Are people just inherently unlucky?

[UK2K]

So my girlfriend is a recruiter. Basically, companies who are too lazy to do their own hiring hire her company to find them people, and thats what she does.

Barring the flat out stupidity of some people, a lot of times when she has people ready to start jobs, they end up getting into a car wreck, or having to go to the hospital, or a meteor crashed into their house.

How is it, that the day before you start a job, your car gets totaled? Are people just that unlucky? I have been at my job now for, right around two years, and have yet to miss a day or show up late. Am I just lucky?

Out of curiosity, how often do things come up that keep you from going to work? I know some who have kids have to do doctors appointments and things, or dental appointments, or whatever, but for the most part everyone I know (and work with) tend to be able to show up at a job on a regular basis. She told me 'you would be surprised how often some people go to the hospital'. I cant remember the last time I went to one. Do people go that often? How do you hold a job if your car is constantly being crashed and you are always having to go to a doctors appointment, or funeral?

Are her people just really unlucky? Is there such a thing as being unlucky all your life?

[RidonKs]

yes in a sense

some people instinctively run away from opportunity and other people brew conflict wherever they go and some are prone to accidents/mishaps which naturally occur on more stressful occasions which then compound in scale and in number over time to the point that they're "just unlucky"

[UK2K]

yes in a sense

some people instinctively run away from opportunity and other people brew conflict wherever they go and some are prone to accidents/mishaps which naturally occur on more stressful occasions which then compound in scale and in number over time to the point that they're "just unlucky"

Even when I worked in the warehouse here for a few months, people would miss days and then have the craziest stories as to why they weren't there.

Sometimes I believe them, sometimes I didn't, but all of the time I wondered if it was their fault or whether they were just unlucky. Always been a question I ask myself when hearing people's stories.

Is it their fault, or is it bad luck? Or a combination of both? Your poor decisions led you to a no win situation perhaps?

http://news.discovery.com/human/psychology/bad-luck-superstition-unlucky-psychology-statistics-130726.htm


sychologists and academic experts in probability and statistics, who’ve studied the phenomenon of bad luck, provide a complicated answer. It is true that in the course of a lifetime, some people have a lot more bad things happen to them than most of us do. But that outcome can be influenced by a variety of factors, including random chance, the actions of other people, and individuals’ own decision-making skills and competence at performing tasks.

By looking at a sequence of decisions and outcomes over time, it may be possible to identify someone who repeatedly suffers misfortune because he or she makes bad decisions, or mistakes in execution. (Think of a car manufacturer that habitually scrimps on parts to keep prices down, leading to a reputation for shoddy products that drives consumers away.) But often, Zwick notes, it’s difficult to filter out the influence of randomness.

[RidonKs]

oooh i can actually answer straight to the point on that one, as a perpetually tardy retard myself i have lots of experience

they are not inherently unlucky. there are multiple factors playing in.

1. no respect for peers... it isn't hard to be early 99% of the time. all it takes is a little bit of respect for the people who will have to wait for you if you don't take the appropriate measures. nobody likes to be unpopular and unless you're incredibly helpful and charismatic in other ways, being late all the time will make people dislike/resent you. powerful motivation there. the people it won't work on are the ones who think everybody already hates them anyway.

2. no respect for job... the assumption here is that you can keep showing up late and not get fired, which is shaky to begin with, but it's also pushing boundaries with an employer willing to pay you. showing up on time is rule number one when it comes to business. this would not apply to somebody who has no desire to stay at the job long term however, which might well be the case with your coworker. apathy is a powerful incentive to fk ppl around.

3. bad time management... this goes without saying. they fail to follow a schedule that leaves room to maneuver in case something happens to go wrong, aka in case they're unlucky. the truth is that the people you're talking about aren't any more likely to meet bad traffic or hit a deer than anybody else, but they do it with 5m to spare and everybody else does it with 15m to spare. it's usually pretty easy to tell who's truthful and who's full of shit though not by paying attention to details in the story, but just observing the person as they tell it..

[iamgine]

It's the law of probability.

