I find myself again enjoying an average weekend morning, shielding a cup of coffee and a laptop from 2 labradors devoid of spacial awareness, and intent on condemning me to another gruelling trip to the fucking Apple store, feeling the need to iron out some thoughts.
It won’t surprise anyone who knows me, or possesses the social calendar of your everyday goldfish and has taken the time to read anything I’ve written in the past, that it again revolves around elite liberal journalists and outlets intent on pushing a wedge between opposing segments of society.
Today’s gladiators in waiting - employees and employers.
With some of the largest economies in the world teetering on a recession (however the White House may define it this week?) journalists and mainstream media outlets everywhere feel the need to make everyone’s lives much more interesting by ramping up the growing divide between these long-term rivals.
I recently commented on an article from @MetroUK_Life entitled:
“Could ‘quiet quitting’ your job be the answer to burnout? Here’s what you need to know”
(Sidenote: I do so love these articles that insinuate that absolutely everything you do need to know on this subject will be found right here on our heavily ad-based URL, with links to other incredibly ad-based bullshit stories we’ve spaffed onto a 500 word piece of drivel In the past- the irony)
My response at the time was one of annoyance, not only due to this particular article but to the exhausting trend from ‘Lifestyle-esque’ articles from journalists constantly encouraging employees to say “fuck this, i’m done with capitalism” and constantly goading the workforce to treat employers like something born of satan, here only to provide excruciating misery and pain on the general public.
Here are some snippets from the story…
‘You’re not outright quitting your job, but you’re quitting the idea of going above and beyond. 'You’re still performing your duties, but you’re no longer subscribing to the hustle culture mentality that work has to be your life.' This is quiet quitting.
What does quiet quitting look like in practice? It might be saying no to projects that aren’t part of your job description, leaving work on time, or refusing to answer emails and Slack messages outside of your working hours. It could be as simple as a mindset shift.
Quiet quitting isn't a long-term solution to bigger issues of burnout and poor work culture. But it can be helpful as a short-term remedy as you take action to leave your job or find another one. 'There’s no need to be in a role you don’t like long-term,' says Jill.
(Truly mind-blowing stuff there from Jill. Kudos)
Now the article does go on to include quotes from ‘experts’ warning against the long-term effects of this trendy new phrase some wanker on TikTok has coined or encouraged, and it does also suggest (rightly so in my opinion) that maybe if you’re unhappy at your job, to just adhere to that ‘old school’ philosophy of just actually…..quitting?
I’d argue that it’s clear that this article is geared as an attention-grabbing appeal to a predominantly young, possibly inexperienced, minimum wage earning workforce looking for any excuse to shirk the reality of work-life and blame employers for the fact that life is potentially harder than you might’ve imagined in your first steps into adulthood.
(I’d like to apologise to anyone reading for any harm I may have caused in the clear absence of a ‘?’ and other missing punctuation in the making of this tweet - moreover all of my writing.)
Now, my response was possibly a little bold, maybe a little less nuance-laden than I might have provided on a different day? I wasn’t drunk on this occasion (which I shall put down as a colossal win for my liver that’s certainly been putting in some overtime as of late - again, the irony), but I certainly meant what I said.
What was strange though, was that I woke up the following day to the biggest bunch of bollocks I’d ever seen!
Before anyone goes questioning what I get up to in my private life, I’ll add in that there was not a physical set of bollocks before my very eyes that morning, yet i might have actually been more impressed with a massive physical presentation of manhood than the metaphorical as my eyes adjusted to my phone screen.
There was a swath of replies from some of the most short-sighted, ungrateful, depressing individuals and Twitter heroes patrolling our timelines. Cloaked in a layer of virtue and self-pity, ready to stick it to the man and expose the true trauma of worklife in the 21st century, the replies really were amazing to me.
The word ‘shill’ and ‘boomer’ were tossed around more than once. I had to check my payslip and my birth certificate just to make sure I wasn’t actually losing my marbles at the rebuttals that often took what I was initially angered about out of context.
Here’s some gems…
What i found strange was that all of the responses I received for my distaste of the article were overwhelmingly unappreciative of my actual support for hard-working employees everywhere, and equally unappreciative of what employers actually provide to our economy. That’s not to say that employers can’t mistreat their workers, but without them, where would so many of us be?
