There is footage of Nixon saying that it was obviously a three day weekend and a four day work week was an inevitability in his life time - but we never got there and with the direction of current politics the world over it is unlikely we are going to. No party members on either side is doing anything to help and there is no plan to here in the US.
I wouldn’t rely on anyone in US politics right now to seriously pursue, introduce, or enact anything remotely progressive. If you gave Sanders or AOC full reign you would at best get half measures. No one is on our side if it means even the slightest change to their standard of living or comfort and it would so they won’t actually do it.
Cause either they’re left which means they’re a neoliberal that firmly believe they should do well for themselves first and then do good - which means they’re sellouts; or they’re right which means they know the left will do economic deals with them and that they can stall any actual reforms while they don’t have control - and they’re both happy with that cause they all make money. The US just codified and legalized corruption, it’s the only reason it doesn’t get labeled that way. Whole system is rotten to the core and what little institutional resilience is left is on the chopping block no matter who is in power.
I can’t believe the labour laws out there from some of the things I read here. You guys really get screwed over.
I am stunned that this can happen in the land of the free.
People got propagandized by the value/idea of ‘freedom’ and the entitlement they deserve from being in a ‘free’ country…… which is completely and utterly inaccurate….
The ORIGINAL IDEA/VALUE IS INDEPENDENCE, NOT ‘FREEDOM’
There is a big difference in those words from a strictly dictionary point of view; and that’s before adding the fuel on the fire of INTENTIONAL obfuscation and watering down of the idea through strategic propaganda
“The land of the free” is an intentional misnomer. Transatlantic slave trade and Indigenous genocide alone clearly show this is not a free land with free people. Literally built on top of the backs and graves of countless people who had freedom taken away by this country.
In the American context it functionally does. Clinton popularized exactly that and there isn’t really a Democrat in national politics that isn’t pursuing that.
That’s how strong labour was at the time and they had a ton of momentum. Fell off super hard.
It definitely wasn’t something he wanted but he was resigned to it.
The biggest issue with 2 day weekends is you're always forced to pick any two of the following - chores/errands, social life, relaxation/downtime
If you fill those 2 days with chores and errands and relaxation, you have no time to go out with friends or family and be social
If you fill those 2 days with social commitments and relaxation, you can't get the chores done
If you fill those 2 days with chores and social commitments, you have no time to sleep in, relax and have some chill time.
I regularly have weekends that are packed with stuff where you feel like you need a weekend from the weekend. Rushing around doing stuff, being social and leaving you little time to just chill. Or where they're so full of commitments, you have no time to do a bit of cleaning and the house starts to look messy.
3 day weekends would solve all those issues. You'd have a day to do errands, a day to go out and be social and a day to yourself. And if you had a particularly busy weekend, you'd still mostly have enough time to chill out for some of it
And it's having a noticeable effect on society as well. Even on weekends, I find I see so much aggression and general rushing on the roads. Even our chill days everyone is going around at an insane speed just to get some time to themselves
I had the privilege of a 4 day work week at my previous job and God do I miss it. I would go back to work feeling so refreshed. I suddenly had time for hobbies it was amazing. I will try and advocate at my current job as soon as things become stable.
My wife has a 4 day work week every other week and also has a lot of down time at her current job and her lofe has changed so much. She is trying art and birding and taking classes and all kinds of things. It's been really great to watch.
Technically 10 but it was 50/50 if we even had that much work tbh. So I would be on the clock, but doing chores or cooking dinner (wfh). Even so I would much prefer to do 10 hr days 4 days a week rather then 8hr 5 day. I am way more focused and productive
The only way I get relaxation is being single. Meaning , I would prefer to be in a relationship but that would consume all downtime that correctly helps me to be a relaxed person. I can't budget 46 minutes to get that feeling...I am not a linked in type A
I think you probably just described the biggest reason I’m still single too. Relationships are work, and I’m so tired of work from every facet of life that the effort is just too much to maintain. If I am going to be in a relationship I want to be able to put in that work, but I just can’t find room for it… I have a hard enough time keeping up with the other things I already have to deal with.
You don't think you'd have any downtime with your partner? Or are you not considering that downtime? If a realtionship is THAT much work, you might be with the wrong person.
Spot on. And even that’s assuming that you don’t do anything like volunteering or participating in anything that doesn’t directly benefit one of those three things. If you’re like me, you find it hard to relax or socialize when there are things at home that need to be done. Saturday is my "work for myself for free" day: yard work, laundry, house cleaning, kids' sports, finance stuff( which are things I willingly committed to by making the family/living choices I did. I'm not complaining that I do those, just pointing out that those alone can take an entire day).
our goal is for Sunday to be more of a family day, but if you or your kids are involved in any sort of weekend sports, you can count on spending a a few hours for a single game between getting ready, travel, warmup, etc. A little less would apply for a trip to the gym or taking a run.
If you add social activities to any of those nights, chances are you've gotten less sleep over the weekend than you average during the week. If you don't have family/other obligations, you may be able prioritize sleep or leisure, but you're completely right with "here are 3 equally important priorities: pick 2".
