This really xxxxx me off. I am not a lazy person. I work really hard at my jobs. I want to work, make money, and be successful like anyone else.
See there was a time when the American dream was you worked hard and anyone who worked hard could make something of themselves and perhaps build up something and be successful. What a load of shit that has turned out to be.
Now, it has become to the point that I almost feel that our employers are at war with the employees. They certainly aren't doing much to make for employees to feel safe in their jobs and love their jobs. If the employer can save .1 percent by sending your job to India, better make sure you have your copy box handy near your cube and be ready to pick apples in California (that is, if you are willing to accept the wages that they pay the illegal immigrants).
It's not normal to work a +40 hour working week. I don't believe we were ever intended to spend our lives mostly concerned with work and working. Still, the US worker puts in more hours that anyone else in the industrialized world with less and less job security. After the recent upturn in unemployment, workers have become even more frightened and less workers have taken on more work for job security. A two week vacation standard? Please! You are lucky if you get one and even then, sometimes you are told to take the mobile and/or the laptop with you "just in case".
We wonder why in the US our kids are having problems when they grow up. Maybe a lot of this has to do with the fact that mommy and daddy can't be home to actually rear the children because they have to work so many hours to ensure that they have a job and a paycheck to feed and house everyone. We are ending up with a generation of "latch-key" (bet you haven't heard that term in a long time) children, reared on TV and McDonald's because no one is at home to spend invested time with them. No wonder some grow up to be so angry.
The craft that chose me was MIS. IT personnel are expected to work those hours because a lot of what needs to be done often involves shutting down networks or having block of time when the end-users are not on the network so that upgrades and repairs, etc can be done. For that, MIS workers should be paid more because MIS workers are often times the ones who have to go down to the office at 3 am (has happened to me more times than I can count) to fix something. On the other hand, an accountant or an assistant buyer shouldn't be expected to stay up all night at the computer, missing their life.
Article comments
1 - JR
According to a Jared Diamond book I read, members of hunter-gatherer societies spend from twelve to nineteen hours per week obtaining food. Their diet tends to be more nutritious, they have more leisure time, and they are more physically fit. We, on the other hand, work 40+ hours per week until we can save up enough vacation to go find some wilderness somewhere and live like hunter-gatherers for a week or two.
That's called progress.
2 - Chris Arabia
Interesting piece. All I'd add is the following.
Current trends could and hopefully will lead to increased long-term self-employment.
It's not just work that causes parents to ignore kids, sadly. I know a case worker who told me last week of a parent who had no idea what her son wants to do with his life--he's 17! Unfortunately, we can't force people to treasure each other.
Europe's employee benefits are nice, but so expensive that they retard the robust growth that must continue unabated to finance the benefits--this causes insolvency, structural unemployment, and stagnation. France, for example, is in the midst of an EU/debt crisis.
In the U.S., I perceive a shift of debt to younger people, in part to finance programs for other people. This is unfair and probably unaffordable in the long term.
I watched Office Space last week with some cubicle people who hadn't seen it. Great! Glengarry Glen Ross would complete my after work "quick JB... a double." Alan Arkin is a secret viceroy of funk!
3 - Dawn
At my last job, which is no longer because of bankruptcy, the corporate M.O. was to tell the employees lies and let them find out the truth through rumor and gossip.
We spent a vast amount of time speculating the demise of our jobs rather than working hard at helping them close us down.
Everyone knew the score, but they pretended that we were too stupid to figure it out.
I have never been more demoralized in my entire life. The resentment I feel towards corporate America is almost too huge a burden to bear.
Victoria, you should be pissed and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
4 - TDavid
98% of the workforce work for 2%. The solution is to become one of the 2%, not one of the 98%, yes?
5 - Johno
JR,
the only problem with that is the anxiety that comes in never quite knowing where your next meal is coming from. So you tend to worry about that, when you're not working.
I like our way beter.
6 - Johno
JR,
the only problem with that is the anxiety that comes in never quite knowing where your next meal is coming from. So you tend to worry about that, when you're not working.
I like our way better.
7 - JR
Oh, I think we have plenty of anxiety in our lives. And it's often the kind of anxiety for which we are not evolved. I think I'd rather be chased by the occasional large predator than go through what Dawn endured.
BTW, many hunter-gatherer societies have had ample food supply (we're talking about much smaller populations here), so there was no anxiety over where their meals were coming from.
I like our way better too, but it has more to do with the fact that I get to have a CD collection. Even so, since I grew up in "civilization", it's entirely possible that I lack the perspective to properly compare the two lifestyles.
All of which is beside the point. The very valid complaint here is that we're more productive AND we work more hours, yet it doesn't seem to bring much improvement in the quality of our lives. Victoria made the argument that children having problems growing up because their parents are too busy working. Maybe kids have trouble growing up because they can plainly see that being an adult SUCKS.
8 - Natalie Davis
Oh, Victoria, I know exactly what you're talking about. In my industry, the job market is horrifyingly tight. I've been looking for work in my field for two years -- no luck, even though I am damn good and highly experienced at what I do and have the awards to prove it. Meanwhile, I am working my tail off in a job I would not choose to do and that does not provide what my family needs (such as a living wage or health insurance, which we do without and desperately need but can't afford). And I am plagued constantly by insecurity over whether even this useless employment will last because of downsizing and cost-cutting. If this is being an adult, yes, it sucks.