Ideas such as “slaving away for a boss that makes 10 times your salary” “being a sucker” and “Promotions and raises and pensions don’t exist anymore, so what’s the point” are so lacking of any appreciation for critical thinking of how the world works.
A few did admit to their abhorrence for capitalism head-on of course, I obviously could not infer that all of these were ‘Marxists’ ‘anarchists’ or ‘Gen-Z idealists’ for lack of evidence over 240 character tweets, but if I had to put the house I don’t own on it…. I’d have fancied my odds.
I find it a necessity to establish that there are lots of different kind of employers in this world. There are corporations, there are mid-level franchises, and there are small businesses, there’s also weird-ass multi-level-marketing cunts that we can toss in there and join together as we pray for their demise.
Beyond this, there’s an immense amount of different industries, and industry norms and workplace cultures that also separate the divide between employers and employees.
With all of that said, the aforementioned article never serves to break-down exactly who we’re talking about in this hypothetical workplace. I’d suggest this is because the objective of articles such as these are to cast the net far and wide and wait for the clicks and comments for anyone who isn’t ‘emotionally invested' in the role at work?
Either way, the prevailing point i’d like to reinforce is that employers serve a purpose. There are some horrific ones of course, and ones that have been found out for mistreating their employees no doubt, but on the whole - employers are good for society.
If you have never owned your own business, or embarked on the mission to provide the market with goods or a service, you might find it hard to actually appreciate the pressures and responsibilities involved in running one.
Employees who cannot put themselves in an employer’s shoes and stare down a bottom line, the costs of materials, insurance, maintenance costs, machinery, constant tech infrastructure, and last but not least - a wage bill, will forever be at an impass with their employers. It’s that simple.
At the very least, employees have to face up to what can be a hard reality, that matching up with an employer who’s the perfect fit for you is a lot like the dating game.
We all know that there are some ‘job roles’ that you’d crawl over broken glass to be able to fill each morning, but sometimes, you gotta settle for the one that looks alright after a few beers and is a decent cook…. because you’re not exactly the Chris fucking Hemsworth of the workforce.
In my adult life, i’ve worked for large corporations, franchises, small and medium-sized businesses.
I’ve worked in the retail industry, the restaurant industry, sold cellphone contracts, in warehouses, in telephone customer service positions, freelanced in the graphic and web design industry, and somewhere in amongst all of that, I at one time owned my own business. I also ‘bagged tea’ when I was 15 for a short period.
(Again I feel the need to point out that I worked a packaging machine in a ‘tea’ factory and was not in fact a part-time rent boy - much to the amusement of my parents and the new nickname they branded me with.)
Whilst i might’ve been unhappy at a fair few of these job roles, I have always noted one thing….working harder than everyone else and being invested in your job (whatever it may be) being a team player and performing in your role as best you can is something to be proud of.
I’ve worked with colleagues who are prepared to stay that bit longer, pick up that extra shift, take on that extra responsibility that they hadn’t learned yet, and constantly pushed themselves to be their best. These colleagues were always my favourite to work with, and these traits were something I always respected. Whatever the role I found myself in, having people who know how to ‘graft’ working around you made the workload more bearable.
The idea of working together in a team with people who are actively not ‘invested’ in their job and practising some of the other recommendations advocated in ‘Quiet quitting’ would make any workplace worse, especially for those who might not have what it takes to move on to better things in the future, or (crazy for some to imagine here)….might actually like where they work and the job they do?
‘Burnout’ is a buzzword that’s seen more use in elite Journo’s articles these days than WaPo’s HR department’s waiting room chairs.
The article itself presents ‘Quiet quitting’ as a direct remedy to ‘burnout’ with a focus on employees mental well-being. This topic in general is something I am conflicted on for a variety of reasons.
I am of course, not conflicted with the simple notion that people can suffer mentally with the stresses that come with working-class life. I have family members and friends that have had a history of trials and tribulations with mental health and financial difficulties.I myself have ramped-up frequent one-on-one evening sessions with Dr. J. Daniels to work out a lot of stress in these last two years. I find myself more at odds with the issue of what people think should be done about this on a mass scale. and the ‘cotton wool coated’ messaging that comes with it?
You can walk into any Starbucks anywhere, and plant your soy-macchiato drinking, iPhone scrolling, slave-labour garment shopping ass down in any seat, and be likely to overhear a group of young women, or indeed men, discussing these exact topics.
