Stop Romanticizing Overexertion

[vonasaurus]

In a delayed follow-up to my previous take about stress and why it's bad for you, I figured I'd talk a little bit about another aspect of mental health that's near and dear to my heart.

As a millennial, I'm constantly bombarded by articles about why my generation is lazy and entitled. But I disagree, and here's why:

Today's job market is insanely competitive. We're the most educated generation to date, yet there are fewer job prospects than ever before and far more qualified applicants than there are positions available. No wonder our society romanticizes overexertion: every minute you spend at rest is a minute in which someone else will outdo or outthink you.

And what do we do with that education? Well, sometimes, our expensive degrees sit and collect dust while we're forced to work at some minimum-wage slog and just be grateful we don't "live in Somalia or something".

Speaking of the 1960s, people who spent 60+ hours a week at the office back then were called workaholics and generally frowned upon for caring more about their jobs than their families. But the opposite is true today- people who sleep 3 hours a night and don't take a vacation for 6 years are hailed as heroes, while those who advocate for work-life balance are vilified, called lazy, and never considered for a promotion.

Ever been so sick that you're throwing up all over the floor, but you go to work anyway because 1) you're afraid that you'll be punished for taking sick days and 2) it will be used against you later? That's a feeling we know all too well.

Presenteeism, as it's called today, comes at a high cost. Not only does it foster a culture of fear, but it's been proven to reduce productivity and increase costs. If you're sick, stay home: I'm sure your department won't explode if you take a day or two to recover, instead of coming in and giving everyone else your cold (or flu) like the productivity machine you are.

But this favourite quote of mine says it best:

Shine on, friends!

-von

[SmartButBroke]

I'm VERY quick to tell unreasonable employers what they can do with their job. People complain about millennials because they don't realize that the job environment and standards for getting a job have changed dramatically. I can't even begin to explain it to my father, but my mother kind of gets it. My mother used to complain about her job and how she was treated all the time, and I tell her, "Today, it's like that, except with more hours, more variable schedules, being expected to work on the weekends, more work/duties, less pay, and you're lucky to get benefits in some cases."

My father is a college professor, and the people who whine about millennials the most are people who have never really had standard jobs, as college profs don't. I joke with my father--and my mother thinks this is hilarious--that he gets paid to talk to himself for a few hours not even 5 days a week. College students don't f*cking listen, they don't care, they are about their electronic devices or skipping class (all this, unless it's an elite college, which his is far from being)... this dude is not "teaching" schitt to anybody. He is talking to air and getting paid WELL and coming home and putting red marks on papers, but he gives me the hardest time about my career.

I also want to say something really unpopular here:

I'm sorry, but I think if you go into f*cking debt and earn a degree from a pretty good school from spending time showing you have math skills, you have critical thinking skills, you have writing skills, you are familiar with technology, you can do research, etc, then, yes, you're f*cking entitled to a good job. I'm not saying you should come right out of school and be a CEO or anything like that. I'm not saying you should get 6 figures, or even $60000/yr. I'm saying a f*cking degree should still mean something to employers, and that should be regardless of what you study because nearly every major teaches you some valuable skills. I don't know how many more times I have to work for some idiot manager who butchers the English language to all high hell in writing and then see people be told an English degree or a degree in any field that involves extensive writing (like social sciences and philosophy) is bullschitt. It shouldn't be.

And this schitt about studying certain fields... imagine if everyone majored in Comp Sci, Engineering or pre-med. What would happen? Those fields would be oversaturated, just like law is, and those degrees would become worthless.

[SmartButBroke]

And to be clear, when I exalt the value of a degree, I am not talking about the types of colleges where my father teaches, lol.

[meatballs21]

I am about as old as you can get and still be called a millennial, and I work with a number of people on the younger end of the spectrum. The girl with her Skype headset on is exactly like my co-worker, who banged away on her keyboard up until the very end of the working day. Did I mention that a lot of big firms require you to accurately track everything you did every minute of every day with time codes in the name of 'billing the client fairly' and any times when you're not doing direct work on a client must be accounted for as well?

If you do well, a big firm will ply you with booze and parties to try and make you forget how you busted your ass for weeks. If you do badly or just struggle with the pressure, they will find any excuse to get rid of you.

The sad thing is, as per that cynical timeline, you can't content yourself with an easier job unless you are prepared to live in the middle of nowhere and either work in a small town or endure a lengthy commute every day - you simply will not be able to afford the cost of living in a city.

[lumos]

Great take and great points. Especially about how our generation is deemed lazy even though a lot of the most successful and hard working people today are millennials.
"Ever been so sick that you're throwing up all over the floor, but you go to work anyway because 1) you're afraid that you'll be punished for taking sick days and 2) it will be used against you later?"
Yes! Except that I threw up from a migraine I had. Why did I have that migraine? Because I was insanely stressed. And why was I stressed? Because I had an equally insane deadline coming up and my employer decided to change the entire concept of the product I was producing all on my own. A concept that I had been working on for two weeks, and over the *weekend* I had put in 20 hours of work to get it done on time. And I had to redo the whole thing the next day. :) Threw up in the evening, slept until 6 am and then finished the new product in less than half the time I had put into the discarded product. So fuck anyone who glorifies that bullshit, it wasn't fun and in no way was it beneficial for me or the final product, and fuck anyone who claims millennials don't work hard.

