The Myth of “Hard Work” with Adam Chandler

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The phrase "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" actually started as a joke-because, let’s face it, it’s physically impossible. So how did this absurd notion become one of the most unshakable ideas in American culture? The truth is, the ideals of self-reliance and hustle have always been more myth than reality. This week, Adam sits down with Adam Chandler, author of 99% Perspiration, to explore how the myth of hard work and hustle culture has been weaponized to keep the rich richer, while the rest of us are left struggling in a system rigged against us. Find Adam's book at at factuallypod.com/books
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[@Idk-h9p3y]

Hi Adam

[@novellanightmares]

I don't disagree with anything he's said. But I'd also have to see what people's definitions of "working hard" is. I've worked with hard workers. I've also worked with people who do the minimum possible. And many of them would claim they worked hard. Someone who goes above and beyond their regular duties and tasks should be rewarded or recognized for that. But also, if you just want to stay at the level your at then that should be fine to, as long as you get cost of living adjustments.

[@JesterofRichiousness]

Gotta wake people up from the Brainwashing first, everyone is still asleep in the Day Dreaming Matrix system they use on the people to suck there energy . Sickness makes money

[@grantgoldberg1663]

Subscription earned.

[@hannahdillie3402]

I'm a 47yr old single mom working at subway...thank you for seeing me as a real person and not a failure

[@xbjrrtc]

You should be able to make a good living no matter the job title. I'm so sorry that our broken culture doesn't value that. People deserve respect no matter what their employment status

[@TheLucanicLord]

Person? You're a labor unit!

[@tomtrask_YT]

You are a respected member of society...Subway should definitely pay you more and Congress should have your healthcare and child care covered (but I'm a leftist and powerless)

[@galacticmaui2]

Sad how people look down on others for a job title yet they’d also be mad if they had to make their own sandwiches 😅

[@user-yo6um3jn5k]

I' tried to give my local sandwich artist a tip, she told me the tips from the POS system went straight to the owner. I was so disgusted.

[@Alien426]

There's this meme that tells how it really is: My boss arrived at work in a brand-new Lamborghini. I said, "Wow, that's an amazing car!" He replied, "If you work hard, put all your hours in and strive for excellence, I'll get another one next year."

[@3182john]

I’ve been told this by a boss once, literally.

[@phyphrus1934]

That's hilarious, but also disgusting

[@boratlion8613]

Lol

[@HannesRadke]

With today's super rich instead of a Lamborghini it would be a 1000 sqm island or a couple thousand houses.

[@makersbuild]

@@3182john I worked in a kitchen some 5 years ago, got slammed with tickets and asked for help. The head chef yells in front of the whole kitchen "THAT'S LOSER TALK!!!". No joke. Some bosses really are straight up clowns.

[@pri.sci.lla.]

Working harder just gets you more work. Job hopping is the only way to get a substantial pay increase. They don’t reward loyalty.

[@MaryamMaqdisi]

100%, about to change jobs for this reason. Tired of working harder than the bosses for a fraction of the pay, and then hearing how there's not enough money for a raise they had promised me while I see them blowing money on corporate events. It's insanity lmao.

[@courtneybrown6204]

Learning that younger than older is smart! Good for you.

[@johngaunce]

It's not hard work, it's effectiveness (and office politics/ass-kissing). I was a salesman, and while I wasn't lazy, plenty of people worked harder than I did and had worse results. But you're right, companies generally don't reward loyalty. Most companies just exploit it (which is basically the same as punishing you for being loyal).

[@tricksonafixed]

This notion of job hopping is not a solution that is applicable to most working people. Sure, in a field where you’re specifically trained and/or educated, but in terms of menial labor that’s not going to improve your odds of finding higher pay on average. You also aren’t considering seniority as well in instances where that is relevant for taking time off, start time, etc.

[@johnl6176]

@@tricksonafixed Then don't consider the improved pay, consider improved opportunities which leads to improved pay instead. The point is don't consider your employer as anything special.

[@HankChinaski27]

My Dad beat up his body his whole life so we could live in poverty. He's 70 now, can barely walk, and has lost 2 houses, had to quit his dream of going to school, and has more health issues than can be counted on both hands. All can be tracked back to that work ethic of give your all for the company. All I've seen my whole life is how people like my Dad work hard and get destroyed because of it. Hell, I have 2 degrees and a ton of professional experience and I've been homeless on and off for 10 years. And I did all I was told to do. The system is rigged.

[@3nertia]

It's rigged and it always was!

[@beng4647]

Same here. I've been homeless for 90% of my adult life. 18 years. I'll die homeless at 55.

[@eddenoy321]

And did you vote for the billionaires ? A lot of working poor did.

[@3nertia]

@@eddenoy321 As if our votes matter lmfao

[@beng4647]

@@eddenoy321 The only two options were a vote for billionaires. The Democratic voters don't get it.

[@aluisious]

If hard work made you rich construction workers would drive Lamborghinis

[@rookwood_x]

I've worked construction. Most are lazy af.. not thier fault, though. So many regulations and permits are needed.

[@aluisious]

@@rookwood_x a construction worker who spends half their day waiting for stuff to happen is still doing more work than an HR executive does in a month

[@carlost856]

And teachers too.

[@carlost856]

​@@rookwood_xthose are there for a good reason. We paid for them in blood.

[@rookwood_x]

@aluisious lol, so true.

[@samanthanewport6709]

56:52 When people say these fast food jobs are meant for teenagers I like to ask if they're alright with those establishments being closed during school hours. Because if not, they're going to need adults working there

[@kyleolson9636]

I worked full time as a fast food worker while in college and worked both day and night shifts during the week.

[@DarkPuppy9]

@@kyleolson9636 you should ask for your money back, you obviously didn't get enough reading comprehension

[@strxwbxrry_420]

@@kyleolson9636 The teenagers they’re talking about are in high school with fixed schooling periods and bedtimes

[@kyleolson9636]

@@DarkPuppy9 What part didn't I read correctly? I was a teenager until late in my junior year of college.

[@DarkPuppy9]

@@kyleolson9636 where the claim people make is thst minimum wages jobs are for high school kids. So like I said you need to get your money back.

[@weksauce]

Remember when Obama said, "you didn't build that (alone)"? Americans HATE this true fact. Nobody builds a business or net worth alone.

[@britndayz]

"I call Obama a bomber cuz those are your bombs" -Obamanation by Lowkey Obama is one of those "friends" that stab you in the back.

[@nfzeta128]

The only 'businesses' built like that are the small kind that aren't really seen as businesses and don't make much.

[@jeffw991]

But if you can't marginalize or dehumanize the people you exploited and made your fortune off the backs of, you might catch bad feels. Can't have that!

[@M_M_ODonnell]

Humans don't do _anything_ alone. We've been social since before we were humans. Everything we do relies on group efforts -- it's just a matter of whether people embrace that reality or deny it so they can claim to be "self-made."

[@weksauce]

@@M_M_ODonnell It's not just group vs individual. I probably should have been clearer. It's much more the environment/context of a national economy and judicial system that makes an individual capable or incapable of business success. Like, take whoever thinks THEY started xyz business THEMSELVES, and let them do the same hustle and grind in north korea or russia. They'll fail, whereas, they succeeded in the context of the US. That speaks to Obama's "YOU didn't build that (alone)" quote, and this position. Your success is much more about the laws and resources around you much more than you and your choices and actions.