ETA: I was fortunate enough to work remotely for a few years until earlier this year. During that time I could put laundry through and clean a room over lunch to reduce the weekend load. Not to mention I could mow my yard during the time I saved not having to get ready/commute for a single day of work. I guess I’m still salty about having to go back into the office.
Couple that with "waiting to be engaged" non paid on call schedules and you have really fucked time on the weekends too. I seriously don't understand some of my coworkers that are always working.. Makes me fucking tired.
It's always sacrificing something. And feeling like you can't even live or have time for yourself daily so you will sacrifice sleep too just to relax and have some time for yourself. An endless toxic cycle.
I know this isn't what you want to hear, but if you can't fit all 3 of those things in 2 days, it might be a time management issue. Assuming you're up for 16 hours a day. Are you really doing any one of those things that entire time? My Saturdays usually consist of getting chores errands out of the way in the morning/afternoon. Then I can choose to relax or socialize in the evening. Sunday I can wrap up any chores or errands that didn't get done, and I have the rest of the day to do fuck all.
Granted, I don't have kids.
I used to work 10 hours days so I could have 3 days off. It was nice but I was only 19-20 severely depressed and dealing with raging alcoholism so it didn’t really matter. I’d spend everyday fucked up but Fridays for party days Saturday the only relaxing day and then Sunday anxiety about having to go back
If minimum wage had kept up with inflation, we would have to have a minimum of $24 an hour to equal what the minimum wage was worth back in the early 60s. I hope that makes sense, because it's 8am and I know I didn't word it very well.
Probably healthcare (and obviously inflation isn’t keeping up with wages). You have to work 40 hours a week to even get healthcare. It’s like they have us in shackles.
I think the US needs some workers rights enshrined in laws. There is no incentive for an employer to do anything to keep a worker healthy, rested or alive
I am now 30. I started working almost as soon as I finished HS and I spent majority (and hated every single moment of it) of my years working 5 days 10 hrs a day and then 6th day 6-8 hrs a day and only in past few years I worked 3-12s and sometimes mandatory overtime (8 hrs a day) for 2 days. Recently they got rid of weekend shift so I had to go back to 4-10s and every Friday they try to get me to work overtime but I refuse and will never-ever work 5 days a week in my entire life. Not even 4 for much longer.
I've always hated it and just hearing words "mandatory" or "overtime" literally makes my blood boil and almost sends me into murderous rage and I am fucking done with it forever. Idk how people can do this for 10-20-30 or even 50 years, almost every single day of their lives. It's fucking insanity.
System is made that way, to enslave you and to make you too tired or too poor to do anything about it so you can forget about changing the system or society. Even most of your family/coworkers will defend it to their last breath and consider you to be the problem and not the system. I am 100% sure we will just like Greece get 6 day workweek more likely than 4 day work week VERY SOON and people will bend over once again and take it without lube.
What I wanted to say in short is you have to find a way to escape and worry only about yourself, you can't save others because most don't want to be saved. My plan is to cut down my expenses to minimum and get by working just enough hours to pay bills and spend rest of my time working on YT channels, and other projects that could earn me some extra income. If that doesn't work out for me I will try to get some job that allows me to work 2-20hr days and then have 5 days off and try to keep my sanity that way...
I was going to bring this up. I’m 46, renting, barely any savings, I only own a car because it’s from 2007 and still runs. I don’t know if I’ll ever have a house or “ Live the Dream”
Well, if you had any free time on your hands you might stop and realize how badly you're being fucked over, and then do something about it.
Much better to keep the wage-slaves in constant drudgery.
I don’t know but it’s not looking good. I’m 41 and I’ve worked since I was 15.
There’s been jobs I hated and times in my life when I thought fuck man I can’t do this anymore, but nothing like it is now. I don’t actually hate my job and I still don’t know how I’m going to keep doing it. Every week it seems there’s less joy about anything outside of work and every Monday I sit here and seriously question how much longer I can keep it up.
Yeah I build up very little pto because of my habit of taking a Monday or Friday off for at least a 3 day weekend and I always take off to make any holiday 3 day weekend a four day weekend. I mean we should be keeping most time for ourselves
This hits home for me. This weekend I got nothing done until Sunday evening, and this is even after missing work Thursday and spending most of the day sleeping. I work from home in a tech support/sales role, and even though I have some of the best survey numbers and have already met the annual sales goal in a niche, technical field I still make barely more than what's advertised for a fast food manager. Best case scenario I'm looking at $45k after taxes, which isn't enough to get ahead.
Days feel like the perfect length,
I don’t need em any longer,
but for goodness sake,
do the years seem way to short
for my soul, corazón?
We should have a national quit your job day where everybody with a shitty job just quits and all the employers cry about it. Day has to be random each year so they can’t see it coming
Weekends are exhausting, Saturday feels like a mental recovery day then start to feel more relaxed Sunday then BAM, it’s Monday again. I have no kids, I cannot imagine how parents muster the strength to continue
All I can do is sympathize. I am currently unable to work because of recent extensive surgery. But I agree that the system here is bad, designed to keep people down & easier to control. I worry about all of us.
I used to work a job that was two on, one off, two on, two off. Usually worked a 42 hour week in four days and never felt burnt out. The four day work week is a good start, but the split schedule will be a game changer.