They're driving more than usual, preparing themselves for the job, half nervous half excited. Buying clothes perhaps or having celebratory dinner in a nice restaurant for a change. Ordering wine, of course, or definitely some kind of alcoholic beverage. Doing things they normally wouldn't, driving unfamiliar routes. Having a new sense of false confidence now that their bum days will soon be over. It throws their balance off. They started thinking about that new car they can afford now they have a job. How they wish they could change this stupid old car right away. Dreaming on the wheel, not noticing that slightly hidden stop sign. Must reply to all the congratulatory messages that keeps popping up all day or else the light won't stop blinking. Suddenly noticing the sign and braking promptly before being hit on the side. Totalled car with a side of hospital.

[UK2K]

It's the law of probability.

They're driving more than usual, preparing themselves for the job, half nervous half excited. Buying clothes perhaps or having celebratory dinner in a nice restaurant for a change. Ordering wine, of course, or definitely some kind of alcoholic beverage. Doing things they normally wouldn't, driving unfamiliar routes. Having a new sense of false confidence now that their bum days will soon be over. It throws their balance off. They started thinking about that new car they can afford now they have a job. How they wish they could change this stupid old car right away. Dreaming on the wheel, not noticing that slightly hidden stop sign. Must reply to all the congratulatory messages that keeps popping up all day or else the light won't stop blinking. Suddenly noticing the sign and braking promptly before being hit on the side. Totalled car with a side of hospital.

That seems reasonable.

Keep in mind, the people she hires aren't the brightest bulbs on the tree.

It just seems like, some people continually have issues in life. Even looking at Facebook, and people who post their lives on there, there seems like something is always wrong.

Part of me thinks a lot of it has to do with their own personal choices, while another part of me really does wonder if people are just that unlucky.

[highwhey]

That seems reasonable.

Keep in mind, the people she hires aren't the brightest bulbs on the tree.

It just seems like, some people continually have issues in life. Even looking at Facebook, and people who post their lives on there, there seems like something is always wrong.

Part of me thinks a lot of it has to do with their own personal choices, while another part of me really does wonder if people are just that unlucky.
Ridonks hit the nail on the head, but i can guarantee you that if those people are parents and really need that job, they won't let any misshap stop them unless they don't care about their kids. My brother was one of these shaky people who would constantly miss work until he became a parent. Never seen him take anything more seriously than work. He hasn't missed a day or been late, which is very strange for him.

But yes, people can be inherently unlucky. For example, my aunt, her husband died ~3 years ago - a month before his retirement from cancer. Her son is a drug addict that roams the street and had his 2 daughters taken away from him by the state. My aunt fought for custody and eventually won. 1 year ago, after walking her 2 grand daughters to school, on her way back home, some idiot on his phone ran a red light and ran her over. A series of unfortunate events in such a short span of time. Luckily things are looking better for her nowadays.

[sundizz]

It's not that the same ish doesn't happen to the majority of people. It's that some people respond to the same circumstances in a much better way.

I had a job interview coming up. It was for a career job. My car died 2 hours before the interview when I went out to eat to grab an avocado from the supermarket.

There is a lot of options in this situation.

I simply understood where the priority of the situation is. A lot of people would of somehow used this as an excuse to not make it to the job, call in, etc. Sympathy is what a lot of people want. However, if this is the first impression you make at a job you will be pigeoned into that role for a long time.

I chose to:
1. Leave the car at the supermarket parking lot.
2. Went back inside, told the supermarket manager what happened (in case the car needed to be there a few hours/overnight).
3. Got my phone going, booked a rental car right away.
4. Got an uber over to the car rental spot.
5. Got the rental car, ate my avocado, put on my suit, forgot about what happened, crushed the interview and got the job.

All of that stuff was only possible because of being able to have the mindset that circumstances rarely dictate results. In modern America, you can overcome all these petty little things pretty easily if you don't treat yourself like a victim.

Also, yeah people in America go to the hospital way too much. It's ridiculous. They treat it like a mechanic. Putting band-aids (pills) to excuse themselves from having a bad diet, exercise and lifestyle.

[KNOW1EDGE]

I honestly don't believe in luck.

And it's quote obvious that these people just don't want to go to work.