[@aaronbecker5617]

When I tell people that they didn't get there on their own, that others contributed to their success or failures the only people who get mad are the ones who got the most help.

[@jaughnekow]

Yes. Success isn’t achieved alone.

[@jasonstella74]

Hard workers are often rewarded with more work.

[@BlckCloud73]

Yeah- more work that pays more.

[@blushandberries624]

​@@BlckCloud73 more work, same pay

[@arion2000]

@@BlckCloud73yeah you keep thinking that lol

[@PavelKrupets]

Hard work when you benifit from it, is fine. Like farmer working on his own land, free to sell his products. If you are farm worker for hire then hard work will make farmer you work for richer not you.

[@MelodicQuest]

There's something very wrong in our society when someone is working 60 hours a week and is still on the brink of poverty

[@Carlcar550]

That's why human society is the core root of all evil

[@pencilcheck]

Thank inflation and Wall Street crashes

[@johnwald1714]

Thats American dream right?

[@johnwald1714]

Wait. That's just reality. Fml......

[@whodey2112]

If you work hard, put in your time, impress your boss, show up on time, pick up extra shifts, go the extra mile, one day... you'll get a pizza party.

[@AnnLinky]

Why would you work that hard for someone else? Why not work that hard for you? Not every job is an opportunity. Jobs pay hourly. Opportunity builds careers and businesses

[@AIZZO4]

Pizza party = Pizza is available during your 30 minute lunch break.

[@whodey2112]

@AIZZO4 Correct. No actual party.😂

[@kiaharper7172]

😂we nurses know this

[@Jennifermar505]

This is literally the American workers life. As someone who grew up and lives in public housing projects, we get lower rental prices because we are poor, but if we make more money, they charge us the difference, so we can’t get out of the projects. It’s sad this is what America really is. I’m earning more than I’ve ever earned before, and I don’t see an improvement to my living conditions because they allow the rent to keep going higher because I make more. I want to continue to work hard and love my job but I don’t have any plans of having family because I simply cannot afford it. I will simply just work and die in exactly my same conditions as I always been because this system simply does not allow for progress.

[@Flippersflops]

Retail is the worst. They’ve whittled away at labor expenses to the point they’ll put two people in a 10,000 sq ft space all day, and they have to cover every task between them. It’s sucks for customers and employees. But shareholders love it.

[@Milkbone97]

And they also wonder why shoplifting is so prevalent. There’s no one working in these stores! They’re begging to be robbed!

[@strxwbxrry_420]

This is pretty much how my cleaning company runs things. We get 2-3 people per store and we’re expected to work 7 days a week. I only work 6 days a week tho because I have biweekly appointments and working 6 days is already too much for me to handle. I wake up at 4:30am everyday of the month, except for 4 days (5 if I’m lucky) Edit: Forgot to mention we should only clocked in for 5 hours, but they give us 30 minutes of wiggle room. But still no more than 5.5 hours a day, our old team leader got a lot of shit for going over that

[@ValseInstrumentalist]

I feel the worst for people in places like pharmacies who are cashiers, but must stock and front during down time. So they have to carefully watch the register but also focus on emptying crates of product at a time, and if they're not at the register when needed, people get mad at them.

[@briansteinberg1381]

Yeah. It's common for folks to from say team leader to be assistant manager to work like 60 plus hours a week now on salary and make less per hour with that promotion. The next rung up I believe is when you start actually making more but that's even more hours and that assumes you will ever get that far. There's huge turnout in retail. And most box stores I go to have a Skelton crew of employees with most not knowing where anything is let alone anything about the products.

[@dolliscrawford280]

​@@ValseInstrumentalistFamily Dollar stores are even worse.

[@Leviajohnson]

Ever feel like a broken record pointing these things out and getting called a lazy loser, only for it to become common knowledge once it’s too late? This is that for me.

[@courtneybrown6204]

Well I work in the arts, we've been under the bus for decades already. Welcome!

[@Leviajohnson]

@ the arts are highly valuable to any society. I’d never debase or understate that field. However, we learned from Covid those are the first jobs to go (“essential workers”) So if even the corporate jobs in the finance industry where I work are not holding up their end of the bargain with fair compensation, that means it’s game over. We’ve scorched every career field from art to finance. The damage is done.

[@beng4647]

Pro tip.... everyone always understood this. They are just sociopaths lying to your face with the hope of using you.

[@truecatholic1]

​@@beng4647Some people. Work to live not live to work.

[@stoodmuffinpersonal3144]

I should work harder. I probably should have studied more. And. At least for me, there may be some truth to it. But. I also studied shit like this. And I have been saying. "No one, ever, truely makes it without ANY help. Thats not how society works. Just look at people crying about the Canada post strike. We relied on them, and said they wronged US when they had a strike... Not thinking "if we rely on them so much, maybe we (or their bosses) shouldn't treat them like garbage." And that thought didn't come across people's minds. The idea Bezos wealth comes from shutting down unions and over working employees; that farmers now complaining that if we deported all the undocumented people, their farms would colapse; from off shoring textile work overseas for decades; Like. People can work, and work hard. But the idea those at the top work the hardest, weren't making iphones as children, or weren't making millions of kids clothes for Walmart, just for the unsold ones to go into the garbage. We know these guys didn't make wealth from doing it all themselves. We know. We just feel powerless to change it. So we don't do a damn thing. "Hard work?" my ass.

[@dannyslag]

The phrase "above and beyond" just means "work for free."

[@RogueDonut87]

This is why I love when “successful” people share the truth of how they got started. X person gave me X amount of money, X people lent their support or time, it demystifies the journey and helps people realize they need help and there is nothing wrong with asking for it. If people won’t help you they aren’t your friend

[@grychnel]

I agree. I was opining earlier today that I want friendships which are characterized by sharing knowledge and passions, to be teachers and students of one another. My roommate (mom) responded saying that 'most people just don't think that way', which I don't really believe, but if it's true, it's sad.

[@stoodmuffinpersonal3144]

"small loan of a million dollars."

[@nfzeta128]

Or the ones they don't think about. Their parents paid for their education or let them live at home for free or low cost. Also got them jobs or interviews through connections and passed on all the knowledge of their field and wealth level to them basically paving their road.

[@TheLucanicLord]

They work their way up with no college - until their dad retires and gives them the company.

[@GnarledStaff]

I’ve noticed a trend where rich people talk fondly about their first job in order to portray themselves as hard working. That first job was handed out to them by a relative and often included rent. If you listen closely and critically you can notice a lot of networking and handouts in these stories. First job given by a relative, then became a business owner thanks to loan from another relative, or second job was as a high paying executive or in a position where they could easily switch to a high paying position a couple years later. A lot of times its as simple as knowing people that can get them a job. Which is something that can be replicated by being part of a healthy community. Like when professionals know other people from their field or a small town where everyone in the town knows each other. Except its a community where everyone has money. Wealth opens doors.

[@scottcampbell96]

If hard work made people rich, rich people wouldn’t be bragging about “passive income” and that great deal they got on a “distressed property”.

