Hey r/antiwork. Somehow I find myself here at the young age of 25 from somewhere unfamiliar.
Here's some context on what I've been through. I'm born and raised in a third-world country, one which an American tech start-up decided to exploit its labor force in the spirit of conspicuous neocolonialism. To put it into perspective: minimum wage here is around US$70 a month, and this company paid from $800 all the way to $2,000~ a month. A can of coke here costs $0.20.
It's a good deal. A great deal. Of course I signed up and was very content, as the work itself was genuine and honest as honest work could go. That's until I got promoted into a middle-management role. I oversaw a dozen, and I wasn't actually given a job description at all. I'm just a team leader..?
Anyway, to keep this story short, piles of bullshit began to form up in the shape of accusing workers of slacking, demanding production targets that are impossible due to not there being enough demand in the first place, and heaps and heaps of politics, drama, and power plays. I played the long game, and saw my contract to its near-compeltion to milk the most out of this dying cow, but, near the end, I made it clear that I'm impartial to this bullshit and that I won't stand while workers, my team included, get accused of slacking when I KNOW each and every one of them. I got swept under the rug.
I saw that coming. I knew it would happen, but I didn't care. While this cacophony was playing all around at work, I read on bullshit jobs and realized I'm in one. What I didn't expect, however, was that this level of bullshit is universal. I'm pissed.
I'm stuck – I feel stuck – in a country that's getting leeched by American corporatism, and none of my countrymen care because they're desperate for the pay. Someone leaked screenshots of management making fun of the workers, calling them animals and worse names, and the workers went on the next day anyway, and even ate food offered by them.
I can't stand corporate. Everybody's acting; it's all a play. Nobody's actually doing anything but the workers doing the actual job; I didn't have to read much of anything to figure that out on my own, yet these people comply with public humiliation. The cherry on top was having access to company metrics and not only realizing that management is disrespectful, but also stupid. None of the accusations held actual ground, and, in fact, I knew better.
What do I even do? I'm barely out of uni, and I don't want to work for anyone ever again. This all wasn't my first experience with work, but it was the first with a foreign entity. Is it all so hopeless? I want to fight back, and I'm angry, but what can a single knowing individual do..?