GenX here and I rent a house that needs all manner of repairs (deadbeat landlady in a housing shortage = shit doesn’t get done & if we ask, that means rent goes up) and don’t even own a car. The only money to my name is in my crappy 401k that fluctuates with the whims of the market. I lol’d at GenX being thrown under the same bus as Boomers. I will say my parents had it “better” in that being middle class back then meant you had a very decent shot at home ownership and could usually afford public college and basic healthcare.
I worked extremely hard in my early 20s, and got very lucky, and was able to buy a house in 2016. 8 years later my wife and I could not afford to buy our house right now, and our income is almost double what it was back then. House has nearly doubled in value and interest rates are more than doubled. We couldn't even afford to downsize the house as we couldn't even afford a smaller house right now. This shit is absolutely ridiculous. I don't know what we would be doing if I hadn't bit the bullet and purchased back then. We'd be paying more on rent for a 2 bedroom apartment than the mortgage on this 4 bedroom house..........
Meanwhile my lender for the mortgage sends me letters and emails every month begging me to get a loan on home equity lmao, these shameless fucks should die.
Yea, i dont think OP knows what he/she is talking about or exaggerating way too much. I didnt have shit until i was like 29 and lived paycheck to paycheck. Now im coming up on 40 and doing ok. Life is harder when you are younger for sure, it was for me at least. The insane price of everything isnt helping. Its like im getting younger again!
Back when my 40 hours was good enough to secure me a house and have my 2 kids, 2 days was good enough. As soon as you needed to get multiple roommates at 40 hours just to have an apartment.... Yeah something's wrong.
But hey, economy is doing great for those with money and investments!
I just quit and took a minor payout to accept a 4 day work week. It's out there. Look hard and good luck. I had it before and felt a lot happier in general, if you don't like what ya got then.. you gotta make change. Only you can control your life. Good luck I'm rooting for ya
I was thinking back when I was a kid we would pack up our little RV and go camping on the weekend. It was easy though because my mother would be home and would get most of the stuff needed and ready so on Friday when we would get home from school and dad home from work we could just roll out on Friday afternoon. But living alone I can't even fathom this idea, by Friday after work I just wanna be home. I don't want to spend the time planning, packing and buying food for a camping trip. Just seems all to exhausting to bother.
1. There are about 100M more people alive in the U.S. now versus when I was a kid in the late 1970s-1980s. That translates to more vehicles on the road and fewer camping spots. I remember not having long drives stuck in traffic unless there was a major accident, and remember not having to reserve spots weeks or months in advance. It was easier to just leave at 4 and get to a spot by 7. Now it would be impossible!
2. Yes being able to stay at home helps multitask and prepare. Instead of spending a lunch hour or break tied to your work/desk, you can fold laundry, pack, prep. One reason we all want more WFH is because we were able to get so much done during the week as a result of not spending time commuting. Weekends were open to actually enjoy, not cram in chores.
3. 3 day weekends should be the norm, especially if employers insist we return to the office. One day for chores we can’t do because we are not at home and 2 to relax.
Sorry, but boomers and Gen X did not have boats, RV's and three cars. Both my parents worked. We had one semi nice car. I worked part time since the 9th grade. My family took local vacations to the nearest public beach. I never sat in a plane until I was 21 yrs old. I only earned $26k-35k my first 10 years. I lived in a $700/month apartment and that was the backend of what used to be an attic.
We had mandatory routine overtime. It was often the case that you would work overtime to help with a move or an upgrade. Even in my last job there was an overtime rotation.
Your generation has been fed a pack of lies. It's like your saying we had some kind of familial, generational wealth to put down and in fact there was none. Please do some due diligence before you post.
I definitely do, well I kind of can’t due to my position relying on numbers, but I’d much rather be calling people from home than in a cold office away from my kitties.
Compressed work week tends to be my favorite as well. Monday-Wednesday and every other Thursday, or something similar. 3x12's one week, 4x12's the next. Schedule 36 hours of vacation/PTO for a short week, and you get 10 consecutive days off in a row.
4x10's is a close second.
Most people of any generation are struggling. I'm always confused with posts like this. Do people not know that most people are struggling for any given generation? And over half of the homeless people are boomers?
You guys get weekends? Forced overtime at my job means you have to work 12 days in a row to get 2 days off. Otherwise you will work 6 days a week. After 7 years of working 12 days on with 2 off I snapped.
I had to get a doctor’s note restricting me to 40 hours a week. I finally feel my sanity coming back.
I love how everyone equates upper middle class/rich lifestyles (boats, rvs etc) as the norm lol. We have a 10 foot Jon boat… it was $200. The trailer was $100. We have a $75 tent that we use at the local camping place. With our tax return we rent a camping spot 3x a year. We have 3 used vehicles (one per person). One of the vehicles was 3k.
In the 80s/90s we wore hand me down clothes, had 1 car for our entire family of 5. School shopping basically consisted of a new pair of shoes. Washed and reused stuff. My dad fixed everything. We were an average family. Not poor or rich.