[@3182john]

At this point, if I found a great deal on a foreclosed home, I’m taking it and I’m not going to apologize for it. I’m tired of living within the “rules”.

[@NothingXemnas]

I know why the more money someone makes, the more they invest, with the idea that it is worth it. However, I have grown to disdain investments because it is making money without any product. The people making even pennies through investment still not making or selling anything. It isn't a service or a product, it is just money making more money, simply because the world's economy is growing. Technically it IS a fraction of the money made by the production or selling of products, but it is way down the line, layers below. To say "you" got money is... absurd. This is in almost every measure a zero net gain game.

[@lorettaknoelk3475]

I was in foster care. I aged out of the system without a safety net. When I tell people that when I aged out, my bags were packed and I was told to leave, they gasp. So....why then do people not gasp and get confused when that happens to regular people?

[@LeslieDugger]

The worst is a co worker coming in while sick to prove they are a “hard worker”

[@Secret_Takodachi]

I live with my immuno-compromised parents & my closest friend has stage 4 BC. I f*cking hate the "hard workers" who come in when they're sick. They're actively making my life harder & causing me to have to put distance between me & those I care about at times because I CARE ABOUT THEM & THEIR HEALTH. 😮‍💨

[@nicholasapodaca9886]

I came in sick to give my department the flu. We are not the same.

[@dynogamergurl]

Then all the immune compromised people get sick.

[@dynogamergurl]

@@Secret_Takodachithis! Because that’s not something to be proud of. It’s putting people’s families in danger 🤬

[@jasonk5979]

Unfortunately allot of the places I have worked for promote this as a virtue. Look at (Bob). He came in with the flu. He is so dedicated. Stay away from me!

[@xbjrrtc]

I worked in France one summer during college, and my colleagues found it SO strange that I would work through lunch and coffee breaks. My program supervisor gently advised me to stop doing that. It was not well regarded at ALL

[@KD-ou2np]

I have a friend who was doing research for her masters program in France, and experienced this exact thing. Not going out to lunch with them for an hour everyday was seen as rude and weird. I personally love the idea of that but she thought them being so concerned with her work habits was annoying.

[@ceebee3083]

​@@KD-ou2np tbh I do not like that culture. I want to come in, work my time and go out exactly 8h later. I do not want to be at work 5h extra because french like to yap endlessly during lunch and breaks.

[@PavelKrupets]

​​@@KD-ou2npin Rome do as the Romans do.

[@AkerfeldtTveitan-yi4xm]

It's sad how brainwashed Americans are into being proud of working themselves into misery and death. They think it's normal.

[@dohboi75]

Work hard so the CEO can make exponentially more for your labor than you do.

[@dronevil33]

A laborers marginal productivity is much lower than a CEO's.

[@healinspaces4u]

Right?! 💯

[@nfzeta128]

​@@dronevil33So you know why you used that term? Or what it represents?

[@billw5189]

@@dronevil33 that’s a different topic altogether

[@dronevil33]

@@nfzeta128 yes, do you understand what marginal productivity is?

[@thor0987]

In Denmark, “American conditions” is a threat in conversation about our society…

[@Red1555-i6s]

I desperately trying to leave

[@boratlion8613]

Cuz you’re a lazy Europeans

[@billtomson5791]

That's hilarious and quite profound. 😊

[@Red1555-i6s]

@@billtomson5791 truly profound. America is just evil.

[@karelmartel1437]

Also in the Netherlands.

[@jtthoma5]

I was a miserable PhD, miserable, working nonstop for just a shot at a permanent job. Got an easy hole in the wall admin job that leaves me free most of the time-and I’ve never been happier.

[@samsprague3158]

As someone on a decade long journey to even think about applying for a PhD program, love to hear this 😅

[@Kie75]

I particularly loved the juxtaposition of a Huel advertisement in the middle of this. Huel, the quick healthy meal you don't have the time for because work comes before living.

[@underground868]

I've been working in a grocery warehouse for 6.5 years. Every time I'm not hitting 100% on my 6 weeks metric evaluations for transporting freight to each truck in the dock on time they constantly remind me that im subject to disciplinary action and possibly termination. My managers know how hard i work and that I'm not perfect ,yet they feel the need to go through these motions EVERY TIME.

[@jamesgravil9162]

I was disciplined for being ten minutes late to work. Even though it was a 5 a.m. start and I had finished at 10 p.m. the previous night, which is a violation of the company's own rules regarding working hours! Also, this happened during the pandemic when I was doing 60-hour weeks and not getting paid for some of the overtime I was doing. (They stop paying you after 45 hours.) Many of my colleagues and even the managers who carried out the disciplinary were shocked that it was happening, but still, the due process had to be obeyed. Thankfully, I had worked for the company for ten years and had an unblemished record so there was no danger of me losing my job. Bet the CEO never gets told off for being late to a meeting. He probably gets a bonus.

[@AlexMakesGames40]

One of my favourite things about the Arnold documentary is how much credit and thanks he gives to the people who mentored him

[@amygirl9534]

I love that he’s talking about France. I lived there as a student in early 2000’s and brought many of those values home to the U.S. with me. Students would take nearly two hour lunches, and shops either stayed closed or had limited hours on Sundays. I remember having to plan my grocery shopping around this weird idea of not having 24/7 markets available or I’d go hungry over the weekend lol. I returned home to find out later in my working life just how counter-culture these values are, and I still get sh*t from my peers when I tell them they work too hard. They act as if they can’t even imagine an alternative can exist.

[@MiraBoo]

I agree with the comments: it’s not that a fulfilling career is what’s most _important_ to a person’s wellbeing; it’s that having a career is what’s most _impactful_ to a person’s wellbeing. To endure life when the majority of a it is spent at work, the job must be fulfilling. When there is no work-life balance, a person cannot afford (due to lack of funds, energy, and/or time) to invest in relationships or recreations, so of course those things would become secondary. Most people want to work so that they can live fulfilling lives (presumably outside of work). Few people want to live for the sake of working, especially when that work feels meaningless. In other words, the priority isn’t necessarily the career. The priority is security. For many people, that security can only be obtained through a well-paying job. In a society where one’s career _is_ one’s life, the only feasible avenue to a content life is in having a fulfilling career.

[@Crashh965]

So happy to see someone else speak about it from this angle. This is my exact experience.

[@rn4013]

@MiraBoo Well said!

[@erstwhile3793]

Came here to say this. You said it very well, instead. Cheers!

[@wintermoons1215]

“I did everything I was told to” is a phrase I’ve become more and more disillusioned with as a concept. A close friend of mine is currently on the hunt for a job, a job they desperately need to be able to support their family. They’re disabled in a way that means they need to work from home, have their GED but weren’t able to go to college, and are trying to get back into the work force after years of needing to be a stay at home parent. They WANT a job, they WANT to work. But I’ve watched them struggle for months and months to get less than 5 interviews, zero offers, and all the while still show up for their kids and battle the stress of being one bad paycheck away from true homelessness. No one, regardless if they ‘did it all right’ or not, deserves that.

