What if the extra euro isn't the solution? What if it's part of the problem?

While some companies are already redesigning shifts, rotating tasks, and listening to their teams, others still think everything can be fixed by adding an extra euro (or a dollar, or a thousand pesos) per hour as if it were the new elixir of commitment. It's not.

Are you doing it right? Or are you just reacting like everyone else?

We know that the industrial, logistics, transportation, and HORECA sectors live in an eternal loop:

• They post job offers, and no one shows up.
• They raise the salary. Someone comes.
• They last two weeks. They leave.
• They post the offer again.
• And the cycle starts all over.

Meanwhile, someone in the HR office swears that the market is "very complicated" and that "nobody wants to work anymore."

hahahahaha. Of course! That must be it!

The uncomfortable truth

It's not that people don't want to work. It's that they don't want to work *like this* anymore.

They no longer accept:

• Surprise shifts worthy of an escape room.
• Supervisors who lead with silence, reprimands, and passive-aggressive WhatsApp messages.
• Bosses who confuse productivity with punishment.
• Companies that only recognize effort... when someone resigns.

And by the way: a sign on the warehouse wall that says "our team is the most important thing" doesn't count as company culture.

The new operational talent (yes, the one you're desperately looking for) is no longer cheap or readily available.

They are smart, practical, and allergic to emotional garbage. No matter how much you raise the salary, if your work environment still smells like the 20th century, the only thing you'll hire is frustration with an expiration date.

And you know what the worst part is?

It's not even expensive to change.

5 things you can do with zero budget and two active brain cells:

1. Plan shifts as if your workers also have lives
   We know, cultural shock!: your employees have lives outside the warehouse. Post the shifts at least a week in advance. You don't need NASA software. A decent Excel sheet already makes you Elon Musk to them.
2. Rotate tasks as if you cared about your team's health
   Nobody can stand loading pallets, trays, or hot plates for 8 hours every day. Nobody! Rotate tasks! Share the unpleasant work! Give them breaks! If you don't know how, ask them. They'll tell you in 3 minutes, for free!
3. Hold a 15-minute weekly meeting and, please, shut up!
   Not to give instructions, but to listen. Let them tell you what's not working, what frustrates them, what would make them stay. And yes, please resist the temptation to explain why "it can't be done."
4. Promise something you can deliver. And deliver it!
   "If you learn this, I'll move you to the next position." "If you meet your targets, you get a weekend off." Whatever it is, but make it real. Commitment can't be bought. It's built. And it's destroyed very quickly if you don't deliver.
5. Recognize them as if you were human
   We're not talking about "employee of the month" with a pixelated photo. We're talking about saying "thank you" after a hellish day. About asking "how are you doing?". About giving feedback like an adult. It seems basic, and that's precisely why it works.

But of course, this only works if you stop hiring based on CVs and start hiring based on attitude, adaptability, and a real desire to work.

For that, you need to stop looking for candidates who "meet all the requirements" and start looking for people who want to stay.

Final thought

What if what you need isn't to pay more, but to think better?

What if the real retention strategy isn't a bonus... but an environment where people don't want to leave?

Because if every time you lose someone, the only thing you can think of is raising the salary... you're putting out fires with gasoline.

And while you're crunching numbers to add another euro... your competition is building teams that stay without having to pay triple.

The problem isn't the market. The problem is that you're using a logic that no longer applies.