A convoluted pseudointellectual rant
Why is “staying late” perceived as having a strong work ethic as opposed to coming in early? I am already at work nine hours a day, usually more because I am coming in early. I am so sick of the antiquated ways of droning desk work, tireless boredom and unfulfilling duties. Why is it that my mere presence after hours is seen as hard working? I get things done. I go above and beyond. It’s not good enough. I am viewed as lazy and unprofessional unless I am sacrificing my evening hours for more work.
How many more hours can I possibly be squeezed dry of? It’s a long day as it is. I am always trying my best and doing what I can. I have to be strapped to my desk all day, which is tiring in of itself. I just want to go home at the end of the day. I am mentally burnt to a crisp.
I’ve done my time already. I’ve pulled the 80 hour weeks in my early 20s. I worked three jobs. I succumbed to doing so much extra just for the satisfaction of feeling accomplished and for fear of feeling like I am not good enough once I began working in offices. I was always so afraid that I would be fired if I didn’t always overachieve on everything I did.
“You must learn what to do and what is worth your time. You can replace money, but you can never get your time back.”
It’s sickening that there is the constant fear of being replaced held above your head. Everyone is just a number. Companies don’t care unless you’re making them money. I am not saying that businesses shouldn’t care about making money or condone laziness, but they should see people as people. Businesses should learn the difference from those who take advantage of the space they are given and slack off and those who do work hard and need a break. It is often times those people that work hard and need a break that are making up for those who slack off. However, there are less slackers than businesses perceive. Everyone is just grouped into one place like a bunch of sheep. It is the businesses job as the herders to eliminate the bad from the good, and reward hard-working people that do produce. Does that mean staying late though? Or are they good at what they do and can complete it the eight or nine hour time frame? I feel as though that this has yet to be discovered fully.
“You don’t matter as a person, you matter as a numerical and monetary value.”
The amount of times I have seen this proven true is far too many. But why should companies care? If you don’t produce every minute for eight, nine or more hours a day, you might as well see yourself out. You are nothing but a body in chair helping the higher power line their pockets. Is that what working is? Misery to make a paycheck? How is that the majority of our day is spent working just to gain a few hours of happiness until we crinkle up and die.
To quote a former colleague of mine from my restaurant days,
“If you need bodies. go to the morgue.”
The way the workforce is now makes me think of that scene in Requiem for a Dream when the prison warden says “Can you hear me? Can you see me? OK for work” It’s become true to life. Sacrifice your health to make ends meet. Come to work sick or be replaced. The higher power knows you need that money. If you are writhing in pain and half alive, if you can produce even a droplet of work, you’re expected to have your ass in that chair clicking away. There’s always another person willing to occupy your seat at anytime. Think about it. There’s a 25 year old with a Master’s Degree checking out your groceries at Stop N Shop and working a full time job in an office somewhere just to pay their rent.
Forget your mental health. Especially if you are 35 are under. Ask anyone above that age range and they’ll tell you that mental health is a made up thing created by millennials to slack off. I couldn’t see that as anything further from the truth. These issues have always existed, it is just that it became more acceptable to speak about them.
Things have changed so drastically from 40 years ago . It is not logical to follow in those footsteps and just keep putting forward the most amount of work for the least amount of money just to prove your worth to your employer. Try explaining that to your parents or your boss and you’re likely to get told to suck it up or take a breather and get back to work.
It’s not the same as it was-the time has come for workplaces to change instead of forcing everyone to conform to these obsolescent ways. The traditional boss is nothing but a troglodyte wearing a Marc Jacobs three piece get up. My paycheck would barely cover the dry cleaning bill.
The way things are makes me feel so disposable as a human. The point of work is to get a paycheck. Anyone who tells you differently is full of shit. You work to live, not live to work-unless for some lucky reason you’re able to fulfill your life’s ambition and make money doing what you love. Even then, your passion becomes your paycheck, and it becomes more of a hassle than a hobby.
Change Might be on the Horizon
Since COVID hit, quarantine brought one good thing: office closures. I miss the days that I did work from home. I lost weight, my mental health improved, I felt better about myself overall. I was more productive than ever. Instead of starting at grey walls waiting for the next great thing to pop into my head, I got to relax, pet my dog and be creative.
Why is this not a thing? I’ll tell you. It’s the big brother mentality.
“If you aren’t being watched, you aren’t working. “
It’s so untrue. I know there are some people that totally take advantage of this and just throw on Netflix all day, but you know what? Who cares?! Are things being completed? Is that person productive and achieving the desired results?
Why does it matter where it gets done, as long as its done well and done correctly? It makes NO sense. Given that there needs to be some time to collaborate as a team on certain projects, the majority of desk jobs can be performed the same if not better at home.
There are companies that are progressive and that are looking to make changes, but the other side of that is, what becomes of those remote employees who can’t be seen? It round robins itself back to the easily elimination of employees I mentioned earlier. Since you can’t be micromanaged and have a wolf watching over your shoulder, you’re bound to get gobbled up sooner than later.
There are pros and cons to everything, but there needs to be balance. My whole point of everything I just said in this horrific ramble is that there needs to be a better work life balance. People need to live before they die. Go listen to Live Before You Die by Social Distortion, or at least look up the lyrics. It pretty much explains all you need to know.
Also who the fuck taught me how to write?