For some reason people believe that they deserve that upper middle class/rich lifestyle of the 80s/90s lol
no vacation/pto? you HAVE to work 6-7 days a week?
its not the 'times' its your job, straight up..and probably a bit of your attitude. You seem to think you CANT do something, or CANT change your situation, but we believe in you. Getting a job that fits what you want isn't as hard as you think, I bet. YOU GOT THIS!
Quit your job and start your own business. I haven’t had a weekend in 5 years. At this point of the economic disaster we are drowning in, slavery looks like a way better gig.
It’s not a competition, stop pinning us against those who choose to work jobs with no days off maybe? Literally close your eyes and point… everyone gets days off except you
would love to have a weekend at all. Quota is so large that we're pretty much "forced" to work weekends to keep up (on paper we're not forced, but everyone knows if you don't get the massive amount of work done you're in big shit).
A 40hr work week is only 35% of your waking hours. How many hours are you working at your job that you don’t have time to have a life outside of work? Find a job that only requires 40 for sure.
Huh? How so?
I’m saying the OP should try to find a job that only requires 40 hours. At 40 hours you still have 65 percent of your waking hours to spend how you see fit and have a life. Of course there is commute so a little less.
As far as the benefits that past generations got from work…we are getting fucked. We are not receiving the same benefits for our work.
Most 8 hour jobs now are 8 and a half because they aren't paying for your break. Some are 9.
Then take, say, 30-60 minute to and from commute assuming you work in the city.
Take another hour to wake up and get ready every morning. Another 30-60 to prepare for bed and actually fall asleep.
You are now another 150-210 hours down per day, or more like 4 1/2 to 5 1/2 of your waking hours left to have your life.
Which may involve work you needed to take home or do before you go back tomorrow, homework if you're in school or any other kind of class, a nap, caretaking, meal preparation, some form of destress, other important matters in your life that you need to attend to, and so forth.
Some countries only have one day weekends which is even worse, and their entire lives are work-oriented. They don't know different. They treat that one day as a rest day, or maybe in some people's cases as a treasured paradise to finally have a moment off. People need to be able to breathe. It's never just those 8 hours.
Let you on a little secret people have struggled since the beginning of time. Trust me I grew up in the 70's and 80's. We were struggling then too. Multiple jobs going hungry. Getting groceries from the church.
This myth that it was better for everyone 30 years ago is shit, and needs to stop. I couldn't even afford the 25 cents a carton of milk cost in grade school. There has always been working poor.
Tbh, I love the 60-70 work week. 20 hrs of time and a half, 10 hrs of double bubble, and all that per diem money adds up quick. Every three months or so I'll take two weeks off.
Stay strong and remember that there's nothing you can't overcome with enough gas station food, nicotine, and anger.
We don't get PTO. I just say "suck bricks, I'll see you when I get back." It's their choice to either accept that or tell me to stay on vacation forever.
There is footage of Nixon saying that it was obviously a three day weekend and a four day work week was an inevitability in his life time - but we never got there and with the direction of current politics the world over it is unlikely we are going to. No party members on either side is doing anything to help and there is no plan to here in the US.
Yeah I wouldn't rely on any conservative in this century or the last to see progressive policies put in action.
Considering they are looking to bring back child labor, I'd say the odds are frankly bad.
*they already have in some states*
Children yearn for the mines.
...and the meat packing plants. Looking at you, Arkansas.
I wouldn’t rely on anyone in US politics right now to seriously pursue, introduce, or enact anything remotely progressive. If you gave Sanders or AOC full reign you would at best get half measures. No one is on our side if it means even the slightest change to their standard of living or comfort and it would so they won’t actually do it. Cause either they’re left which means they’re a neoliberal that firmly believe they should do well for themselves first and then do good - which means they’re sellouts; or they’re right which means they know the left will do economic deals with them and that they can stall any actual reforms while they don’t have control - and they’re both happy with that cause they all make money. The US just codified and legalized corruption, it’s the only reason it doesn’t get labeled that way. Whole system is rotten to the core and what little institutional resilience is left is on the chopping block no matter who is in power.
I can’t believe the labour laws out there from some of the things I read here. You guys really get screwed over. I am stunned that this can happen in the land of the free.
Hasn’t been the land of the free in a long time. More along the lines of land of the greed and home of the over worked
People got propagandized by the value/idea of ‘freedom’ and the entitlement they deserve from being in a ‘free’ country…… which is completely and utterly inaccurate…. The ORIGINAL IDEA/VALUE IS INDEPENDENCE, NOT ‘FREEDOM’ There is a big difference in those words from a strictly dictionary point of view; and that’s before adding the fuel on the fire of INTENTIONAL obfuscation and watering down of the idea through strategic propaganda
“The land of the free” is an intentional misnomer. Transatlantic slave trade and Indigenous genocide alone clearly show this is not a free land with free people. Literally built on top of the backs and graves of countless people who had freedom taken away by this country.
Although Democrats are mostly neoliberals. That’s not what left means.
In the American context it functionally does. Clinton popularized exactly that and there isn’t really a Democrat in national politics that isn’t pursuing that.
They're long past the point where we should've started calling them "regressives"
Weird to hear Nixon say that. I agree with him but it's another broken clock.
