the people they provide services to. Or if they are appreciative, so what? Appreciation is nice but it doesnāt pay the bills.
I would also add that a big part of the draw to working from home is the lack of commute and flexibility. While these donāt have firm monetary values associated with them they are tangible benefits. So should we also increase benefits for the people who are still required to come to work and arenāt saving any gas money? Itās interesting to hear the shop take on all of this because none of them want to work from home, but they all want to be treated fairly.
I suspect that the law of supply and demand will kick in here sooner than many expected and trades will start being compensated better. Letās be honest with ourselvesā¦ itās a hell of a lot easier to sit in front of a computer and do whatever we do in our air conditioned or heated houses or offices than what most of these folks do. I have a great deal of respect for tradespeople - I damn sure canāt do what most of them do.
Nah. Many trades no longer have their own employees, or very few. Most work is being done by sub-labor. Iād imagine that trend would just escalate. At least in this area.
Iām not sure what you mean by sub-labor. Most companies that are in the construction trades do indeed have their own employees.
Maybe electrical and mechanical trades. But the other trades - framers, drywall, glazers, masonry, etc. are moving to a model where the labor is subcontracted.
In my trade, most of our competitors keep 2 employees (1 crew) to do the small things and the larger projects are done by sublaborers. We have not totally gone that route and have 8-12 employees on the payroll at any given time. Right now I think we have 9 field employees to do most of our jobs but we do have one project that has been subbed out to a sub labor company.
For sure that is the model for many trade companies. But ultimately they are paying the subcontract laborers some agreed upon Labor rate. Ultimately the good laborers get lured to the trades that do the best quality work and can afford to pay the highest rate, creating openings in the lower tier trades. In order to attract more laborers, rates have to increase to keep up with competitors. I have heard of stories during crazy market booms in the past when contractors would drive from jobsite to jobsite and steal crews from a project to come work on their project. āHey, how much they paying you? $3.75/sf? Iāll give you $4.25, hop in the truckā
My GC builder buddy who moved from Raleigh to Corpus Christi use to talk about this problem all the time a few years back. During the fracking boom in Texas, no one could keep anybody with out serious wages. Guys at work on Friday and Monday gone to the oil patch.
To @Luciusās point - I am pretty rural here, so its overwhelming local crews, often family. But roofing has gone to this model, and its slowly spreading. Course roofing in a sub-tropical climate, you are thankful when 15 guys show up and get the job done before rain - which is just starting here now.
The ongoing issue of who is the Triangle/RDU/RTP/DTR:
Where is this company moving from: San Francisco
Where is this company moving to:
Picture of DTR, with global HQ in NC, but may Research Triangle Park??? 
Funny you mention that about roofers. I just took Karla to her fitness class this morning and driving by Cardinal on West St saw at least 10 people on their roof all in red shirts (I thought that was a nice touch for the Cardinal). If you know that roof, itās small and 10 is a LOT to have on that roof. They seemed to be pulling material from the roof at that point. I drove back by an hour later and it looked like they were wrapping up.
I saw an article about this fly by my inbox. It was either TBJ or N&O. Behind pay wall so I canāt tell you more.
Itās freeā¦Lol
There is also an article in the N&O which says theyāre moving to Durham. It also notes that theyāre still looking for office space. They picked Durham over Austin.
Or go here:
Itās FREE!
Abrigo, formerly Sageworks, with a new big investor and valuation. The HQ is technically now in Austin, but Raleigh is the largest office.
Also saw AmGen is adding 350+ jobs in Holly Springs at a new plant.