You've likely seen this one too, but there was a young woman, also a recent graduate who was working her first full-time career-type job and she posted to TikTok. She was visibly upset after working a brief time (I forget if it was days or weeks) and kept telling the camera that she didn't understand how she was supposed to DO anything. "I commute for so long and then I work 8 hours and then I commute back home and I have no energy to cook or clean or hang out with my friends or do ANYTHING for myself" was the basic message.
People mocked her in the comments, wrote about her, talked about her on the news, and essentially made fun of her for being a soft Gen Z who needed some "real world experience". She was told to suck it up.
But she wasn't wrong. I agree with her. Why IS it normal to spend so much of your life grinding away for someone else (and spending potentially hours per day commuting for free to have the honour of doing that job), and having no time or energy for anything else? Why is it normal to have only 2 weekend days to cram in a week's worth of housework, meal prep, errands, and socializing?
It's part of why I never want to work for a company again if I'm required to work in the office. It may limit me by preventing me from taking more prestigious and higher paying roles in my current company, but the fact that I can work from home full time is priceless to me. It gains me so much time and it gives me the freedom of living anywhere in Canada as long as I have an Internet connection.
She may have been dramatic, and it's easy to laugh but she is not wrong. It really IS ridiculous that we are expected to work ourselves to death on the off chance that MAYBE we can afford to retire someday in time to enjoy life a bit.
This, "We can all be cringe in varying ways. The only difference lies in how we vilify others for it." I love this. I also love that you work with less people who care more. Me too. It's amazing how good it feels and also how challenging it is to remove myself from that cycle of earn more buy more feel less. But once you get outside of it, it's hard to imagine how everyone doesn't see the cycle a mile away. Sigh. These younger generations have a lot on their shoulders and I think meeting them halfway with some grace is a wonderful plan. ❤
Because capitalism depends on growth, it steals increasing precincts of our lives then sells them back to us.
It's their world. I'm glad they are waking up. I hope that's what it is.
You've likely seen this one too, but there was a young woman, also a recent graduate who was working her first full-time career-type job and she posted to TikTok. She was visibly upset after working a brief time (I forget if it was days or weeks) and kept telling the camera that she didn't understand how she was supposed to DO anything. "I commute for so long and then I work 8 hours and then I commute back home and I have no energy to cook or clean or hang out with my friends or do ANYTHING for myself" was the basic message.
People mocked her in the comments, wrote about her, talked about her on the news, and essentially made fun of her for being a soft Gen Z who needed some "real world experience". She was told to suck it up.
But she wasn't wrong. I agree with her. Why IS it normal to spend so much of your life grinding away for someone else (and spending potentially hours per day commuting for free to have the honour of doing that job), and having no time or energy for anything else? Why is it normal to have only 2 weekend days to cram in a week's worth of housework, meal prep, errands, and socializing?
It's part of why I never want to work for a company again if I'm required to work in the office. It may limit me by preventing me from taking more prestigious and higher paying roles in my current company, but the fact that I can work from home full time is priceless to me. It gains me so much time and it gives me the freedom of living anywhere in Canada as long as I have an Internet connection.
She may have been dramatic, and it's easy to laugh but she is not wrong. It really IS ridiculous that we are expected to work ourselves to death on the off chance that MAYBE we can afford to retire someday in time to enjoy life a bit.
Really lovely and generous towards the younger gen. And gosh, you bring up some good points about buying into the mythology of virtuous cog-dom.
This, "We can all be cringe in varying ways. The only difference lies in how we vilify others for it." I love this. I also love that you work with less people who care more. Me too. It's amazing how good it feels and also how challenging it is to remove myself from that cycle of earn more buy more feel less. But once you get outside of it, it's hard to imagine how everyone doesn't see the cycle a mile away. Sigh. These younger generations have a lot on their shoulders and I think meeting them halfway with some grace is a wonderful plan. ❤