It’s the new year and I can’t help shake this feeling that I wish I could change everything for myself and my loved ones. The thought of our labor being exploited for profit makes me sick.
My best friend has been at her office job for 5 years and still makes less than the average salary in America. She works so hard. So much so that she’s been asked and has since logs into her bosses emails and does his work for him as well. He makes many dozens of thousands of dollars a month, while she makes a 2% commission. She takes this to heart and equates it with her worth. She’s terrified of looking for new employment because of so many unknowns. She’s also very likely autistic and has severe depression.
My mother used to work as a nurse in a hospital when I was a baby. One day she lifted a patient and caused herself permanent back injury. She can move, but can’t lift anything without pain. She’s been receiving workman’s comp ever since. Part of the stipulation with workman’s comp is that she’s not allowed to make over a certain salary or else the workman’s comp gets taken away. That amount she’s unable to make more than, hasn’t changed in 25 years for inflation. She’s legally been kept in poverty and now she’s retirement age.
My father has been in and out of work and in many different fields. Went to school for computers a long time ago but didn’t update his skills. He has Crohns disease and has had a lot of trouble with any job he couldn’t be within immediate access to a bathroom. We suspect his frequent bathroom trips may have led to him being let go at some point or other. He’s taking retirement as soon as possible because he’s also very prone to kidney stones and has about 20% remaining kidney function. My parents will barely have enough money to support themselves, but that’s always been the case.
My brother is in his late 20s. He’s had a few really bad minimum wage jobs with bad bosses and worse customers. Went to school off and on. Likely has OCD but refuses to speak to someone about it. Decided if he can’t work a job he loves then he won’t work at all. So he lives with our parents and spends most of his time either gaming or trying to find a way to bypass “work” altogether and be his own to be a streamer, a music maker, an inventor, a game creator. He’s smart and very quick to learn things, but is directionless and I can’t imagine he’s very happy. He doesn’t take care of his basic needs and is very dependent on our parents.
I have been very fortunate to have a well paying, fully remote job that has a good amount of down time. But.. I hate it. I hate having to sit at my desk for 40+ hours and deal with the office politics. I hate being asked by my CEO to help him with personal favors unrelated to the company. I hate seeing how hard everyone works here just to see them let go because of bad business decisions. I feel directionless and I want a huge change.. but what?
If I leave this job, I’ll just be at another job. Very likely in less ideal conditions. Likely having to brave 45+ minutes of traffic each way again. If I quit today and budget I could likely live without work for up to a year. I thought about taking that opportunity to leave and learn a new skill.. but would it be any better?
I’m tired of this. I’m tired of seeing my loved ones suffer. I’ve offered my best friend to support her financially as much as I can while she quits and looks for a new job because she’s at her wits end. I think she’s also afraid she won’t find new work, and now also equates her job with her self-worth. She’d likely spiral with all that excess time thinking about how she’s not being productive. I’ve also offered her and my brother to pay for their therapy, but they won’t go. I have extra money every month that I’d like to use to help them, but I also don’t have enough money to escape the system I’m in and I don’t imagine I ever will.
We are so much more than the sum of our paychecks. And after a full week of work we have no more energy left to even know who we are. Sunday means preparing mentally for Monday. Maybe my brother is the happiest of us all. I don’t know.. I just know we all need a change. And we need it now.
tl;dr Work has destroyed the mental and physical states of everyone I love. I am fortunate, but I am also still a slave. I wish I could do more to help us.