[@historynerd37]

As a teacher, my goal is to have a school year where I do zero work at home. I've become very efficient at doing my job, and if it can't be done during work hours, I look very hard at what I'm doing and the structure/expectations of the job. I haven't gotten there yet, but preserving time for my own life has made me much more likely to teach long-term than 80 hours weeks ever would

[@victoriamartin1995]

Mentally, it was tough for me to realize the extra work I carried home was a) unnecessary to learning but b) ordered from admin and impossible to replacevor improve

[@maybeansfordinner6372]

My experience of working in the USA is I get at best 2 good years at any given company before they start dumping new jobs on me and fully taking advantage of my hard work. I've had managers that treat me like a human being, but company policy always trumps a decent manager. The amount of rage building in my body after having this same experience at many different companies of varying sizes in multiple industries.....I can't put it into words. We've reached a boiling point.

[@seanfraser3125]

“They call it the American Dream because you have to be asleep to believe it” - George Carlin

[@healinspaces4u]

🤣🤣

[@OnionChoppingNinja]

Maybe if you start doing something about it rather then parroting a quote from a dead man for thumbs up like all the other mor0ns things might actually get better.

[@FireSilver25]

Carlin was a prophet!

[@RiddlerWalker]

@@OnionChoppingNinjaawwww 😭 did the quote hurt your feelings. Maybe that’s something to reflect on buddy.

[@missshroom5512]

The reason why a fulfilling job is the number 1 thing people want in America is because that is where most of us are most of our lives in our earning years. People don’t even take their vacations or sick days here. We have been taught to feel bad if we use them. Really sad

[@drpepperman2765]

Yeah, if I'm gonna spend most of my life working and be given little time/money in compensation, at the very least the job needs to either be fulfilling or filled with cool people that make it manageable. In the first, I can find meaning and purpose in doing work that genuinely improves society. In the second, I can find friends and a social group instead which can be just as beneficial to one's mental health, if not more so. Basically, if I'm gonna work, you gotta take care of at least one other need outside of just money. Especially when the money is getting less and less worth it by the day

[@leechowning2712]

I remember laughing at a poster I saw at the bank in 2020... "Steps to protect against CVD #3: Stay home if you do not feel well" Ha. This is America. My 7 year old niece is only allowed 5 sick days a school year. I have 4 days off other than my 4 week that I had to negotiate so I could be with my wife and kids occasionally.

[@AkerfeldtTveitan-yi4xm]

Such sick work culture

[@jamesgravil9162]

The really crazy thing is America likes to think of itself as a "democracy" (or a republic, whatever), but the one place democracy absolutely does not exist is in the workplace, where most people spend half of their time! Every business is a fiefdom, with the employees being serfs and the CEOs autocratic despots.

[@leechowning2712]

@jamesgravil9162 2. Schools are the same way. Absolutely no one in the education system cares even slightly about the results. If the kids are not happy is not the problem of the teacher at all. If the kids cannot learn it's not a problem for the teacher at all... It is depressing.

[@KevinBauman]

"Pull yourself up by your bootstraps!" Bootstraps start at $250,000.

[@beaniesonna3052]

Haha

[@DJ-es8go]

It is consistently bewildering how that phrase has become synonymous with “hard work and perseverance.” It was originally coined as a description of a literally impossible task. No matter how hard you pull on your own boots, you cannot lift yourself off the ground.

[@billtomson5791]

You pull yourself up by your parents' bootstraps, silly, then earn the privilege of championing "rugged individualism".

[@KevinBauman]

@billtomson5791 we like to call that a meritocracy...

[@leonhenry4861]

@@DJ-es8gothat’s why they used to tell it to slaves. It’s bs

[@AllyUnion]

Ironic that they tell you to be self-reliant but also a team player.

[@caput_mortuum]

A self reliant team player who has always has the ball and makes sure the rest of the team each has a ball

[@AllyUnion]

@@caput_mortuum Only possible if said ball can be in everyone's hands at the same time

[@GhostSamaritan]

Team player when they need your help, self-reliant when they need yours.

[@Randyplaysguitars]

It's just bs jargon they use to manipulate their employees

[@ThatGuillermo]

"subjugate yourself for my success" is a tougher sell

[@omegabat39]

Good talk! Bootstrapping has always been a scapegoat for lack of accountability. Hyperindividualism is often the source of many of our societal ills in the US. We are outsourcing failure to individuals when this isn't always the case. It is super inefficient. I do like that death of despair is mentioned. Especially from the male perspective(can only speak to this), the work culture is too intertwined with social culture. A lot of what is highlighted to be successful is based in how good your job is etc this controls what kind of access you have to the social fabric.

[@Phoenix-kd1we]

Well said. Just commenting here so I can return to read your comment.

[@truecatholic1]

Friendship ought not to be related to jobs. A friendless person ought NOT to be "unemployable."

[@abrinael]

Agreed. It's also probably discrimination against certain disabilities. At best it's also problematic with everything being discussed. If you rely on a friend to get a job, then now your performance on the job is tied to that friend's reputation, which encourages you to work harder if you value the friend or might need help from them in the future. You're going to view your employer's requests very differently if you might make your friend look bad by being the only one in the office repeatedly turning down unpaid overtime, for instance. How likely are you to quickly resign if the workplace turns out to be terrible?

[@drpepperman2765]

'Ought' and 'is' are hardly ever the same thing. Humans are social creatures, we got this far by working together and sharing ideas with one another. It only makes sense that nature bleeds into our social structures. It ain't fair, but when has life ever been? Best we can do is make it more fair, but we'll never hit true meritocracy because human nature is gonna human nature. Networking is one case where I think it's inevitably gonna be a part of any society, and instead of denying it you should learn to master those skills. If that's how the game is played, learn to play rather than trying to win by disregarding half the rules

[@truecatholic1]

​​@@drpepperman2765Flattery is a sin. And humans do have rights with respect to other humans. The whole point of a right is what you describe. Humans work together. Employers need employees and employees need a just income. In fact, I would go so far as to say that the fraud of freedom of contract - i.e. mutual coercion - is identical to laissez-faire capitalism. Take this away and you have at least theoretically just capitalism.

[@ClaLu]

I agree, because I suffer the consequences for my autism condition and asexual orientation...I agree even if you are a "true catholic" 😂 weird name dude 😅

[@VanceB89]

Verified. If you do good, people will use you.

[@ecocentrichomestead6783]

Exactly! For most employers you'll never be "good enough"

[@whereisjayne]

How's that attitude serving you so far in your life?

[@akirashiori6265]

@@whereisjayneyou say that like the people currently in the White House didn’t exploit others to get to where they are lmao

[@whereisjayne]

Don't sell yourself short and give away your power that easily is all I'm saying. You can chose to find ways to do good and not be used if that's your mission. People in the white house are in a club that you don't even need to worry about being in so I'm not sure how that came up.

[@3nertia]

Welcome to capitalism! A system for predators, by predators! Everything is to their advantage - even your disadvantages!

[@SolMuun]

I've been having a hard time finding work because I can't deal with "Hustle Culture". Everyone treats the workplace like a Militant Cult.

[@scottgodfrey7855]

Corporations will continuously load more and more work until you can’t complete all of it, with the same amount of pay, then fire you for not completing it all.