“I’ve really like, been struggling lately….blah, blah…dealing with my like, anxieties and…blah, blah….suffering from like....burnout ya know?”
and everytime you just look at them and think………”get a fucking grip you twat.” Insert fucking eye-roll emoji.
Looming recession, interest rates hikes, and Jeff Bezos’ yachts aside, we’re all living in the best-ever time to be humans in the history of…..like…humans?
The lifestyle we’ve become accustomed to as the decades have passed since the WWII era has left most of us forgetting the kind of working conditions our predecessors had to face when turning up to put in a shift. The people who used to carry the literal fucking canaries into the literal fucking coal mines.
None of it came from people ‘Quiet quitting’ whilst on canary watch.
I’ll lay this one out there real quick for those who appreciate the art of bluntness like I appreciate Liz Hurley’s wardrobe manager in the epic 2000 rom-com ‘Bedazzled’.…..Not every job is satisfying. Shocker!
Turning up to a warehouse on a bitter cold winter morning to pack and ship goods to other people isn’t exactly anyone’s idea of fun.
After shaking off the argument you’ve had with your girlfriend over the credit card bill, and seeing another warning light appear on your dash like the used-car salesman’s poking a pissing voodoo replica of your piece of shit ‘98 suzuki swift every month, the last thing you want to be doing is boxing up superfluous Chinese made consumer goods for middle-class wankers with disposable income.
The one thing I’ve always tried to point out to friends or family unsatisfied in their jobs is that if those are the circumstances you find yourself in at that point in life’s journey, the one thing you CAN control is to make sure you’re the best god damned person in that ‘warehouse’ that morning.
Be proud of what you do, be an example to other people in your team, inspire other people around you to be better and tackle the workload. People these days are so quick to moan about their job but we can’t all be ‘wardrobe manager’ for Liz Hurley in the timeless Hollywood masterpiece that was ‘Bedazzled’ can we?
(No idea of the plot by the way, I think Liz was the devil or something and Brendan Fraser was confused? She’s 57 now btw?? …Still would!)
You always, always, always, reserve the right to actually QUIT.
Jesus Christ, what don’t some people get about this concept? If you don’t like where you work, or the job that you’re doing, then quit. No one is forcing you to suffer ‘Burnout’.
People in western powerhouses like the USA and the UK seem to have a lot of time to highlight just how hard people’s jobs are, and some are, but we don’t really emphasize the underlying reality of these situations - If you could be working in a better job, making more money, and experiencing greater job satisfaction, then why are you still working here?
I’d argue that the reality for a lot of people, unfortunately, is that they have probably been ‘Quiet quitting’ since they entered the workplace and they’ll probably end up in another job role much like the one they’re desperate to leave.
Some more truth bombs here for you Gen-Z’ers. Jobs are meant to be quit. Minimum wage is meant for young people entering the workforce. Better pay awaits those who can prove that they can turn up, exceed expectations, and take on more responsibilities. No one is responsible for your career path besides you.
Lastly, and unfortunately, not everyone is destined to have a ‘career’. Most of us just have jobs.
This is why it’s so annoying reading articles such as these. The real advice employees should be getting in 2022 isn’t to ‘mentally checkout’ from their job and fuck off at 4:59 in order to avoid being labelled a ‘sucker’ by some Anime wanking, neck tattoo sporting, commie-activist cunt on Twitter, is to work hard and shove that work ethic and track record in your employers face!
Log the times you’ve stayed 5 mins later to get that last order out, pick-up that last inbound call, or take that last drinks order to help provide better customer service for the business, showcase all the extra responsibilities you’ve got your hands dirty with, and the initiative you often take to get the job done in absense of a manager and highlight your ambition.
A lot of times, employers are looking for someone to command their respect and set themselves apart from what can be an overwhelming sea of moaning in the workplace.
In summary, I am all for hardworking employees being respected, not exploited. I’m fine with workers unionising and negotiating for better pay to keep corporate overlords honest and competitive in the marketplace, but I personally would much prefer to advocate for myself and my work as an individual and to set myself apart from others who might be ‘Quiet quitting’ right now.
Anyhow, here’s a fun video of Mick Lynch pissing on employers that I actually do find quite funny and refreshing.
And herrrrre is the trailer for the cinematic masterpiece ‘Bedazzled’ with Liz Hurley.
@nopartyfits
Share