We talk a lot about discussing pay, but I noticed the other day that every single time I've discussed my preferred work hours at any given workplace over the past several years, the responses, without fail, have been utterly sick.
I would either ask about whether or not the lunch break is part of my eight hours, or whether there's flexibility on when the eight hours can be worked, etc.
And in response I would get…
- “Oh, hahah, you'll be working late into the night soon enough.”
- “I work 8 to 4 too! 8 PM to 4 AM, LOL!”
- “There's no overtime, but you're expected to be in all the meetings, so you'll end up actually doing your work later on in the day and into the evening, hahah.”
Without fail, these things were said in a disturbing pseudo-joking fashion, as if trying to conceal the ridiculous nature of what's being said, like a slave trying to justify his indentured servitude.
How did we get here? And how do we get out of this situation, when so many people are utterly broken and subdued by the system into accepting this sort of thing as a given?