Sears Holdings Corp (SHLD), Hewlett-Packard Company (HPQ): This Is the Real Reason the Markets Can’t Head Any Higher

Take Sears Holdings Corp (NASDAQ:SHLD), for example. Sears Holdings Corp (NASDAQ:SHLD) has been downsizing its stores and has reduced many of its workers’ hours below the full-time threshold to ensure it’s primarily exempt from the prospect of a penalty once the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, goes into full effect on Jan. 1. With relatively low wages and seeing the company struggle with layoffs, it’s no wonder that only 30% of the 1,242 reviews on Glassdoor would recommend Sears Holdings Corp (NASDAQ:SHLD) to a friend as a place of employment.

Another not-so-shining example is Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE:HPQ), which is in the process of laying off 29,000 workers to reduce expenses by $3.5 billion annually. Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE:HPQ) has also struggled in the innovation department, languishing under weak PC sales while falling behind many of its peers with regard to its cloud transition. Similar to Sears Holdings Corp (NASDAQ:SHLD), Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE:HPQ)’s Glassdoor recommendation rating by all employees stands at only 43%. With little hope of advancement and stagnant wages until the layoffs are complete, Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE:HPQ)’s management team certainly has a challenge ahead of it with regard to bottom-line growth.

We lack the innovation to push forward
While there are clearly some companies changing the competitive landscape and driving innovation in their sectors, this Gallup poll demonstrates just how many companies are being held back by apathetic workforces, or, even worse, workers who would rather undermine their company than help it succeed. It’s practically impossible to get behind a scenario that sees the Dow Jones Industrial Average 2 Minute (INDEXDJX:.DJI) and S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) heading higher in the absence of the Federal Reserve’s QE3 when the basic tenets of productivity growth don’t appear to be all there.

If you’ve ever wanted a reason to be skeptical about this market rally, I don’t think you need to look any further than the overall engagement of the nation’s full-time labor force.

The article This Is the Real Reason the Markets Can’t Head Any Higher originally appeared on Fool.com is written by Sean Williams.

Fool contributor Sean Williams has no material interest in any companies mentioned in this article. You can follow him on CAPS under the screen name TMFUltraLong, track every pick he makes under the screen name TrackUltraLong, and check him out on Twitter, where he goes by the handle @TMFUltraLong.The Motley Fool owns shares of, and recommends, Google.

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