How We Work: Five Years Later

New Hampshire is a small state with a small job market, leading some 80,000 Granite Staters to commute to work south of the border.

At the height of the recession, the Class of 2011 was taking PSATs and perusing college brochures. What is it like to make plans for your future in a country whose economic future is uncertain?

To find out, we talk to four former students of Pembroke Academy: Matthew Lindsay, junior at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; Sarah Kelley, junior at University of New Hampshire; Hannah David, junior at University of New Hampshire; and Kali Mara, senior at Plymouth State University

In a troubled economy, New Hampshire’s baby boomers are holding onto their jobs while 20-somethings start their careers. Granite State businesses are looking at how—and whether—to accommodate generational differences among their employees.

Millennials are in their teens to early thirties, and they often get a bad rap for being tough to work with. On YouTube, a fake training video, “Millennials in the Workplace,” has gone viral in recent months.

Numbers were provided by the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics and New Hampshire Office of Energy and Planning. Forecast projections were calculated by the New Hampshire Center for Public Policy Studies.

New Hampshire women had plenty to celebrate a year ago, when voters elected a woman to the corner office in Concord and sent the nation’s first all-female congressional delegation to Washington.

But while the state’s political leadership basked in the media attention, most New Hampshire women continued to struggle with unequal treatment on the job.

All week NHPR reporters and producers are spending time talking to Granite Staters about their jobs. What's it's like to be a logger, a music teacher, or an accordion repair technician? Have a listen, and hear what its like to do some jobs that you've heard of, thought about, or maybe never imagined doing.

It's a trend that has been ongoing for years, but was accelerated by the recession: women as breadwinners.  Kristin Smith is family demographer at the Carsey Institute and a research assistant professor at the University of New Hampshire. She has researched and written extensively about how women's incomes have become the primary source in more households.

New Hampshire’s food system is growing and changing, and that means old jobs are evolving. Farmers, for example, are doing marketing and media along with planting and harvesting. And there are new jobs in the food system as well, including this one: Hotel Beer Master.

On September 15th, 2008, the financial services firm Lehman Brothers filed for Chapter 11.  The subprime mortgage crisis had been percolating for months by then, as had a global economic decline – but the bankruptcy of the nation’s fourth largest investment bank panicked Wall Street, evaporating liquidity markets, sending the economy sharply downward, and sparking the worst global recession since World War II – a crisis from which the world’s economy is still recovering.

Richard Polonsky is an organizational consultant, and can, if prompted, easily talk like one.

“Being an outsider to an organization, I think people tend to listen to you more than when you are part of the organizational structure,” says Polonsky.

Based in Bedford, he has spent a career advising companies and non-profits on big campaigns. It’s a role Polonsky excels in: working from the outside, thinking strategically, and being blunt with management.

But as an independent contractor, he never received the same health benefits employees could access.

We’re continuing our series “How We Work: Five Years Later” by defining “employee satisfaction” in twenty-thirteen.  During the recession, many people held onto their jobs even if they were unhappy, and many employers were unable to go above and beyond the basics. But now, there’s more attention to this issue, whether it’s flex-time, good benefits, or better pay, and how these improvements affect productivity.

GUESTS:

As part of NHPR's news series, How We Work:  5 Years Later, we’re asking Granite Staters to weigh in with their thoughts about jobs and the economy.

Each day we'll ask a new discussion question and throughout the week we'll read your comments on the air. Post a comment here, or on our Facebook page under the question we've posted. The link is here. Please include your first name and your hometown.

Today's question: What's the longest commute you'd be willing to make for a great job?

"I'd go an hour or so, though as I get older, I am less willing to travel long distances in the winter." - Sherry, on Facebook

"It depends on the traffic." - William, Manchester

"I would commute 90 minutes to two hours for my dream job." - Kristy, Contoocook

"It depends on the type of transportation." - Gilbert, on Facebook

"Great job...single Mom. Hmmm. Unfortunately, given single Mom-dom, I'd only be willing to commute 30 minutes each way." - Anne, Concord

"15 minutes." -  Andrew, Thornton

"An hour." - Heidi, Goffstown

"I currently commute 60 miles each way, which equates to about an hour and 20 minutes to two hours, depending on traffic. But, I only do this three times a week!" - Jennifer, Sandown

"90 minutes each way if it were a 9-5 type gig. From Bedford I'd commute to Boston if I had to, which many do." -  Sean, Bedford

"The last time I was on a job hunt, I drew a circle with a 45-minute commute radius, giving my town Acworth the center point. Anything more than that and I'd be working for gas money only!" - Kat, Acworth

"If we had a train/subway mass transit, I could tolerate an hour. In the car, no more than 20-30 minutes. I'm extremely lucky that I currently work for a company based in Brooklyn, but work from my own office in Chesterfield, N.H." -  Eric, Chesterfield

"Never commute more than 30 minutes. Life is to freaking short." - David, Facebook

"Up to 35 miles or one hour each way from Groveland, Mass." - Doug, Facebook

"45 minutes." - Jack, New Boston

"Already doing it, 2 hours one way. Checked into personal aircraft...but they are too expensive!" - Hope, Facebook

"I once drove from Berlin, NH to Boston, MA for a part-time job, I wouldn't want to drive any further than that and if it were full time I'd move closer." - Roger, Facebook

"I do 2 hours one way for a 13-15 hour shift 2 or 3 times a week. It's much less fun in the winter...I listen to a lot of NPR on my commutes." - Deborah, Facebook

"A great job is one that doesn't require a long commute." - @RobertTanguay

There’s a change underway in New Hampshire daycare. Increasingly childcare centers are opening and family, home-based operations are closing, and some believe the changing demands of the workplace are part of what’s driving the shift.

New Hampshire’s economy as a whole is affected by what happens across the country and around the world, but the defense industry, a major economic driver in southern New Hampshire, sees the effects of national decision making up close.

Like many industries, defense has seen plenty of change over the past five years. But because of the ongoing budget debates in Washington, there’s likely more change to come for the industry and for its workers.

To get a glimpse of how each individual New Hampshire county is doing with regard to job recovery after the recession, check out the map below. The graphs cover the period from January 2008 through March 2013, the most recent numbers available.

What you're not seeing: Employment trends upward in the spring and summer months; final figures for 2013 will give us a clearer picture of where we are, but won't be available until next year.

[Click image to view larger.]