That’s how strong labour was at the time and they had a ton of momentum. Fell off super hard. It definitely wasn’t something he wanted but he was resigned to it.
It definitely was better back then.
Nixon was a lot more progressive than people think!
Progressive as in not nearly as fascist as the republican party is today? And I don't mean that jokingly. That's just how bad republicans have gotten.
It does kinda feel like groundhog day. Weekends aren't long enough.
The biggest issue with 2 day weekends is you're always forced to pick any two of the following - chores/errands, social life, relaxation/downtime If you fill those 2 days with chores and errands and relaxation, you have no time to go out with friends or family and be social If you fill those 2 days with social commitments and relaxation, you can't get the chores done If you fill those 2 days with chores and social commitments, you have no time to sleep in, relax and have some chill time. I regularly have weekends that are packed with stuff where you feel like you need a weekend from the weekend. Rushing around doing stuff, being social and leaving you little time to just chill. Or where they're so full of commitments, you have no time to do a bit of cleaning and the house starts to look messy. 3 day weekends would solve all those issues. You'd have a day to do errands, a day to go out and be social and a day to yourself. And if you had a particularly busy weekend, you'd still mostly have enough time to chill out for some of it And it's having a noticeable effect on society as well. Even on weekends, I find I see so much aggression and general rushing on the roads. Even our chill days everyone is going around at an insane speed just to get some time to themselves
I had the privilege of a 4 day work week at my previous job and God do I miss it. I would go back to work feeling so refreshed. I suddenly had time for hobbies it was amazing. I will try and advocate at my current job as soon as things become stable. My wife has a 4 day work week every other week and also has a lot of down time at her current job and her lofe has changed so much. She is trying art and birding and taking classes and all kinds of things. It's been really great to watch.
Did you work 10 hour days or just 8?
Technically 10 but it was 50/50 if we even had that much work tbh. So I would be on the clock, but doing chores or cooking dinner (wfh). Even so I would much prefer to do 10 hr days 4 days a week rather then 8hr 5 day. I am way more focused and productive
The only way I get relaxation is being single. Meaning , I would prefer to be in a relationship but that would consume all downtime that correctly helps me to be a relaxed person. I can't budget 46 minutes to get that feeling...I am not a linked in type A
I think you probably just described the biggest reason I’m still single too. Relationships are work, and I’m so tired of work from every facet of life that the effort is just too much to maintain. If I am going to be in a relationship I want to be able to put in that work, but I just can’t find room for it… I have a hard enough time keeping up with the other things I already have to deal with.
You don't think you'd have any downtime with your partner? Or are you not considering that downtime? If a realtionship is THAT much work, you might be with the wrong person.
Spot on. And even that’s assuming that you don’t do anything like volunteering or participating in anything that doesn’t directly benefit one of those three things. If you’re like me, you find it hard to relax or socialize when there are things at home that need to be done. Saturday is my "work for myself for free" day: yard work, laundry, house cleaning, kids' sports, finance stuff( which are things I willingly committed to by making the family/living choices I did. I'm not complaining that I do those, just pointing out that those alone can take an entire day). our goal is for Sunday to be more of a family day, but if you or your kids are involved in any sort of weekend sports, you can count on spending a a few hours for a single game between getting ready, travel, warmup, etc. A little less would apply for a trip to the gym or taking a run. If you add social activities to any of those nights, chances are you've gotten less sleep over the weekend than you average during the week. If you don't have family/other obligations, you may be able prioritize sleep or leisure, but you're completely right with "here are 3 equally important priorities: pick 2". ETA: I was fortunate enough to work remotely for a few years until earlier this year. During that time I could put laundry through and clean a room over lunch to reduce the weekend load. Not to mention I could mow my yard during the time I saved not having to get ready/commute for a single day of work. I guess I’m still salty about having to go back into the office.
Couple that with "waiting to be engaged" non paid on call schedules and you have really fucked time on the weekends too. I seriously don't understand some of my coworkers that are always working.. Makes me fucking tired.
It's always sacrificing something. And feeling like you can't even live or have time for yourself daily so you will sacrifice sleep too just to relax and have some time for yourself. An endless toxic cycle.
You hit the nail on the head. Sunday is a battle between going out and having fun and/or relaxing.
I know this isn't what you want to hear, but if you can't fit all 3 of those things in 2 days, it might be a time management issue. Assuming you're up for 16 hours a day. Are you really doing any one of those things that entire time? My Saturdays usually consist of getting chores errands out of the way in the morning/afternoon. Then I can choose to relax or socialize in the evening. Sunday I can wrap up any chores or errands that didn't get done, and I have the rest of the day to do fuck all. Granted, I don't have kids.
I used to work 10 hours days so I could have 3 days off. It was nice but I was only 19-20 severely depressed and dealing with raging alcoholism so it didn’t really matter. I’d spend everyday fucked up but Fridays for party days Saturday the only relaxing day and then Sunday anxiety about having to go back
If one job was enough to support a family in the past, why can’t 2 people work part time now and do the same?
If minimum wage had kept up with inflation, we would have to have a minimum of $24 an hour to equal what the minimum wage was worth back in the early 60s. I hope that makes sense, because it's 8am and I know I didn't word it very well.