[@sarahcoleman3125]

About fast food/retail/min wage jobs being for "teenagers". I remember being that teenager. My boss didn't even bother training me or putting me on a schedule because he knew I would quit after a week. I lasted 12 days. When I got older and ended up in fast food because I wasn't ready for college, I remember watching managers throw away applications from teenagers because the work restrictions were too difficult to deal with. Back in the 90s, every McDonald's in my area had at least on "retiree" to do small tasks around the store. They did more than clean tables. They were there to "mentor" the younger employees, aka, pass along the "work until you die" mentality.

[@natalieb.1254]

From a born-disabled person's perspective: who's been alive for 40-plus years: Those of us in the Disabled Community will continue to experience our efforts NEVER being good enough especially in the work spaces. To see how this country is falling between the seams woven by its chosen governments and societal expectations, I see the despair in others who are feeling just as WE do on a daily basis from time memoriam, I have apathy yet I will reframe from reaching so far because all these opinions are not Solution Based. We in the disabled community, who's outnumbering everyone more every single day are lying in wait for that French People Protesting moment. There's just not enough comprehension 40-year plan to create the society we should have had today.

[@3182john]

I agree. I have CP, and stutter during interviews. Therefore, I’m horrible at interviewing… I’ve seen the “well this interview is over” face after pausing or stuttering after a second. It’s like the interviewer expects damn perfection.

[@boboloko]

18% of employed Americans work over 60 hours a week. That's a lot of billionaires.

[@danielmorton9956]

Look. You can't handle the reality that Musk is the CEO of 6 companies because he's working that much harder then you and still has the free time to tweet. While being a top tier video gamer. He's on X all day with just his pinky finger. It's why he sometimes says dumb things. He puts 640 hours into his week. And he works 1000x harder than you in each of those hours.

[@billw5189]

Perhaps, but your cited statistic would only apply to those people that are working if accurate.

[@boboloko]

@@billw5189 huh?

[@billw5189]

Sure. On average, only about 65% of Americans are in the workforce in any form The statistic that you are citing, is that 18% of the US “Workers,” work 60+ hours. NOT 18% of Americans.

[@boboloko]

@ fixed it

[@braddeicide]

Hard work only counts if you own the business. Otherwise, your boss will take credit for your hard work.

[@RiddlerWalker]

And if the bosses fails they just become a worker. If you fail you get unemployment 😅

[@ecocentrichomestead6783]

Most employers squeeze as much work out of the employee as possible and gives as little reward as possible. The employee can't say raise my wage or I'll sell my labor to someone else. So many people refuse to work extra. I.E "Quiet Quitting" Then they find they are better off on unemployment or income support. They are accused of being lazy. If they don't want people "lazy" pay them enough to make it worth their while.

[@3nertia]

Bingo!

[@ianashmore9910]

I had to fight for all my raises. Throw a shit fit, threaten to strike or quit. Ridiculous.

[@grumpyoldman6503]

Some guy with a beard pointed this fundamental tension out at the end of the 19th century. Forget his name tho...

[@johnl6176]

There's an old expression "You get what you pay for". That should apply to employers as well.

[@drpepperman2765]

​@@grumpyoldman6503 I don't remember either, but I do believe his war right on the Marx when it comes to capitalism and it's end game

[@Aspen7780]

I have found this notion extremely pervasive in the Midwest. There is great pride in working harder, in getting up needlessly ridiculously early in the morning to start work. Great pride in being busy all the time. Great pride in all that as your social identity. You live to work, rather than work to live. There is something wrong when work is what defines your identity. I find that those who espouse disdain for migrants, the poor, the “other” are also incapable of feeling empathy for their fellow human being. We complain about the break down in families and family values, but maximizing the emphasis on work destroys families.

[@Odomogami]

Bruh. The guest called Starbucks a low stress job…. I have seen the list of things they think the baristas have to do during a shift and the besides the customer orders there’s so much to do you would be sweating and exhausted by the end of the shift!

[@billw5189]

I cannot imagine any front line work in a busy restaurant type job being easy

[@fithianmt7468]

I worked at the Starbucks on my college campus and between in person orders, grubhub, and app orders all in one small work space, machines constantly breaking. It felt like a shit box car being forced to race the indy 500. Thank god there was no drive thru.

[@Crashh965]

Why does no one take into account not being able to afford to do anything with friends and family when we talk about the loneliness crisis?? It's not that I don't have friends, but I literally cannot afford to go see them and do things because of my pay. And because of work my friends and family have broken into pieces so it takes time and money to even get to the same space as them.

[@InfallibleDogbert]

Literally the case, petrol is so expensive and all my friends live far away because none of us can afford the city house prices. So we either spend 3 hours travelling to visit each other or just talk remotely... It's nowhere near the same

[@mrbigfellanz]

I live in NZ Aotearoa. Just yesterday I was talking to a young recent hire at our company. She said "I hate Fridays" my response was you should love them because it reminds you that just over 100 years ago we won the RIGHT to an 8 hour work day and 40 hour work week. And thats why we also have Labour day off every year.

[@GhostSamaritan]

Ugh I hate whenever someone brings up networking. I wish making friends was easy for me.

[@DmDrae]

We’re a social species. I’d encourage you start working on connecting with people. If people can’t remember you at least not poorly if not well regarded, you’re going to have a hard time moving forward. There are places where it’s pure meritocracy but few folk actually want to know where they land on that totem pole and avoid that type of real world measured work.

[@nfzeta128]

​@@DmDraethere is nowhere where it is pure meritocracy. That doesn't exist

[@billw5189]

Yeah, I feel for you. Unfortunately, when it comes to work, we are very much on our own most typically. My standard advice to anyone is to get yourself into good physical shape if at all possible. Lots of times gaining mastery of your physical body really opens up your mind’s ability to be helpful to yourself. Confidence in other words.

[@M_M_ODonnell]

@@DmDrae "It's easy, just be neurotypical" isn't a great take. Especially in the form of "oh, you must never have been told that you just need to more perfectly imitate the people who have this so much easier than you and who you've been attacked your whole life for not being enough like -- clearly, you've just never thought of being normal." Then again, neither is "knowing the right people and how to work the system to become an exploiter (i.e. "meritocracy") is totally fair, actually."

[@trappedinamerica7740]

@@nfzeta128whether you have merit or not is determined by people and peoples opinion is heavily biased on how they feel about you. Even if there are empirical measurements for your particular job and your work can be compared to every other employee isn’t attitude a part of every review?

[@nfarmer6715]

On the polls showing Americans citing fulfilling work as most important in affecting living a good life - I don’t think most people view work as the most important aspect of life but, because we have to devote most of of our time there, it by default constitutes the majority of our time (whether or not we want it to) and so that massive portion of our life being enjoyable is inevitably going to have the biggest impact on us enjoying our time. I do not view work as most important in my life but because I *must* spend most of my time there, I view it as most impactful in my happiness which is a super sad paradox. We’re forced to prioritize and hold work as a key to happiness in our life. Such a racket. “I have no dream job. I do not dream of labor” - James Baldwin “How you spend your days is how you spend your life”- Annie Dillard

[@GnarledStaff]

10:45 nailed it! People are working hard and not getting ahead and its causing bitterness. This is compounded by the breakdown of community that we’ve seen, partly thanks to the internet, which means people are also isolated and struggle to network and make meaningful connections to each other.