[frozenhorizon]

I agree with the part about overworking, it's not good. But I honestly don't think it's THAT hard to find a place to work that isn't going to try to overwork you, even as a young person.

That image about college degrees is hyperbole but there is some truth to it. Most colleges are businesses that are trying to make money by selling you a degree, they don't care if it's useful or not. They also seem to push people towards thinking that they can study anything they want and get a job with it, rather than pushing people to study things that are in high demand. I think it's a problem of what sort of advice people give to millenials, and their own ideals of what they want to do.

You have to adapt to what's going on in the world and try to do something that other people/companies/etc. have a demand for. Then you get paid. It's pretty simple. If you put yourself in that position and also that mindset, then you never have to work for a company that doesn't respect your needs because you know you're providing them something of value and if they let you go it's their loss.

You can't just get educated about something and automatically expect to get paid just because of that... you have to apply it somehow, and also you need to be educated on something that other people NEED but don't have time to learn themselves. Unfortunately I think a lot of younger people are TOLD a different story by their parents and others.

So, I don't think we are lazy... but maybe somewhat entitled. And it's not our fault, it's because everyone tried/tries to sell us bullshit as teenagers and not explain how things actually work.

[Darkfairie17]

This is so true! I've seen this a lot in my working life so far. People working through their designated lunch breaks, not taking their vacation days (as written in their contracts), and coming in early and staying late with no extra pay or even acknowledgement.

I have no idea why being on the verge of a breakdown has become the new normal for many people. That is not a good way to live. People are not robots and we all need breaks from time to time.

Employers, instead of adequately staffing businesses are just dumping more and more duties on current staff to save money. In the meantime though they are running the employees ragged with extra responsibilities.

But if someone says something about how that doesn't seem right, they are called lazy and people get upset with them. Instead of seeing the impact that overexertion is causing.

[rjroy3]

Older generations always rip on the new generation and vice versa. It sucks, but the stereotype exists for a reason. There's no one group that represents the majority of a generation, but if you're not careful one group will be the one that defines it. We need to be the ones that define our era. This back and forth of, "our generation doesn't suck and yours wasn't that great to begin with" will never ever ever end. That's why you still see multiple sources online or people asking in person if you could live in another generation, which one would it be. That choice is usually based on the culture of the time, which is defined by a particular group in most respects.

[GARY-]

The message you're pushing isn't accurate. When you have useless bachelors (Ex: Women & Gender studies) and then a useless masters (Ex: History) what do you expect?

Millennials are often indebting themselves chasing useless degrees to have a good time in college then complain when they're told they're lazy.

[vonasaurus]

i do agree when it comes to degrees in stuff like gender studies. i stay far away from those courses, and even distribution requirements would never convince me to take wgst (which is what we call it at my university).

i'm a literature major and plan on doing my mfa in creative writing. i chose it because the only thing that's never changed in 30 years is my love of books, words, and literary analyses.

words, and people who can manipulate them effectively, will always be needed, whether in print, online, or in person~ journalists, salespeople, editors, librarians, literary agents, booksellers, teachers...

i could keep going, but i'll stop there. and i'll give you a like for vault boy in your display pic.

[GARY-]

Thanks 😀 Glad to see another Fallout gal

[Kuraj]

I don't see the point of this rant.
Nothing is stopping you from quitting your job and sitting at home all day.
But I don't see how you expect to be able to lay back and chill and still get rewarded as much as others who are willing to put in extra.

Also, thinking that some scrap of paper entitles you to employment is the exact reason why old timers call the new generations lazy.

[vonasaurus]

you've clearly missed the point, and all i can say is that i'm glad you aren't my boss.

my job requires lots of walking and heavy lifting... back in feb., i shattered my ankle in 3 places and had surgery; i've been in a cast up to my knee for nearly 8 weeks and need a walker to get around. but you'd probably call that laziness and fire me for taking medical leave.

i'm all for hard work; i was raised to never put any less than 110% into everything i do and would be disappointed in myself if i felt i didn't give something my all.

however, there's nothing heroic about going into work sick~ you do that, and you hurt the entire office's productivity by giving everyone else your sickness.

burnouts and self-endangerment=/=hardworking. infact, the opposite is true: balance and self-care create safe work environments and happy, healthy employees.

if the guy who operated on my leg hadn't slept in a month, i wouldn't want him operating on me.

[Crapulux]

Yeah, it's true... When I worked in IT, sometimes I had to kick the guys out in the evenings... I mean, they achieved their objectives, I wanted them in good shape and productive, projects were on schedule...

[orphan]

I learned a new word I'll never see or hear again. presenteeism. is that even a word.

[vonasaurus]

t don't believe it's a 'real' word, rather a term that was coined to fit this specific scenario (ie: someone who is physically present but mentally absent from work due to illness etc.).

[orphan]

cute.

[distorted_reality]

Yeah I don't buy into it. Not sleeping and eating enough destroys your body, mind, and looks. I'm fine with mediocrity as long as I do great stuff and progress every now and then :) and I stopped drinking the black stuff. Nice take.

[BigBallerSodaPop]

I work for my millionaire dad as a property manager. Basically, I sit on my ass all day and collect rent once per month.

Hahahahahahaha!!!

[kilowatt04]

Best thing I've read all day. Truth.

[Anonymous]

Woah. True

[Waffles731]

so true

[Anonymous]

agree