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Antiwork

Feelings on the gratuity/commission economy?

Curious how people here feel about tipped/commission jobs. As someone who has only worked in the “eat what you kill” fields, from what people say here about salary/hourly jobs, it sounds absolutely miserable. Yet, there is this pervasive attitude of disdain/perceived superiority towards the jobs that rely on tips. I really don't get it. In pretty much every job I have ever had, if I put forth a greater effort and pushed myself I could increase the reward for my work. In salaried jobs, pushing yourself is by definition a punishment, because you are guaranteed to get paid the same. Sure, pushing yourself might bring on eventual advancement, but it's an environment where you need to punish yourself and work for less to progress forward. In addition, I have always felt that tipped positions allow competent workers more agency, as they are much more results/production based, less bureaucratic hierarchy, and…


Curious how people here feel about tipped/commission jobs. As someone who has only worked in the “eat what you kill” fields, from what people say here about salary/hourly jobs, it sounds absolutely miserable. Yet, there is this pervasive attitude of disdain/perceived superiority towards the jobs that rely on tips. I really don't get it. In pretty much every job I have ever had, if I put forth a greater effort and pushed myself I could increase the reward for my work. In salaried jobs, pushing yourself is by definition a punishment, because you are guaranteed to get paid the same. Sure, pushing yourself might bring on eventual advancement, but it's an environment where you need to punish yourself and work for less to progress forward. In addition, I have always felt that tipped positions allow competent workers more agency, as they are much more results/production based, less bureaucratic hierarchy, and there is a lower bar for qualifying based on financial investment( i.e. you don't need a degree).

Is there an attitude toward tipped/commission workers, or am I being defensive? In particular, how do people feel about working serving in a restaurant?

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