Business
44
September | 2021
Business
F
or many younger and/or recently graduated people, working in
the floral industry seems like a dream career. But, as many have
discovered, dreams and reality can collide—a harsh acknowledgment
that the business can be quite demanding and not always the
financially or emotionally rewarding work one might have thought it
would be. roughout the flower industry, especially in the retail sector,
high turnover rates constitute a serious problem. After working for only
a short while, many younger workers quickly become disillusioned and
move on to jobs that pay more and/or that might not be as demanding
and require them to work holidays and weekends.
Wages seem to be a primary cause of worker discontent across the U.S.,
in all industries. According to statistics from the Pew Research Center
(PRC), a nonpartisan think tank based in Washington, D.C., between
February 2020 and February 2021, employment among those earning low
hourly rates in the U.S. dropped from 28.1 million workers to 24.8 million
workers—a decrease of 11.7 percent. By comparison, employment among
A CRISIS FOR THE FLORAL INDUSTRY
By Andrew Joseph
Attracting young workers to careers in the floral industry, and retaining them, is a growing
problem in all sectors. What's at the root of the problem, and how do we fix it?
The best way to
generate freshness
into the industry
is to find and foster
youth interest
and involvement.
— Dianna Nordman, AAF
Executive Director
Texas State Florists' Association