Dear work,
I don't want to work. I never wanted to work. I don't want to chase success, instead I want to chase what is valuable to me, and what is valuable to me is my time, time I can use to enjoy my hobbies, time I can use to spend time with friends and family, time I can use to do whatever I wish to do with the limited time I have on this earth. My labor for thee is but a mutually beneficial courtship for which I exchange my time, body and mind in exchange for currency, currency I need to live for the things I value.
And yet you ask for more than what was agreed upon, you ask me to take out more time from things I value in exchange for next to nothing. You ask me to work to the very bone for nothing to show for it, and then you ask me to put more of my mind into work so I can think less about what I value.
When I do not give in to your ludicrous demands, you call me lazy, entitled, useless, insubordinate, unprofessional and ungrateful. When labels do not work, you resort to retaliation, for instance, by denying my simple bodily functions you restricted my bathroom breaks, restrict my use for washroom facilities, make me work through my lunch breaks, deny my PTO for when I become ill. When denying my simple bodily functions do not work, you resort to threats, You tell me that I am easily replaceable, tell me that I will lose my job because you wanted me to clock in 15 minutes earlier than our agreed time, tell me that I will get fired if I do not take on additional duties. And to add insult to injury you try to anchor my feet so I wouldn't leave, by offering me treats and trinkets with no practical value, create false and vague promises of better pay and improved working conditions. I have watched strangers, co-workers and friends alike who are weighed down by these anchors you've placed on them, their roots dug into the foundation of their jobs and began to wither themselves away as they can't take in any nutrients from the cement you placed them on.
I do not want to work because I am lazy, feel entitled or ungrateful. I do not want to work, because you have made working unbearable. If our exchange doesn't provide the necessary resources I need to chase after what is valuable to me then what good does it do for me to work for you? Nothing. I am replaceable? So are you, there are plenty of other jobs in the job market, so I'll keep fishing until I can catch one with more meat and less bones to choke on.
However I am not writing this to undermine how important work is in today's society, I am writing this to undermine your “authority” over the people who work for you. The very people who are out there lining YOUR pockets with their hard labor, the people in which you are undermining their values.
Again I say, “I do not want to work” however I am *willing* to work if you get off the high pedestal you've set yourself on. So please do us both a favor and treat us well, give us fair compensation for our labors and do not make work unbearable for both of our sakes.
Regards,
Someone with time on their hands