Military & VeteransOct 3
As a veteran-owned business, Z&M has a commitment to hire military spouses. Our dedication to military spouse employment comes from our first hand experience with the challenges of military life.
Support a veteran-owned and military spouse employer and shop Z&M wines. We even have a wine dedicated to the sacrifices and patriotism of the military spouse, our popular Household 6 sangria.
Whether it’s behind the bar or behind the scenes, military spouses are crucial to our operations. Let us explain why we feel so strongly about hiring military spouses. If you’re in search of employees, consider drawing from this amazing talent pool and reap the benefits for your organization!
If you’re a military spouse in the midst of a job search, come check us out! If you’re looking for something else, we’ve got a list of resources here just for you.
WHY HIRE MILITARY SPOUSES?
The husbands and wives of service members are truly an amazing bunch. The average military family regularly undergoes frequent Permanent Change of Station (PCS) moves. Additionally, their service member often goes away for weeks or months at a time.
These absences and moves certainly take an emotional toll. Furthermore, there are the stressful challenges that accompany any ordinary family. Added to all of these things, spouses in particular face the hurdle of meaningful, worthwhile employment.
For one thing, if you have a professional license, you can face complications. Depending on your new duty location, you may potentially need to spend time, money, and effort to transfer it. Fortunately, there are certain measures in the form of reimbursement and interstate compacts to mitigate these effects.
However, that isn’t why we hire military spouses here at Z&M. Rest assured, it’s not out of pity that we bring on these amazing Americans. We believe it’s imperative for us to hire military spouses because of what they bring with them.
You see, when you have to create your social support system from scratch every few years, you learn some things.
First of all, you learn how to network; you understand how to put yourself out there and form connections. Next, you develop resilience. Saying good-bye to your service member, your friends, and your family takes grit.
And military spouses have it in spades.
They have a special genius for setting up new routines, households, and communities wherever they go. The atmosphere military spouses bring to an organization – along with their flexibility, hard working attitudes, and adaptability – make them terrific employees.
THE MILITARY SPOUSE EMPLOYMENT LANDSCAPE
Recent research shows that military spouses want and need to work. In the most recent Blue Star Families survey, 48 percent of military spouse respondents cited employment as a top issue. Whether it’s balancing home and life or underemployment, the survey showed work presents a difficulty for the spouse community.
For example, nearly 80 percent of working military spouses said they had been underemployed. Over two-thirds of veteran spouses said the same.
Marriage to a service member with an unpredictable work schedule is also an issue for many unemployed spouses. The BSF survey shows that this was uniquely true for families with children at home. Indeed, the DoD 2017 Survey of Active Duty Spouses found a 24 percent unemployment rate.
Since one of the top concerns of military families in the BSF survey is their children’s education, this makes sense. The average military kid moves up to three times as often as their civilian counterparts. That service members and their spouses would want to provide as much stability for their kids as possible is understandable.
Accordingly, if one partner has a demanding military job with an unpredictable schedule, the other may choose to stay home. Having a parent who is effectively “on-call” to deal with sudden emergencies usually precludes a full-time job.
Employment Resources for Military Spouses
Over the past decade, various resources have emerged to hire military spouses. Here is a brief guide to the available employment resources for spouses of service members.
- Hiring Our Heroes This US Chamber of Commerce Foundation initiative makes its various veteran employment programs available to spouses. These programs include Military Spouse Economic Empowerment Zones, Career Spark resume-writing assistance, and a Fellowship Program.
- Military OneSource Military OneSource is a one-stop shop for a wide array of services and resources for service members and their families. They offer everything from behavioral health services to tax assistance, and beyond! Their Military Spouse Employment Program also includes resume writing assistance, as well as career coaching, and more. They help spouses search and apply for jobs, wherever they are.
- Blue Star Families Spouseforce Military spouses can get help with resume building, finding a job in their field, even career matching and training. Spouseforce is prepared to match spouses with a mentor who can offer advice via text and video chat.
THE Z&M PLEDGE TO HIRE MILITARY SPOUSES
Z&M co-owners Bryan and Gina know what military families have to offer. That’s why they’re committed to including military spouses in their winery and vineyard operations wherever they can.
Everyone from waitstaff to behind-the-scenes team members include folks from the military community. Many of the wine accessories on the shelves at the Leavenworth winery and the vineyard in Lawrence are made by spouses. Retired military even make the desserts we serve.
What’s more, the military community has a ton of creativity! The media creators and the performers at our live events are often military spouses. Additionally, many of our popular Sip & Paint and Sip & Craft nights are hosted by military spouse artists!
When You Support Z&M, You Support the Local and Military Communities
We are proud of our identities as a veteran-owned business and homegrown Kansas business. It’s why we believe in giving back to both our military and local communities as much as possible. That means we source much of our produce from local farmers, and we work with military-spouse-owned businesses whenever we can.
We also partner with veteran-owned businesses, such as Burr Roasters and Barreras Family Farm.
So if you want to shop local while you support military spouses and veteran-owned businesses, come see us! You can stop by our winery in Leavenworth, Kansas or our Lawrence, Kansas vineyard.
You’ll fall in love with the place, the people – and the wine!