I know I can't be the only person that is losing patience with all the staffing shortages happening in Illinois right now. Almost every day I see someone asking questions on social media about a local business being open or complaining when it's not, and this has me really dreading the disaster these shortages will cause on holiday shopping.

Rockford Area Businesses Falling Victim to Staffing Shortages

The list of Rockford area businesses that are dealing with staff shortages is a long one, but many of them are doing their best to keep business as normal as possible. Many employees are overworked and burnt out, and with the holiday season upon us, the need for time off is going to hit even harder.

I really began to realize rhow bad Rockford-area staffing shortages were getting when Mary's Market in Rockford announced back in October that they had to change their hours of operation...

Other Rockford-area businesses have been forced to fully close some days due to a lack of employees. I've seen posts similar to these on the Winnebago, IL Community Facebook group and my NextDoor app several times in the last few months...

Winnebago, IL Community via Facebook
Winnebago, IL Community via Facebook
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NextDoor App
NextDoor App
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These are just a few of the examples I've found on social media, but we all know the trend is going to get worse in the months ahead and has already affected many of the Rockford businesses we love to go to.

How to Deal With Staff Shortage Frustration

The way I see it, there are a few options to fix this ongoing staff shortage problem in the Rockford area. One, we can decide to pick up a part-time gig to make some extra spending money and work at these struggling businesses until situations improve. Two, we can curb some of our frustration by making a quick phone call to make sure the business we are going to is in fact open that day. Three, we can demonstrate more patience with slow service and long wait times and not take our frustrations out on all the overworked employees. (I think option three is the most important).

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Can You Guess The Abandoned Rockford Business?

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