Probably healthcare (and obviously inflation isn’t keeping up with wages). You have to work 40 hours a week to even get healthcare. It’s like they have us in shackles.
In other countries, part time workers are required by law to be given full healthcare
In other countries, your employer isn't responsible for your healthcare. That whole concept is INSANE.
I think the US needs some workers rights enshrined in laws. There is no incentive for an employer to do anything to keep a worker healthy, rested or alive
And then you get the healthcare but it knocks you back down to earning like you're part time 😁🤮
I am now 30. I started working almost as soon as I finished HS and I spent majority (and hated every single moment of it) of my years working 5 days 10 hrs a day and then 6th day 6-8 hrs a day and only in past few years I worked 3-12s and sometimes mandatory overtime (8 hrs a day) for 2 days. Recently they got rid of weekend shift so I had to go back to 4-10s and every Friday they try to get me to work overtime but I refuse and will never-ever work 5 days a week in my entire life. Not even 4 for much longer. I've always hated it and just hearing words "mandatory" or "overtime" literally makes my blood boil and almost sends me into murderous rage and I am fucking done with it forever. Idk how people can do this for 10-20-30 or even 50 years, almost every single day of their lives. It's fucking insanity. System is made that way, to enslave you and to make you too tired or too poor to do anything about it so you can forget about changing the system or society. Even most of your family/coworkers will defend it to their last breath and consider you to be the problem and not the system. I am 100% sure we will just like Greece get 6 day workweek more likely than 4 day work week VERY SOON and people will bend over once again and take it without lube. What I wanted to say in short is you have to find a way to escape and worry only about yourself, you can't save others because most don't want to be saved. My plan is to cut down my expenses to minimum and get by working just enough hours to pay bills and spend rest of my time working on YT channels, and other projects that could earn me some extra income. If that doesn't work out for me I will try to get some job that allows me to work 2-20hr days and then have 5 days off and try to keep my sanity that way...
Yass!!!
Wait now, Gen X didn't/doesn't have it that good, come on. Maybe I'm closer to millennial, I'm 50 next year.
I was going to bring this up. I’m 46, renting, barely any savings, I only own a car because it’s from 2007 and still runs. I don’t know if I’ll ever have a house or “ Live the Dream”
I'm 49. Ain't got shit. It's OK tho, Bezos just bought 500 million in housing, everything is fine guys.
If we riot, it will change. Our infrastructure makes that difficult to enact or plan nationwide. We could all also stop working on Fridays.
Yeah they keep us in line with the fear of losing the job if you're the first one to do so
Well, if you had any free time on your hands you might stop and realize how badly you're being fucked over, and then do something about it. Much better to keep the wage-slaves in constant drudgery.
That's the point. Or if you have time to apply/job hunt you could leave. The system is NOT meant to work in your favor
Gen x didnt get to benefit from it either. Dont lump us in with the boomers
I feel like 90% of people on antidepressants would be able to get off them if we could just have three day weekends.
I don’t know but it’s not looking good. I’m 41 and I’ve worked since I was 15. There’s been jobs I hated and times in my life when I thought fuck man I can’t do this anymore, but nothing like it is now. I don’t actually hate my job and I still don’t know how I’m going to keep doing it. Every week it seems there’s less joy about anything outside of work and every Monday I sit here and seriously question how much longer I can keep it up.
Yeah I build up very little pto because of my habit of taking a Monday or Friday off for at least a 3 day weekend and I always take off to make any holiday 3 day weekend a four day weekend. I mean we should be keeping most time for ourselves
We need 4 hr work week
Yes please 😭
This hits home for me. This weekend I got nothing done until Sunday evening, and this is even after missing work Thursday and spending most of the day sleeping. I work from home in a tech support/sales role, and even though I have some of the best survey numbers and have already met the annual sales goal in a niche, technical field I still make barely more than what's advertised for a fast food manager. Best case scenario I'm looking at $45k after taxes, which isn't enough to get ahead.
Just wanna say I'm proud of ya for working hard and I'm hoping for the best for ya. You got this.
Days feel like the perfect length, I don’t need em any longer, but for goodness sake, do the years seem way to short for my soul, corazón? We should have a national quit your job day where everybody with a shitty job just quits and all the employers cry about it. Day has to be random each year so they can’t see it coming
Weekends are exhausting, Saturday feels like a mental recovery day then start to feel more relaxed Sunday then BAM, it’s Monday again. I have no kids, I cannot imagine how parents muster the strength to continue
All I can do is sympathize. I am currently unable to work because of recent extensive surgery. But I agree that the system here is bad, designed to keep people down & easier to control. I worry about all of us.
Move to Greece, where you can now have a one day weekend and a six day workweek. Ugh!
I would riot
That's where I'm at right now. Not Greece, but the 6-day work week for sure. Ain't no way to make enough money doing 5 days a week.
It's so sickening. And even overtime isn't enough. We're just suppose to be slaves and accept it :/
I want to die… purely because of this. What’s the point.
i wish i only worked 3-4 days a week & could get by. those two days are for rest now, i barely even do my art anymore.
