Antiwork: Unemployment for all, not just the rich!

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The original was posted on /r/antiwork by /u/UnluckeesSkechBurner on 2023-08-11 23:33:47.

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The original was posted on /r/antiwork by /u/dudsmm on 2023-08-11 22:33:39.

Many years ago, fresh out of college, I was taking my 1st vacation of a whole 4 days. I flew 1,200 miles to see my family over easter time.

I completed work ahead of time and passed on key task information to my manager Doug.

I was at my parents home, gladly mowing the 10 acres. My mom came running out with my pager, saying it had been going off nonstop. It was Doug. He started by asking why I didn't call back right away. I said something like "I'm on vacation and was busy". Doug said "we have a problem, the truck deliveries aren't scheduled according to production' They were scheduled and on the spreadsheet I shared with Doug.

I let him know I didn't appreciate being requested during vacation, eapecially for something that was shared and updated.

When I returned the next week, I updated my PTO days for 1 less. Doug noticed and asked what's going on. I told him I had to work due to his page and call. He denied the PTO.

6 months later, a supplier came to the office looking for Doug, as they had a meeting. Doug was at Sandals on vacation. I paged, called him, and called the hotel before finally reaching him. He sounded panicked and asked what was going on. I said the supplier is here to see you and I didn't know what to tell him. He yelled. I calmly asked him how does it feel to be bothered on vacation?

When Doug returned, we had a staff meeting. Doug emphasized we need to avoid contacting each other during PTO and to make sure we were sharing tasks.

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The original was posted on /r/antiwork by /u/throwaway-ra202105 on 2023-08-11 20:52:37.

I was let go from my previous job because my manager was truly awful - pushing for illegal, coercive recruitment practices; they'd sneak around and try to spy on people while working and eavesdrop on conversations; bully people; do "helpful" racist things like parade all the people of a certain racial background in front of a potential investor to try to get them to invest (claimed this was because of wanting to further their careers, not because he was using folks as show ponies); etc. I reported my manager to HR, but I was asked to leave after I made a mistake while I had COVID. HR said that it would be marked as we both agreed I couldn't work on the team together. I've been trying to come up with something that doesn't get me automatically rejected

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The original was posted on /r/antiwork by /u/ThiccThyghsSaveLives on 2023-08-12 00:13:20.

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The original was posted on /r/antiwork by /u/FynnLockwood on 2023-08-11 23:01:26.

I started my company a little over 5 years ago and have been promoted twice during that time. In both instances of promotion (from Sr. Specialist to Manager and then again to Director), I received only 10% raises for each advancement. This capped my pay at $76,000 per year for a director-level position. In April of this year, just 2 days before I was scheduled to receive my $10,000 annual bonus (awarded for meeting my personal, team, and company goals), it was decided that bonuses would not be given out this year. At that point, I began actively searching for a new job.

Despite loving my job, I remained with the company even though I was being underpaid by approximately $35,000 to $45,000 based on my title. However, missing out on my bonus was the final straw.

This morning, I received a job offer (for the exact same role I currently hold at my current company) with a salary of $125,000 per year. The same job, but offering $50,000 more annually.

I called my boss to inform him that I had accepted an offer from another company. He asked if I would reconsider if they matched the pay. I responded professionally, indicating that I would not be changing my decision. I explained that in order to retain my services, they would need to match the pay and provide me with the difference in salary from the time I was promoted to director. Unfortunately, he declined to agree to this, and I thanked him for being a good boss and a decent person (as he truly has been).

I would strongly recommend that, even if you enjoy your current job, you consider searching for new opportunities every 18 to 24 months. This is often the only effective way to secure compensation that aligns with your true worth.

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The original was posted on /r/antiwork by /u/Vendetta614 on 2023-08-11 22:02:13.

When I was hired, I told HR that my wife was pregnant and was hoping to find a place that is able to be understanding of what comes with that. They, of course, acted like that was the case. I was already aware FMLA is not an option for me because I wouldn't be there long enough.

If you miss more than 6 percent of your shifts in 1 month, you get a disciplinary warning. For a full time schedule, this is 10.5 hours roughly. Not great, but it's not like I planned on missing shifts. That was dismissible.

