I'm having a very hard time feeling financially secure or enjoying my life while killing myself over 50 hours a week and watching my body deteriorate for a paycheck. My father says that it is what it is and I have to do what I have to do because I was not able to go to college. He does not understand this generation and is bitter towards us because he caved to accept terrible workplace culture so why can't we?
I am 19 years old with minimal family support and do everything to keep my life together but I have given up every hobby, passion and dream for this stability. I will admit it is hard to interact with people who have family support, who get to go to college at my age, who do not have to worry about bills. I am constantly cycling and sacrificing my entire youth because the “cards fell a certain way” and time and time again I get told its ridiculous to feel upset or anxious about it by the older generations because THEY DID IT so stop complaining.
They refuse to admit the economy and the meaning of work has changed and become more shamelessly nefarious over time. Things feel hopeless because they are becoming hopeless for many, many people. I feel that they do not want to understand that perspective now that they have clawed their way up to a comfier, more privileged perspective and are nearing retirement. They are blinded by their relief that they are not struggling anymore.
I do not understand this equation to hard work building character. I do not understand this link between suffering intensely for a paycheck and superiority. It feels like this intense martyrdom has gripped them all by the balls and now that people won't tolerate the things that they tolerated they are officially upset that they did not think to fight back themselves.
I am so tired of being told that it is lazy to want better workplace conditions, that it is spoiled to just expect good pay. I am tired of not having any time to be a human being and pretending that what we do as retail workers, as warehouse workers, as the bottom barrel people making this fucking country run is not similar to slavery. to dangle the carrot of a couple hours off without the fear of termination is more of a slap to my face than just simply calling me what I am. I will never have a complex over this, I will never feel good about the work I do. it's ridiculous to me to try to find some sort of pride in the way this economy has trapped us all for a paycheck we are dependent upon.