The answer is simple. We all become CEOs...
*putting on a bib, then grabbing cutlery* gotta get rid of the current ones somehow
I used to work a job that was two on, one off, two on, two off. Usually worked a 42 hour week in four days and never felt burnt out. The four day work week is a good start, but the split schedule will be a game changer.
i do 3 day weekends. it’s so worth the pay reduction. i don’t know if i’ll ever be able to go back to 2.
Id really like to know where my ev and 3 cars are…
GenX here and I rent a house that needs all manner of repairs (deadbeat landlady in a housing shortage = shit doesn’t get done & if we ask, that means rent goes up) and don’t even own a car. The only money to my name is in my crappy 401k that fluctuates with the whims of the market. I lol’d at GenX being thrown under the same bus as Boomers. I will say my parents had it “better” in that being middle class back then meant you had a very decent shot at home ownership and could usually afford public college and basic healthcare.
I worked extremely hard in my early 20s, and got very lucky, and was able to buy a house in 2016. 8 years later my wife and I could not afford to buy our house right now, and our income is almost double what it was back then. House has nearly doubled in value and interest rates are more than doubled. We couldn't even afford to downsize the house as we couldn't even afford a smaller house right now. This shit is absolutely ridiculous. I don't know what we would be doing if I hadn't bit the bullet and purchased back then. We'd be paying more on rent for a 2 bedroom apartment than the mortgage on this 4 bedroom house.......... Meanwhile my lender for the mortgage sends me letters and emails every month begging me to get a loan on home equity lmao, these shameless fucks should die.
Yea, i dont think OP knows what he/she is talking about or exaggerating way too much. I didnt have shit until i was like 29 and lived paycheck to paycheck. Now im coming up on 40 and doing ok. Life is harder when you are younger for sure, it was for me at least. The insane price of everything isnt helping. Its like im getting younger again!
Back when my 40 hours was good enough to secure me a house and have my 2 kids, 2 days was good enough. As soon as you needed to get multiple roommates at 40 hours just to have an apartment.... Yeah something's wrong. But hey, economy is doing great for those with money and investments!
I’m 4 on 4 off, I don’t think I could ever go back to a 5 day work week now.
That's awesome. Do you work 10 hours a day or only 8?
Google said the 40 hour work week was popularised in 1926. I think in two more years.
Unfortunately, we can do this for the rest of our fracking ( and now unhappy ) lives. Yes, it does suck.
I just quit and took a minor payout to accept a 4 day work week. It's out there. Look hard and good luck. I had it before and felt a lot happier in general, if you don't like what ya got then.. you gotta make change. Only you can control your life. Good luck I'm rooting for ya
Shut your and produce, slave. Produce and consume!
I was thinking back when I was a kid we would pack up our little RV and go camping on the weekend. It was easy though because my mother would be home and would get most of the stuff needed and ready so on Friday when we would get home from school and dad home from work we could just roll out on Friday afternoon. But living alone I can't even fathom this idea, by Friday after work I just wanna be home. I don't want to spend the time planning, packing and buying food for a camping trip. Just seems all to exhausting to bother.
1. There are about 100M more people alive in the U.S. now versus when I was a kid in the late 1970s-1980s. That translates to more vehicles on the road and fewer camping spots. I remember not having long drives stuck in traffic unless there was a major accident, and remember not having to reserve spots weeks or months in advance. It was easier to just leave at 4 and get to a spot by 7. Now it would be impossible! 2. Yes being able to stay at home helps multitask and prepare. Instead of spending a lunch hour or break tied to your work/desk, you can fold laundry, pack, prep. One reason we all want more WFH is because we were able to get so much done during the week as a result of not spending time commuting. Weekends were open to actually enjoy, not cram in chores. 3. 3 day weekends should be the norm, especially if employers insist we return to the office. One day for chores we can’t do because we are not at home and 2 to relax.
We didn't get 2 day weekends until Unions. Many people don't get that.
Sorry, but boomers and Gen X did not have boats, RV's and three cars. Both my parents worked. We had one semi nice car. I worked part time since the 9th grade. My family took local vacations to the nearest public beach. I never sat in a plane until I was 21 yrs old. I only earned $26k-35k my first 10 years. I lived in a $700/month apartment and that was the backend of what used to be an attic. We had mandatory routine overtime. It was often the case that you would work overtime to help with a move or an upgrade. Even in my last job there was an overtime rotation. Your generation has been fed a pack of lies. It's like your saying we had some kind of familial, generational wealth to put down and in fact there was none. Please do some due diligence before you post.
Can you put in the bare minimum?
I definitely do, well I kind of can’t due to my position relying on numbers, but I’d much rather be calling people from home than in a cold office away from my kitties.
I work 4 12 hr shifts and off 3 days I love it
Compressed work week tends to be my favorite as well. Monday-Wednesday and every other Thursday, or something similar. 3x12's one week, 4x12's the next. Schedule 36 hours of vacation/PTO for a short week, and you get 10 consecutive days off in a row. 4x10's is a close second.
Same. It's not like anything is going to happen on those days except work, eat, and sleep. Might as well just cram it into 3×12 and get it over with.