Then, they reveal time off has to be requested 3 weeks in advance. Not great, but again, at the time this didn't seem too bad. They also DID give me the courtesy of requesting a week off around my fiancées planned due date, so of course this made things look brighter than they are in my eyes.

Of course, it's after I'm hired they unravel things that aren't clearly highlighted in their little handbook.

If you have PTO, it gets automatically applied to call offs. There is no actual unpaid time off. Can't bank PTO for when baby is here if emergencies pop up - super convenient.

There are no exceptions or leeway for medical emergencies, which is where the pregnancy comes into play. Even if I report it or tell my supervisor WHY I'm missing a shift, partial or full, it is not taken into account. Even if it's serious.

My wife had to visit the ER after a work fall and I stayed in the hospital with her all night on the 2nd. We got no sleep. Thankfully, her and the baby were okay at the time, but I called off the 3rd. I was too physically exhausted to even entertain working.

Now, baby has an internal issue. Blood may be in their digestive system that should not be there. An MRI was scheduled for the 25th. This has potential to be very serious. I have PTO available. But I don't fall in their little 3 week system. Even though this is direly important to me and I'm giving advance, my supervisor tells me there's nothing that can be done. Not to mention because of my call off on the 2nd, if I miss the 25th, I get disciplined for not following schedule adherence.

I am going to face PUNISHMENT at work for attending to my unborn childs health, something they tried to paint as no issue when I was hired.

These jobs will never give a fuck about you. Never let them fool you into false security. They don't care.

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The original was posted on /r/antiwork by /u/eelee23 on 2023-08-11 20:55:20.

And to be honest, I’m glad. My numbers are great and I’m literally handling all of the operations. I asked about a promotion two months ago when they were “handing” out promotions. She told me my numbers weren’t good enough. Cool. I stopped doing most of the operations stuff so I could focus on my numbers and apply for other positions in the company. I’ve been keeping things cordial and letting her know at least a week in advance if I get an interview.

Well, I got an interview and set it up for next week so I let her know yesterday. She has been texting another manager about how I “sprang this interview on her” and she is mad. She also told that branch that one of my coworkers is forcing everyone at our branch to eat healthy…

I would not be surprised if she is reaching out to other departments and managers to give them a reason not to hire me.

Ma’am you’re in your 40s and you’re acting like a 15 year old mean girl.

Go off tho.

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The original was posted on /r/antiwork by /u/Sir_apoc on 2023-08-11 21:02:28.

I work for a large tech company. Like many of the others, they've started the "return to office," drums some months back. My classification was "virtual," as I was hired onto a team that was always virtual, regardless of the pandemic.

When they started the RTO talk they targeted people/teams that had previously been in the office but went remote due to the pandemic. But we all suspected they'd come for everyone.

Sure enough this week they started having conversations with people designated as "virtual" about coming into the office. I'm 1.5-2 hours away and took this job because it was virtual, which allowed me to move to the country and find a more relaxing balance in life. I can take my dogs out multiple times a day, each lunch outside with them, and not deal with traffic as I had been in the past decade.

In any case, I was told that unless they approve an exception (which is rare) I have essentially 90 days before they'd take that as a voluntary resignation. I was candid and said that I didn't plan to resign, but I'd consider it constructive dismissal, or work until they fired me. That is, unless, they were going to offer something for the resignation. That shitty thing is that I took this job at lower pay due to some stock incentives that still have one more year to fully vest. So no way I'm giving up unemployment insurance if they're not offering a carrot to do so.

Anyways, just another good reminder that especially for these large companies you're just a number. I'm happy I learned this years back and have been able to maximize my enjoyment and life balance during these last 3 years.

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The original was posted on /r/antiwork by /u/tcollins317 on 2023-08-11 20:38:54.

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The original was posted on /r/antiwork by /u/ZimManc on 2023-08-11 20:56:27.

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The original was posted on /r/antiwork by /u/OpenRepair4390 on 2023-08-11 19:32:58.

