Well,
I've just lost my (shitty) job.
Pay was lousy, nobody explained anything to me (which led to me only being able to do “trained monkey” tasks because the other tasks would have required that I know more about the product (in that case lubricants for vehicles and machinery and car parts!) and our customers (so who gets discounts etc.) because that company was too stupid to simply enter this into the customer database!), the hours were long (43.75 hours per week) and our bosses (two brothers!) are typical boomers (ok: One is a real boomer, the older of the two brothers and the other is Gen-X, but behaves like a boomer because that's how he was raised!), so for them working extra hours and coming in on saturday because they simply hired to few people is ok (note: I never did, I refuse to be taken advantage of like that! Not to mention: If you do it once, they will expect it in the future, so nope! No way!)
Well, my dad who thought that this job was about the greatest thing since sliced bread (despite the fact that for that amount of pay he'd probably tell them to fuck off! Sure, he finished university, while I am a dropout, but that still doesn't mean I'll accept this) and is rather pissed and now he sends me job advertisements for even worse jobs (especially retail! He hasn't got that memo that retail jobs suck…or he doesn't care!), demanding that I apply for them!
So answer me this: Why do boomers enjoy being exploited, working more hours than their contract stipulates (or sacrificing free time to learn new skills – but without looking for a better paying job, just so their current employer can get even more out of them without giving more back!), especially if they aren't truly making headway (my dad proudly proclaims he has payed of his house, but that it took him 30 years, despite the fact that both of my parents work, that the house was (and still is in certain ways!) a dump when he bought it (no central heating, old floors that needed ripping out and replacing (still not done everywhere!), an attic that was turned into extra living space (but gets uncomfortably hot in summer!) etc…not to mention that it's in a dinky little village where you can't truly live without a car, because even grocery shopping requires one!)) or building wealth? I mean all this work has left my dad not very wealthy (he's not poor, but frankly he's also not well off for the work he put in!).
Why do they think this type of life is enjoyable or desirable, especially since wages/salaries are down and prices (especially housing, but also food, power, clothing!) are up, so it's even harder to make headway?
I don't get it! Hell, I don't get it why we aren't on general strike, demanding our fair share! Seriously, the status quo hurts us younger folk (so millenials and younger!) and needs to change (especially with AI looming on the horizon! I mean ChatGPT and Stable Diffusion might be a little primitive still, but give it a few years and you'll not need a secretary, a driver, an artist etc. because AI can do that!), NOW!