Antiwork

I can’t be the only one who’s felt like our lives are just dominated by corporations trying to squeeze every single last dollar out of the general public. And they’re doing so in such underhanded and sly ways now. Sure in the 80s we got served commercials for TMNT action figures, but now it just feels like we’re squeezed for every single little thing. Everything is an upsell add-on additional purchase. Want heated seats in your car? $19.99/mo. That kind of thing. In the early 2000s my local mall took out its centerpieces, this wonderful wrap-around fountain area the size of a mid-size home and replaced it with pop-up coffee shops and phone case stands…and it’s surprising that that mall is still even operational. Corporate squeeze equals paying people the bare minimum while squeezing the same people for every single little item.

This was something that took me a fair amount of time to understand. Before I worked for myself, I was the guy who would be giving 150% at all times, pulling the weight of multiple employees because my pride demanded it. I thought to myself that by showing how valuable an employee I was, I would get noticed and be promoted over those who half assed it every day. I was so wrong. I learned this lesson when working in a manufacturing plant, we built containers used for waste disposal. When I first started, it was like any other job where you put in your 8 to 10 hours a day, and sometimes got bonuses when things were going well. Over time as new management moved in, bonuses became less and less frequent, and the hours went from 8 hours a day, to 12 hour days six days a week…

A few years ago I applied for a job as a “communications officer” in a now dissolved energy company in the UK. I’m unsure if I can actually say the company name on here as a quick google search will reveal the now ex-ceo and his wife’s identity, and that could be a rule violation. But lets just say the first part of the company name may or may not rhyme with “steeples” and that this company was an energy provider. After applying, I took a phone call with the CEO’s wife. Let’s call her Sharon. Sharon asked me to prepare a social media communication plan for their growing company, and to send it to her. I spent many unpaid hours researching their outreach, their demographics and current content. And many more putting together the proposal. I sent the plan, and was invited to an interview. So I pop down…

I’m employed remotely by a company out of California as an independent contractor, though I live in Arizona. In my contract, I am supposed to be paid monthly, but I did not receive any pay for 3 months in 2021. I was eventually paid only the value of my paycheck, but now the company is doing it again and I don’t know what to do. I’m wondering if anyone can give me some advice on my next steps, be it taking it up to a labor board or pursuing legal action. I’ve already called a labor lawyer in CA and was told they can not help me because I’m located in AZ. I’m also concerned that I have been misclassified as a contractor, when I am being treated like an employee. Does anyone have any advice? Thank you.

I'm a content creator for a university. During our last media team meeting, the boss tells us that we need to update our “student discounts” webpage, and make sure that all of our coupon codes still work for the companies on the page. She tells us that we'll each need to call five of the businesses and check that the discount codes still work. Everyone in this meeting is a student employee content creator. We mostly make content for our social media pages. This “student discount” page has nothing to do with me or my fellow employees. This is her responsibility, not ours. When she brought up this new “assignment”, I spoke up and said, “wait, we're doing this?” and she replied “yea”, and moved on. I want to bring up my concerns to her, but I know she'll just think I'm lazy and “not a team-player”. This is not…

Trading my time for money everyday at any job I’ve ever had is the most draining thing for me mentally. I must be wired different because I don’t know how people can wake up everyday and go spend their entire day at the job they dislike just because it’s what you’re supposed to do. I’ve explained to some that just because this is the model of life we have setup right now doesn’t mean it always will be. But most people I know are defeated and just do it anyways. I don’t get it, if everyone decided to stop going to work what could they do. I have plans for my future but in the meantime how can I get through my day at work when all day I’m thinking “FUCK THIS” I’m glad like minded people are popping up more and that we’re able to communicate freely on the…