> and then asked me to point out homes in the neighborhood that had dogs.

wut.

I know an HC employee. The burnout is real, and they have a real middle management issue. There are a lot of bad managers driving out people with typical bad manager behavior. For example, Howard Center policy allows for hybrid/remote work if and when possible, and a lot of positions actually would make sense for it. But managers take advantage of it but refuse to let their teams to. Or forcing people to have their time off requests for all three months of summer…by February. When you combine the frustrations of bad managers with the burn out of the work, and working nights and weekends, no one wants to stay, even in the positions that are well paid.

Grew up in a town with a strong town meeting tradition (to this day) and unfortunately moved out. There really is nothing like it.

Always thought the state should push to shut all business that day so everyone could attend, but wasn't meant to be. Seems like they've promoted it less and less.

There is no substitute for face to face, neighbor to neighbor communication about local issues. Doesn't matter if you're 5 gen woodchuck or moved from the flatlands last year. It's a great way to get involved with your community

Hate to see it slowly disappear

My bad, I thought you guys were driving to the area and biking from there.

NIMBYism in its most pure form. Time to change and adapt.

This is serious?! I always drive past the sign saying to do it by April 1st, so I always wrote it off as an old April Fool's gag.

And yet, the state of Vermont, short near 700 staff positions already is going to add another 100+ state jobs to be filled due to the unaffordable heat act and the child care/family leave bills. Odds are stacked heavily against any success of the heat act right out of the gate. The carbon tax will have to escalate to cover the credits required by the 2030 time line. (written into the bill). Can't make this stuff up.

Normally, you’d be correct. But I think you missed the part where we will have ridden our bikes 100 miles already…

Going to depend on your town. I know our Development Review Board scoffed at burn/composting toilet and length of time as "primitive camp" for a neighbor who was doing basically the same thing except building an entire new structure. Their opinion was the person would likely always live in the primitive camp. The neighbor eventually gave up and sold out.

I would probably ask about phase two and see where that takes you before breaching the composting toilet/primitive camp. I would see about the renting a portolet option cause you can just say that is for the workers for construction.

You can also check nearby towns like wells river or woodsville in NH. They are about 20 min south of st J but there are a couple of motels and lodges out there

They just need bodies desperately, and I get why, they're a company that handles kids with special needs and families... but it seems like the sort of thing you'd pay people well to do. I can get a job working in a warehouse somewhere in northern Vermont shlepping boxes or doing data entry for right around the same amount, and I guarantee it doesn't come with half the stresses a Howard center job would. They need to think about that, but I sincerely doubt they will... Again, Burlington companies really seem to be missing some things in regards to the job landscape around them and in other places, and I don't understand why.

That can be a two-edged sword. Yes, the people that stay and cover other positions definitely deserve more compensation, but the danger is that the management will make the added responsibilities the norm for the poor employees that are stepping up. Bad Management can also use that to justify saving payroll by not filling positions quickly or even getting rid of some positions outright.
If the organization doesn't identify and fix the undelying issues from the start, it can be difficult to change them down the line, which will only increase turnover.

They regularly give out bonuses rewarding good work, but the problem, again, isn't just wages. Tripling someone's salary because they are doing the work of three people doesn't make doing the work of three people any more feasible - you just get compensated more, which means the department has less to offer to whoever is filling the vacancy you're covering, and then there's no money left to boost their burnt out work force.

Team building exercises don't cost a ton of money, just fyi. Things like group meditation or yoga aren't exactly in the same financial ballpark as increasing 100 employees salaries by even just 25%, nevermind being compensated for the work they're actually doing.

Look at UVM if you'd like a real life example. All of their long term, good staff, have left because the traveling nurses are getting paid 1.5x as much as they are to incentivise them to work in Vermont to try to fill their vacant positions. So you can pay more, but that doesn't linearly increase productivity or efficiency. The way UVM handled it is hurting its staff.

Same here. I applied for some admin level position. Did the phone interview where she offered me another position different from the one I applied for, but I would have to work a day on the weekend. I said I would let her know but I am still interested in the original position I applied for. I emailed her back a couple days later after not hearing anything with a follow up and she said the position was filled…but I could still do the other one lol. Seemed kinda shady

Came to express this sentiment. We are a state that produces most of its income from tourism and service industries; most of us work on the weekends!

There are a lot of people who shouldn’t own dogs. A lot.

Haha okay you had me scared for a second. Didn’t know people could actually do that - that’s crazy!

Well if the employees are being asked to fill other positions while doing their original job, wouldn’t paying them more be the least the employer can do to compensate for additional work? It may not be a 100% solution, but if they can offer the team building/ relaxation practices like you said then they could at least pay their workers more if they can’t hire anyone else.

I forget the title, “behavioral interventionist” possibly? Anyways, I worked there for a while and met some truly fantastic people while being there. That being said I had the unfortunate luck of being teamed with this Eastern European case manager who was completely void of empathy. She didn’t give a sweet one for her clients or her staff. All she cared about was cranking out babies and how much maternity leave she could scare up. I left because of her, and I’m sure I’m not the only one. Allowing people that terrible to fly below the radar and ruin peoples days is one of Howard’s problem. Too few people for oversight and fee fee people to hire breeds distinction.

You laugh but it starts with little things. The road to giving up your right to privacy is paved with the phrase, if you have nothing to hide why do you care. Little by little business chips away and one day you look up and realize you have given a private company access into your personal life.

You can make more selling pictures of moldy food online than you could working at a job like that. No wonder there are shortages.

Teachers and social workers do not make enough because we don't care about those jobs as Americans.

Well maybe it is now, but i never heard it til a couple years ago. Haters. 😜

I probably should have said I don’t do this. I’m a dog groomer. Being able to buy tags online is why I require to see the paperwork.

Anyone actually know a Howard center employee in this comment section besides me?

People are leaving right now because they are being forced to work/fill in other positions because of the staffing shortage. There is as I've seen mentioned elsewhere quite a large list of requirements to get positions there, and that's part of the issue as well.

But the biggest issue is that the employees are extremely overworked, exhausted, and still having to deal with constant mental health crisis. They do all sorts of team building/relaxation exercises but they've got about half the people they need for the minimum amount of positions to be filled, and that's causing a ton of burnout. All the way from the bottom to the top of the administration, there's just no one to hire going by their own stringent criteria and the ones they did hire are leaving (or switching departments) for easier positions.

I don't think "paying them more" would fix this issue as simply as some want to believe.

Pff. I applied there for a lower level position because I was looking to move to the area, and never got a call back or even so much as an email. They always seem to have jobs open, but whatever...

Maybe they should try... Contacting the people who apply. Burlington area companies in general seems to really suck at doing this.