I’ve met lots of teachers, daycare staff, tradesman, healthcare professionals, and janitors etc etc whom all have decent jobs and work their asses off to raise a family paycheque to paycheque. The hard work does not and will not lead to a better life.
Unless there is change we will only find a “better life” looking deep into our weary, exhausted hearts.
I saved my company 10 hours a day by automating tasks and all I got was a pat on the back, was told to stay in a role I was sick of and train an outside person for a promotion I was qualified for and desperately wanted
I’ve known this for decades thanks to my father. He would go to work at 5am and come home around 6pm. He’d then eat dinner before turning his computer on and doing work that he brought home with him. On weekends, he’d have an extra large pile of work to do on Saturday and Sunday.
To be clear, he wasn’t paid overtime for this. He was salaried. When I asked him why he worked so much after hours, he replied that his boss expected this level of work from him. I immediately realized that they only expected this from him because he provided it.
When I got my current job, I made it clear that I wasn’t going to be working on projects on nights and weekends. If there was an emergency and they needed me to fix a downed system, that was one thing, but I wasn’t going to work on nights and weekends just because they wanted the project done sooner.
Oh, and my father’s job? They eventually fired him for no good reason. He wasn’t ready to retire, but was so old that nobody else would hire him. So he retired early and now lives on a very slim budget. So all that extra work didn’t get him any money and likely contributed to some health problems that he currently has.
I was at a professional higher ed conference recently and one of our plenary speakers talked about future declining enrollment and what we could do to address it. A question asked how we, as educators, could work with industry to value education more, to pay more for the educated employee, and to seek people who have attained higher education. There was, of course, no answer, because capitalism doesn’t care about you, the worker. It never has and never will. It cares about ROI at literally the expense of everything else (people, values, environment, etc.) and, when that ROI shrinks, the business goes under and we move on to the next one. And the people that lose, are the ones the business never cared about anyways.
It takes each generation about half their careers to realize all they’re doing is making products that make rich men richer. The pandemic really hastened this resurgence. The cake is always a lie.
The only things i busted my ass in was my college education, helping get my wife set up in a better job, and the school i attended when I was enlisted. All because I had defined goals and knew what i wanted.
Hi_Im_Dadbot says
I should hope they don’t believe something like that. It would be an odd belief.
WimpyLimpet says
Why should they? The evidence all around them says otherwise.
myown_design22 says
In nursing, this is what we are led to believe… Work harder and have a better life.
Hizjyayvu says
I’ve met lots of teachers, daycare staff, tradesman, healthcare professionals, and janitors etc etc whom all have decent jobs and work their asses off to raise a family paycheque to paycheque. The hard work does not and will not lead to a better life.
Unless there is change we will only find a “better life” looking deep into our weary, exhausted hearts.
eighty2angelfan says
I’m a union electrician and I don’t live paycheck to paycheck but I am 2 weeks missed away from falling behind andcI don’t see myself retiring
dont_panic80 says
I mean, 2023 isn’t that many people.
Shiny_Deleter says
Welcome to reality
Falconflyer75 says
I saved my company 10 hours a day by automating tasks and all I got was a pat on the back, was told to stay in a role I was sick of and train an outside person for a promotion I was qualified for and desperately wanted
Soooo yeah this should not be an onion post
TechyDad says
I’ve known this for decades thanks to my father. He would go to work at 5am and come home around 6pm. He’d then eat dinner before turning his computer on and doing work that he brought home with him. On weekends, he’d have an extra large pile of work to do on Saturday and Sunday.
To be clear, he wasn’t paid overtime for this. He was salaried. When I asked him why he worked so much after hours, he replied that his boss expected this level of work from him. I immediately realized that they only expected this from him because he provided it.
When I got my current job, I made it clear that I wasn’t going to be working on projects on nights and weekends. If there was an emergency and they needed me to fix a downed system, that was one thing, but I wasn’t going to work on nights and weekends just because they wanted the project done sooner.
Oh, and my father’s job? They eventually fired him for no good reason. He wasn’t ready to retire, but was so old that nobody else would hire him. So he retired early and now lives on a very slim budget. So all that extra work didn’t get him any money and likely contributed to some health problems that he currently has.
Repulsive-Signal6468 says
I’m surprised that it’s only 2023 people. I would have guessed a lot more.
owlandphoenix says
I was at a professional higher ed conference recently and one of our plenary speakers talked about future declining enrollment and what we could do to address it. A question asked how we, as educators, could work with industry to value education more, to pay more for the educated employee, and to seek people who have attained higher education. There was, of course, no answer, because capitalism doesn’t care about you, the worker. It never has and never will. It cares about ROI at literally the expense of everything else (people, values, environment, etc.) and, when that ROI shrinks, the business goes under and we move on to the next one. And the people that lose, are the ones the business never cared about anyways.
Head_Albatross3265 says
It takes each generation about half their careers to realize all they’re doing is making products that make rich men richer. The pandemic really hastened this resurgence. The cake is always a lie.
deadwlkn says
The only things i busted my ass in was my college education, helping get my wife set up in a better job, and the school i attended when I was enlisted. All because I had defined goals and knew what i wanted.
[deleted] says
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