Most people of any generation are struggling. I'm always confused with posts like this. Do people not know that most people are struggling for any given generation? And over half of the homeless people are boomers?
People have to learn somehow, these are always helpful discussions
You guys get weekends? Forced overtime at my job means you have to work 12 days in a row to get 2 days off. Otherwise you will work 6 days a week. After 7 years of working 12 days on with 2 off I snapped. I had to get a doctor’s note restricting me to 40 hours a week. I finally feel my sanity coming back.
Don't worry Greece and Spith Korea are moving to 6 day work weeks.
As far as i know, 20 hours, 2 working days tops is what a human can handle while having a life. But then we blue collars would be happy...
they are trying to take 1 of those days away.
Like everything else, we have to act en masse to get what we want.
You get weekends?
I love how everyone equates upper middle class/rich lifestyles (boats, rvs etc) as the norm lol. We have a 10 foot Jon boat… it was $200. The trailer was $100. We have a $75 tent that we use at the local camping place. With our tax return we rent a camping spot 3x a year. We have 3 used vehicles (one per person). One of the vehicles was 3k. In the 80s/90s we wore hand me down clothes, had 1 car for our entire family of 5. School shopping basically consisted of a new pair of shoes. Washed and reused stuff. My dad fixed everything. We were an average family. Not poor or rich. For some reason people believe that they deserve that upper middle class/rich lifestyle of the 80s/90s lol
24 hour work weeks.
Must be nice to have a weekend off
no vacation/pto? you HAVE to work 6-7 days a week? its not the 'times' its your job, straight up..and probably a bit of your attitude. You seem to think you CANT do something, or CANT change your situation, but we believe in you. Getting a job that fits what you want isn't as hard as you think, I bet. YOU GOT THIS!
You get 2 day weekends? Lol. I work 6 days and Sundays are for yard and house work.
Quit your job and start your own business. I haven’t had a weekend in 5 years. At this point of the economic disaster we are drowning in, slavery looks like a way better gig.
2 day weekend sounds grand, I work at my second job on the days of the week known as this thing you call “weekend”
It’s not a competition, stop pinning us against those who choose to work jobs with no days off maybe? Literally close your eyes and point… everyone gets days off except you
Yeah I never understand the flex of "I have no days off"
Lol you only work 1/3rd of the day during the week. It’s laughable how overdramatic and privileged you’re acting.
I don't know, you just kind of do.
You can always be your own boss and set your own schedule.
would love to have a weekend at all. Quota is so large that we're pretty much "forced" to work weekends to keep up (on paper we're not forced, but everyone knows if you don't get the massive amount of work done you're in big shit).
Not worth my life, I think you should find a new job that allows you to have a day off
You guys have two day weekends?
You have a weekend? That sounds nice..
Don’t worry, after about 50 years you get used to it
A 40hr work week is only 35% of your waking hours. How many hours are you working at your job that you don’t have time to have a life outside of work? Find a job that only requires 40 for sure.
You are literally the worst. What a shitty, tone deaf attitude.
Huh? How so? I’m saying the OP should try to find a job that only requires 40 hours. At 40 hours you still have 65 percent of your waking hours to spend how you see fit and have a life. Of course there is commute so a little less. As far as the benefits that past generations got from work…we are getting fucked. We are not receiving the same benefits for our work.
Most 8 hour jobs now are 8 and a half because they aren't paying for your break. Some are 9. Then take, say, 30-60 minute to and from commute assuming you work in the city. Take another hour to wake up and get ready every morning. Another 30-60 to prepare for bed and actually fall asleep. You are now another 150-210 hours down per day, or more like 4 1/2 to 5 1/2 of your waking hours left to have your life. Which may involve work you needed to take home or do before you go back tomorrow, homework if you're in school or any other kind of class, a nap, caretaking, meal preparation, some form of destress, other important matters in your life that you need to attend to, and so forth. Some countries only have one day weekends which is even worse, and their entire lives are work-oriented. They don't know different. They treat that one day as a rest day, or maybe in some people's cases as a treasured paradise to finally have a moment off. People need to be able to breathe. It's never just those 8 hours.
Well ALL went through it, but what you consider "overworked" is our baseline and standard. Think about that
What you call baselIne and standard is at least ten times the productivity of someone working in the 80s if not way more.
I agree with that statement
Let you on a little secret people have struggled since the beginning of time. Trust me I grew up in the 70's and 80's. We were struggling then too. Multiple jobs going hungry. Getting groceries from the church. This myth that it was better for everyone 30 years ago is shit, and needs to stop. I couldn't even afford the 25 cents a carton of milk cost in grade school. There has always been working poor.
I did 40 years, do why can't you do the same?
Tbh, I love the 60-70 work week. 20 hrs of time and a half, 10 hrs of double bubble, and all that per diem money adds up quick. Every three months or so I'll take two weeks off. Stay strong and remember that there's nothing you can't overcome with enough gas station food, nicotine, and anger.
6-8 weeks vacation? You must be one hell of a salesman to get that level of negotiating.
We don't get PTO. I just say "suck bricks, I'll see you when I get back." It's their choice to either accept that or tell me to stay on vacation forever.