[@ClaLu]

I'm from Chile, I'm autistic and got chronic diseases from stress and abuse in my awful architecture "school"...My great effort to get a career, just got me a huge debt and no jobs...Here...No jobs for me... I'm overqualified for the half of the small offer and under qualified for the other half, with no capital for entrepreneurship...So I dedicated to taking care of my parents and their assets, that after decades of hard work left them with chronic diseases and on top of that without my help, they would have lost all the little chances they had to grab "Summing summing"...O that's how I got some dignity out of my life and some life for my self but, it's a full time job with no pay and my only chance to not be a homeless senior is to succeed our little homestead project in a one acre, hard but possible, and...That I inherit the homestead because my siblings... anyway 😂...It feels unstable 😢

[@jeffreyfain]

If you are an employee, the only thing punished more harshly than failure is success. It’s the lazy, manipulative employees that are identified for promotion because they understand the true nature of the game from management’s perspective. If you can gaslight 10 people into working harder you are a force multiplier.

[@banquetoftheleviathan1404]

I'm not gaslighting if someone else is picking up my slack when I never asked them too. I never said you can't be lazy with me.

[@anonymouskat6661]

the concept of “I did it on my own” also completely neglects the meta perspective of how interconnected we all are. And how we take so much of that for granted. Everything we have, use, see, everything is with the creation of others. Money has completely removed us from seeing how much we are given and instead makes us feel like it’s of our own volition. Not one of us has done anything alone.

[@erstwhile3793]

So true. Right down to the planet we stand upon and eat and breathe from. It’s funny in a way, but we never even consider that plants can live without us, but we absolutely cannot live without plants. Who are the real needy beggars in this equation?

[@tricksonafixed]

The New Deal era should be viewed as a lesson about capitalism that even under strong and popular reform the contradictions of the system itself will claw away any gains and devolve itself back into the problems once resolved. This is the second gilded age we’re living unfortunately!

[@drpepperman2765]

Yep, the fight for progress never ends, never slows down, because the moment it does, we start sprinting back the other way. This is the lesson liberals have forgotten in the modern era, the moment you stop fighting is the moment the other side starts gaining ground. They don't want progress, they don't want a better tomorrow, they want to be rich. Filthy rich, obscenely rich, the kind of rich that can buy out a high class restaurant on a whim like Bruce Wayne. That's their goal, and if you don't push back against that every time they try to make a move, they'll start winning and progress will become regression. Our history is littered with fallen empires, and almost all of them fell for the same reasons. Over expansion, greed, stagnation, growing discontent from the masses. There's nothing unique about the American Empire in this sense, and damn are we close to joining the likes of ancient Rome and the Mayans with the trajectory we're on

[@RiddlerWalker]

Yes it’s social back lash and blow back. It’s happened to all progressive facing movements. From abolitionist, unionists or feminists. There are harsh eras of social system back lash. Even when the system lost ground it tries its hardest to gain it back.

[@user-bd8ue5cn6y]

Sometimes you've got to let the dialectic do its thing, if you know what I'm sayin'...

[@DiNY-u9k]

It isn't just the last forty years. The concept of capitalism is inherently flawed. The robber barons of the 19th century borrowed the term from Europe. They used this to tell American workers that if they worked hard, they, too, could become very wealthy. What they didn't tell the workers was that they were born into wealth and connections. The poor worker slaving away would never achieve the wealth that the robber barons had. A few years ago, it was said that the robber barons had greater wealth than our current billionaires. As it stands today, I think that today's oligarchs are on the same level as the oligarchs who started this entire mess.

[@ecocentrichomestead6783]

I disagree that The concept of capitalism is inherently flawed. What is inherently flawed is human greed. Those that want to get ahead of everyone else will attempt to do so, regardless who they have to hurt to do so. If you are happy just having enough for a comfortable life, those people will pass you and bleed you dry to do so. Capitalism is just personal ownership of the means to produce products and/or services to sale.

[@whereisjayne]

Not work hard. No. Almost anyone with 2 hands and a working brain can do that. But create something of actual value, that is from your unique abilities that's not easily duplicatable. Then you can get very wealthy.

[@3nertia]

Yep! This is just a cycle that's repeats every 40-100 years and has for millennia because, realistically, this predatory system is the only one ever actually had heh

[@3nertia]

@@ecocentrichomestead6783 Capitalism is literally designed to incentivize greed and you think greed is the problem? No, the incentives are flawed. The reward system is flawed. Capitalism is flawed. It only works for a small few at the top at the expense of the rest of us and always has!

[@3nertia]

@@whereisjayne You mean like being born into enough wealth to meaningfully participate in "capitalism" - the etymology of the word alone should tell you that you need capital to make wealth. A millionaire/billionaire doesn't work a million/billion times harder than anyone else nor are they more unique or special than anyone else, especially not a million/billion times more unique/special. You're making a bad faith argument which means you're either a "useful idiot" or a bot ...

[@Moonsong227]

I didn't know I was multiple-ways disabled until my 20s, but I still never fell for the "super duper hard work" myth--only because I couldn't deny the limits of my body. I had invisible disabilities, that I wasn't taught words for until I got on the Old Internet, but that didn't mean my disabilities didn't still occur. Luckily instead of giving into the idea of not being good enough, I was a biology nerd, and I knew at least that my limits were caused by something in physics and literally couldn't be pushed. So anyone who was trying to get me to push myself 1) caused trauma 2) was ignored or told they were denying the science of being a mammal 3) got mad 4) caused more trauma 5) began to see a child as a threat to their self esteem because the child excelled but didn't push themselves. The funny thing about the Murican Dream (tm) is people who are minorities never had a chance at it, even if they didn't know they were a minority of some kind yet. So in my experience, queer folk, disabled folk, non-christian folk, etc are at least less-brainwashed enough to realize the trauma of just the environment of the brainwashing. In other words, if you realized from a young age that the stereotypes and myths didn't include you and didn't want you, then you got to be disillusioned from the start and not even bother chasing the hind that couldn't be caught. And then you got bullied, and a decade later you watched your bullies only exceed you in one aspect: despair.

[@GhostSamaritan]

I have two invisible disablities (diagnosed at 11) but I grew up "gifted" so I had the opposite happen to me. I'm now the former golden child who failed to become a rockstar surgeon judge astronaut... It took a long time to learn self-compassion.

[@13thCharacter]

Thanks for sharing. My experience was completely denying my disabilities because I was terrified no one would hire me, then working twice as hard and long to get to the same place, only to feel gaslit when I finally actually started requesting accommodations. I've done pretty well with the hand I was dealt, but It's only recently I've been able to step back and reflect on my thinking during that whole process.

[@jdhoward1438]

Being female, brilliant and brown is also a liability....society makes it a diability when in truth it is not. In this society neurodivergence, and other differences cannot just be a part of being human..but a "problem"

[@Spahrizard]

Even about sharktank, the overall message of that show is that *the billionaires pick the winners*, setting aside the virtue of hard work!

[@user-bd8ue5cn6y]

And it's a completely fake reality TV show too. Even if they shake hands on set, the deal isn't finalized.