If I were starting a job, and on my first day my car broke down, you can bet your a$$ that I'm calling a friend for a ride, taking the bus, riding my bike etc etc. No excuses. This person isn't unlucky, they are lazy, probably an Obama supporter.

Edit: it's exactly like Sundizz stated, it's how you respond to these acts of life that make you "lucky" or not. He created his own luck. While most losers would have just considered themselves unlucky and skipped the interview. Sundizz had the right perspective, and that's really all luck is, perspective

[UK2K]

Ridonks hit the nail on the head, but i can guarantee you that if those people are parents and really need that job, they won't let any misshap stop them unless they don't care about their kids. My brother was one of these shaky people who would constantly miss work until he became a parent. Never seen him take anything more seriously than work. He hasn't missed a day or been late, which is very strange for him.

But yes, people can be inherently unlucky. For example, my aunt, her husband died ~3 years ago - a month before his retirement from cancer. Her son is a drug addict that roams the street and had his 2 daughters taken away from him by the state. My aunt fought for custody and eventually won. 1 year ago, after walking her 2 grand daughters to school, on her way back home, some idiot on his phone ran a red light and ran her over. A series of unfortunate events in such a short span of time. Luckily things are looking better for her nowadays.

That sort of thing is understandable. Although I don't know anyone personally hit like that, life strikes any time. When it rains, it pours? Again, psychologically speaking, I think the way people respond to adversity is different from person to person.

Shit happens in life, a lot. In this particular case, its just a stroke of bad luck, but I wonder how many excuses she receives (and she gets a lot) are a result of their own poor decision making.

[UK2K]

I honestly don't believe in luck.

And it's quote obvious that these people just don't want to go to work.

If I were starting a job, and on my first day my car broke down, you can bet your a$$ that I'm calling a friend for a ride, taking the bus, riding my bike etc etc. No excuses. This person isn't unlucky, they are lazy, probably an Obama supporter.

That's my sentiment too.

I wonder though, where people just 'give up' so to speak on being productive.

I've been at the bottom, the very bottom, and its a shitty feeling. But getting a job lined up after being unemployed, and not making an interview, seems so bizarre to me.

[DukeDelonte13]

in my entire life of working since I was 13 years old I've probably missed one day because I got into a major car wreck on the way to work. Got f*ckin rear ended on the highway.

I've never had a car break down, never ran outta gas, never been too sick to just suck it up and take some damn dayquil and some gatorade.


I did miss the day of work my child was born. Wife started going into labor on thursday afternoon, went to the hospital at midnight and she had the baby at around 4pm on a friday. Had to be back in on Monday. Guess it took some luck for that baby to come out close to the weekend.


i think its a mix of luck and just not being a lazy ass.

[STATUTORY]

the premise of the OP is so strange, your gf probably has also recruited tons of people who managed to start their jobs on time, but the people who cannot due to inexplicable circumstances are more memorable so selective perception kicks in.

I'm sure if her recruiting firm did an audit of her recruit history, the percentage of people getting into car accidents, meteor dropped on houses, is quite small, maybe not that small since a lot of people do get into accidents.

Unless your gf is just shitty at recruiting and finding accident prone people.

[UK2K]

the premise of the OP is so strange, your gf probably has also recruited tons of people who managed to start their jobs on time, but the people who cannot due to inexplicable circumstances are more memorable so selective perception kicks in.

I'm sure if her recruiting firm did an audit of her recruit history, the percentage of people getting into car accidents, meteor dropped on houses, is quite small, maybe not that small since a lot of people do get into accidents.

Unless your gf is just shitty at recruiting and finding accident prone people.

I would say 80% of the people she does find jobs for end up showing up with no problem. Probably 20% of those 80% of people quit or are fired within the first week.

But even with 20% (total guess) of people not showing up for jobs, thats probably 8 of the 30 or so she finds jobs for in a given week. That's a pretty high number.

Especially given that these people cant find jobs, which is why they are working through her staffing agency to find one in the first place.

[Rockets(T-mac)]

I believe some people are dealt a better hand than others, so in that sense yea you could just be really unlucky in certain aspects of life compared to others.

You can always work towards improving your life, but to me there's no denying that some people are luckier than others.