Empty Spaces at the Thanksgiving Table

As you sit down with family and friends tomorrow, think for a moment about all of the people who will be working on Thanksgiving this year.

According to Bloomberg BNA, around one-third of employers will require some to work on Thanksgiving. This is down a bit from the worst days of the Great Recession, but it represents millions of workers – most of whom would no doubt rather have the day off.

While the recession had businesses staying open over the holidays out of desperation, the “new normal” of hyper-shopping at the holidays is keeping those doors open, even as the economy recovers.

Think of all the Black Friday hype we’ve seen in recent years: the competition for Black Friday shoppers has caused many retailers to begin that shopping day earlier and earlier. For many of them, Black Friday now begins on Thanksgiving Thursday.

This means that many more retail workers are being required to work on Thanksgiving, which means that millions of Thanksgiving tables now have a missing place.