[@oldbrokenhands]

My $0.02 (not adjusted for inflation) is that in the last four months I've been walking around and reporting issues to my city, along with attending meetings and fixing things as I see them , rather than waiting for someone else to do it or asking permission. I wonder why others don't lend a hand, and I see so many people busy with work that they don't have idle time to help out the community. TL:DR, the other thing that overwork is robbing us of is a chance to fix our communities and solve actual problems that affect us all.

[@qwertyuiop1st]

A person can live pretty well without "a lot of money", and the government can do a lot to make that more practical for people. Not everyone wants their job to be a career, they have other priorities in life and should be able to live "with stability, opportunities, and some comforts" based on the fact that they exist and what they earn from their 'survival job' or 'get me out of the house job'. It need to be that a socially responsible person can do a bit better than get by regardless of what advantages or disadvantages they might have or acquire.

[@CJB3113-t8x]

It took me 30 years, 2 degrees, and several certifications, but I finally found a job that treats us as humans. I know I am in the minority here. Reading the comments and hearing other people talk about the same struggles I went through to get where I am now is both heartening and utterly depressing. Heartening in that I see that I'm not alone, it wasn't me that kept me from staying with a job or getting a raise, it was the companies themselves. Depressing because I know what these people are going through, and if anything happens to my current job, I'll be in that same position again. The job I have now just broke my employment record, and a streak I had been on since 2012. My longest previous job was 3 years 4 months, and before this I had not worked a single calendar year, (January to January) since I was laid off in Jan 2012.

[@peterpodgorski]

I'm 8 minutes in, so maybe you touch on this later, but my biggest problem with this myth is the same one I have with the "American dream" in general. That it's really about... escaping being working class. At least these days. In the past maybe it was "if you work hard you can get a promotion", but today it's strictly that "if you work hard you can be the next Jeff Bezos", aka you can stop being working class and become a capitalist. Which... drives a wedge between working class people. Class solidarity is impossible when your GOAL IN LIFE is to start exploiting your coworkers. It's also hard to hate, or even criticise, what you want to become. It's impossible to face to the necessary conditions getting there if your goal in life is to get there... and you don't have those conditions. It is an incredibly useful narrative for capitalists.

[@tonyclemens4213]

Record profits, CEO excessive pay are just another way to say wage theft.

[@courtneybrown6204]

💯%

[@samsprague3158]

My school friends all moved to NYC and launched well-paying careers. I spiraled out of school due to poor mental health and have bounced between poor paying jobs ever since. I couldn’t survive in their neighborhoods if I wanted to. Not having a solid career limits my access to my own community.

[@DigitalAshes]

its not the AMERICAN myth of hard-work, its the CAPITALIST myth of hard-work.

[@nukesfleet]

I am someone who has been a part of the corporate machine my entire adult life. This interview nailed every single aspect of that reality in America.

[@Solcat39]

Overwhelming percentage of people end up about as financially well as the family that they were born into.

[@3nertia]

Statistically speaking, if you're born poor then you die poor heh

[@Praisethesunson]

Americans wealth over their life can be predicted with over 90% accuracy. Just look at their zip code.

[@user-kx9eh3qo4q]

mmmmmmkay. 🧐 Made that one up on your own, huh?

[@Praisethesunson]

@@Solcat39 Americans zip code tells more reliable information about their economic prospects than any hard work.

[@kyleolson9636]

Statistically speaking, only 40% of people who grow up poor (bottom 20% income) remain poor in adulthood. That's still much higher than 20%, but statistically speaking, if you grow up poor, you are more likely to not be poor yourself.

[@beng4647]

I worked for Alta gas station for a week. 12 hour shifts with no break or lunch. They are spitting in the face of Colorado.

[@trevinbeattie4888]

That sounds illegal. I’m surprised federal work laws don’t require employers to give employees a break after several hours of work, but many state laws do. In Colorado for most service industries, “A half-hour lunch is mandatory if the shift exceeds five consecutive hours.” [Source: OSHA Education Center]

[@beng4647]

@trevinbeattie4888 That is why I quit. I felt like I was letting my fellow commies down.

[@Blepable]

"...Hard work to some extent is a value in many different cultures..." Adam, its a value in every culture, and deeply ingrained. It is ingrained everywhere, in every culture - work hard and you'll be okay. Its not an American lie. Its not a new idea. We have all been fed it through various means and avenues, and now we live in a time where it is absolutely untrue.

[@benjamineer3045]

It is a little bit different in Europe, yes there is more welfare system is bigger, better and more accepted, but discurse is pretty similar. As German the typical American arguments hit pretty close to home as well, but after all it is not that different in any european country. Don't live under the illusion that Europe is paradies, its better but the trajectory is similar, wealth inequality is rising, unions are crushed, workers rights is diminished, unemployment aid under attack and discourse poisoned.

[@GhostSamaritan]

No kidding! Same in Sweden.

[@trevinbeattie4888]

I’m guessing European countries are being influenced by American corporations.

[@drpepperman2765]

​@@trevinbeattie4888 No, it's just the natural endstate of capitalism. Like, even the creators of capitalism and the founding fathers recognized that this would happen without extensive regulation and an eventual shift in political structure. They knew things needed to change with the needs of the people for a country to survive, I wish people actually listened to what they said instead of just pretending like they thought they made a perfect government...

[@chrishall8630]

"Fullfilling Career" = Enough money to enjoy life. It's all about having enough money.

[@grif0716]

Enough money, enough time off to enjoy it, and a workplace that doesn't make you consider self-harm just to get away.

[@3nertia]

Welcome to capitalism! It's the perfect trap!

[@Przemo-c]

Not entirely I was working in finance and made good money but hated it. The inconsequential nature of those analytics made it dig a hole fill it up for good money. Found a less but still decent money job in my engineering field and been more happy I no longer felt that third of my day was wasted. But you're right that the first part is good enough money for it not to be the first issue.

[@nfzeta128]

​@@Przemo-cBasically Gary's situation (forgot his last name). Most profitable trader a few years after 2008 for multiple years and got depressed and quit his job. Even after coming for relative poverty.

[@M_M_ODonnell]

More money _is_ important...until you get to that "enough to enjoy life" level. Beyond that, quality of work, work-life balance, and any number of other things are more important. (Giving money to people who don't have enough gives better returns in terms of happiness and humanity than giving money to people who already have piles of it. And it turns out it benefits the economy more, too.)

[@NotACat2237]

If only teenagers worked fastfood. You could not have fastfood open in the middle of the school day.

[@felicianomiko5659]

Correct. It’s also for parents whose kids are in school and people who need a second job. For years there were daytime jobs with shifts called “mom hours”. Because middle and lower class moms all worked.

[@Migrating_Magnolia]

I remember growing up and hearing the ol 9-5 grind. Did people have paid lunches back then? I love the idea of a 4 day work week, but I find it hard that we would get paid enough to survive. "oh just work hard, go up the corporate ladder" do we think that we're going to have 100k franchise owners? I'm just so disillusioned, I'm so tired. Inflation is killing me. Fed min wage is still 7.25, but even if we bumped it to 15 it wouldn't cut it. I'm barely getting by with that. If I want more I have to sacrifice my health for a factory job, which I think I plan on just so I can have enough to pay for more than just the bare essentials

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[@KellarHalen]

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[@CatherineOliver-c7d]

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[@theshunzun]

The post world war 2 years were also post new deal years, where president FDR told the ruling class they needed to make concessions or the socialist revolutions were going to tear down capitalism. That’s the real reason why it was easier to get a job that paid well, why you could get a house, and still be able to support an entire family on a single wage. When workers unite, they move the mountains the rich sit upon.

[@user-bd8ue5cn6y]

That rail strike scared 'em good.

[@designsonq1]

45:55 Yes. A company that can not afford to pay every worker a living wage for 40 hours work should be subsided or not exist.

[@NJGuy1973]

A company that can't afford living wages isn't a company, it's a plantation.

[@angellacanfora]

This is such a great convo. I've been pondering American workplace culture and the myth of pulling oneself up by their bootstraps for decades. For the first half of my life, I fully bought into this myth of individualism. But then I moved to the UK and experienced a more relaxed and sociable approach to life and I was forever changed. This "hard work" myth is insidious, toxic and impossible to live up to.

[@Craxin01]

One percent inspiration, 99 percent perspiration. What they don’t tell you is that it’s their inspiration and your perspiration, and they get to keep 99% of the fruits of your perspiration.

[@coribug42]

😂😭😐

[@bigdog44pc]

WE THE PEOPLE must make the changes.

[@tomcads1604]

The McDonald's franchise holder saying "Look at me, I worked hard and I got from the fryer to being a millionaire" is a text book example of survivor bias. How many people started at the fryer that never made it compared to the one guy who, through hard work and some lucky coincidence, made it to middle management (because let's face it you'll be able to own a couple of franchises, but you'll never be in the company's C suite)

[@billw5189]

“Hard Working,” has surpassed, “law abiding,” or, “good,” as the favored value

[@cobygreif]

Amazing interview. Really validated my feelings of my current situation and helpful to know I’m not the only one working hard and struggling.

[@ThatROCdude]

Thank you for speaking on this topic!!

[@Vagrantkidfromtheforest]

My job-"Wow, record breaking year for our region again! We couldn't do it without you guys!" Us-"Soooooooo.... raise?" My job-"Well you see, unfortunately [insert bullshit]"

[@brucedohner3825]

Adam, one billionaire exploiting workers more than another billionaire is not "working harder" in any sense. Wealth accumulated through labor exploitation is stolen wealth, period.

[@quinnholleman1547]

I think it says something about what we've been taught that the reaction I remember seeing to the pandemic unemployment checks was calling people lazy and criticizing the government for giving out so much to "lazy" people rather than questioning why so many jobs were so low paying that people were getting themselves fired because it paid better to be unemployed than to have a job.

[@joshl6275]

It's true of Americans. It's also true of Canadians. It's also true of MANY countries, including China. People busting their asses but no matter how much harder they work, they're getting progressively poorer while the rich are getting progressively richer. This is very problematic and will not end well for society if it goes unaddressed. Really, in a country with as much raw wealth as the US, it would be a fairly simple problem to correct. Rich people aren't paying their fair share. Many services have declined due to privatization or budget cuts. Therefore, a lot of this problem can be resolved simply through tax structure. The harder problems involve antitrust action. Monopolies and oligopolies are the reason inflation is so high. They are a major factor in why wages are stagnant. The American Dream can be resuscitated as a possibility. The middle class can be resurrected. But it requires we smash the oligarchy. This necessarily will involve wealth redistribution and bustin monopolies up (i.e. government regulation). I'm sorry but that's just a fact.

[@user-bd8ue5cn6y]

I think it will end well for society even if it goes unaddressed, and maybe especially if it goes unaddressed. Remember how the market has ups and downs and corrections? It's the same with societies. Eventually the internal contradictions become too much and something has to take place - a change of system or a reform of the existing system. ...that is if global warming doesn't kill us first.

[@GuruGeorge1111]

Balancing a day job and a night job was beneficial; they don't teach you this in school. Loyalty to one job is silly, it's not what you know but who you know. You can be your boss and work for someone if you have the time to do so. Be a good person, BUT you don't always have to play by the rules.

[@ariannawills854]

Hard work does work. It does produce success. Be aware of who is succeeding because of your hard work. Hint. You aren't the one benefiting

[@seancatacombs]

Speaking as someone who stumbled into a tiny bit of white collarness thru complete dumb luck ~10 yrs ago, the way office jobs work is every time you compromise on your principles, your quality of life improves. Lying, accepting roles you're not qualified for, dumping work on others, hiding involvement in failures & trumping up involvement in successes, helping brands that make the world fundamentally worse, etc. It's hard to resist though, especially when you're fresh out of the precariat.

[@carbjr.8071]

My wife has to maintain being a top 10% Amazon picker just to not fear losing her job to petty coworker drama. Hard work does not get you a promotion or raise like 50 years ago (their managers apparently don't even make as much as UPS drivers)

[@lucys.artchat]

26:40 exactly, the phrase on and of itself 'get ahead' implies inherently that some people should be left behind in abject poverty. If we had structures where everyone had 'enough' and then some people could do other things and produce or create and make more if they wanted to or had capacity to, then we'd have a much healthier society, as long as above a certain point there's nothing to be gained because at that point it goes back to the people. Everyone deserves to have enough to get by

[@MeiMitokai]

"One must imagine the American working class happy..."

[@joeruth123]

Hard wark is a commodity to be bargained over. There is value, but if you accept whatever you are told it is worth, you will get robbed. So there are so many victims told it is improper to ask for a fair wage.

[@tryfon_94]

57:40 it's not a beautiful story. it's an elitist way of seeing the world. meritocracy is discriminatory, if you say hard workers should get more than others then you immediately place handicapped people at the bottom of society. And it's not just about those people, men on average will always be able to to work harder than women in anything physical. and there's so much more. you americans always think in terms of competition and destroying other people. cooperation is superior to competition, everyone should be given the means to live well even when they don't perform as well as others, as long as they are doing some reasonable contribution, and if they aren't they should be taught how.

[@thenamedoesnotmatter]

I agree very much, but I also disagree on specific points. There's de facto discrimination and de jure discrimination. Personally, I would not build accusations of Elitism/Meritocracy on the shaky premise of unchangable inherent traits. We all have unique skills and ability. That is the fundamental element of cooperation. Ableism is very real, and causes real harms to a great many citizens worldwide, but those very harms exist independently of our current competitive work structure and hierarchy, and could even persist into cooperative models. It's up to us as individuals and members of community to foster belonging and when necessary work to change systems that cause undue stress and harms.

[@silversweet9211]

Thanks for these Adam your videos are the only way I can digest serious issues without falling into severe depression.

[@vonether]

My dad grow up on a farm, worked in a steel foundry (while owning a hog ranch) and then was refurbishing American Airline planes until he retired. He says, "If you want to improve something, give it to a 'lazy' person." e.g. the lazy person is the one who will figure out a more efficient, smarter way to do the job. But think of how that is framed. A hard worker will do the job in front of him just as he is told to do. A "lazy" person will improve process because the don't like "hard work."

[@Red1555-i6s]

your dad was wrong.

[@dronevil33]

We are more productive now than in the past because of technological improvement. Gains in productivity comes mostly from technological improvement, that is why we are more productive now than ever before.

[@larryhaanen7657]

My bosses treated my hard work with distane and mistrust. They felt threatened by people who succeeded while they were at home.