Hello,

I quit approx 2 weeks ago and start the new job on Monday, my former employer was a toxic boss who was always paranoid and easily yells and screams at people. When I gave my resignation the first thing he pressed me for was asking me where I was going over and over again, I was concerned he would call the place and act out or try to mess up this opportunity, so I gave him the name of another company that my friend works at and sure enough he called her yelling and screaming. The place I am moving to doesn't remotely compete with previous company, he is just a psychopath.

This morning I got notifications that someone from that area (city I used to work in) was trying to log into my personal devices and change my passwords. I hit the "no don't allow it button" and took a screenshot then changed my password and 2 factor authenticated my account with my new number.

I went and made sure I didn't have any access to any company accounts or anything on my account. Is there any other steps I should be taking here?

Should I let my previous coworker know that he tried to do this?

Update: I reached out to a coworker and said that someone tried to access my account from your location, I don't have anything that i'm aware of related to the company via my private personal account but to let me know if they needed anything.

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The original was posted on /r/antiwork by /u/Sagittariusly on 2023-08-11 18:07:18.

I have been with this company for almost a year. I recently talked to four separate people and found out they are all making on average $2,000 more a month than I am. Several are even working from home which means they make less than those in office. I would say we all do the same amount of work, if not me doing more, and they have all individually came to me for help at several different points during our employment.

My pay is not bad, it’s better than previous jobs I have had, but the fact remains if I had been paid the same amount as everyone else I would have an extra $20,000 to lean on right now. They are all talking about buying houses and how they have a years worth of expenses saved up when I am often scraping by each month with the high cost of living.

I reached out to my manager about these disparities, and also the possibility of working from home as many others are, and was essentially told he does not handle this but would try to get the contact information for who I need to speak to. He also more or less said that he would not expect there to be any change. It is contractual work, so I feel like I have less room to stand on, but they have been known to edit contracts when needed, such as when someone transitions to working from home since it comes with a pay cut.

I am not exaggerating when I say my department cannot run without me. We do specialized work for the company and our team consists of me, one coworker, and a manager. I had took two days off this week and when I came back there was work stacked up from my not being there.

I thought because if my value that it would be a no brainer to at least pay me what people doing the exact same work as me are getting paid, but my manager spouted off with something about the way the pay rate is decided depending on the office and how you were brought on. I know logically that makes sense, but I feel it’s also logical to pay people with the same experience level and doing the same work the same amount.

I have begun to look elsewhere with the help of connections I have made at this job, but I’m not sure what else to do. I enjoy the place I work and the work I do but I do not know if I can continue on knowing how large of a pay gap there is between me and people I regularly help. To my understanding, contracts are typically renegotiated when changing between sub-contracted companies and work times, so to speak, and that may be happening soon as the work is slowing down on the contact we are currently on. But I don’t know if I am willing to wait until then or if it would even matter because if they are not willing to discuss my pay now, would they even be willing to do it then?

I guess I am mostly ranting but if anyone has any insight about negotiating on pay or what they might do in this situation I would appreciate it.

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The original was posted on /r/antiwork by /u/ijustneedanametouse on 2023-08-11 19:18:32.

So like, fuck the younger people and fuck the people who don't already have a good job. Yeah sure I can get a degree, get my certifications, study endlessly, but unless I time the job market right or somehow get in contact with someone internal then it was all for nothing.

It's not helpful advice when someone asks "how did you get into your position?" and their answer is "oh I knew somebody in the company and he vouched for me lolz!!" Great, so none of this is about merit then. I will always be out performed by some friend of the company. Guess I should go to wherever the fuck these people go and pretend to be their friend just to put food on the table. What if that still doesn't work? Then I'm just fucked.

Oh and too bad for all the people who want to get into tech these days. Sorry charlie, you should've been in here when the market wasn't flooded. Now you have to prove you're the best of the best to get your dream job of... interning as a nobody for low pay. It's like asking someone how they can afford a house and they said "oh I bought it in 1997, but you can still buy that shack in the dump for the same price!"

Yeah I know, that's just reality. Cope. Deal with it. Stop whining. Everyone struggles. Keep persisting. I'm just tired boss.

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The original was posted on /r/antiwork by /u/katiem1236 on 2023-08-11 17:04:26.

So I got a job that allows me to get commission. In the interview and my acceptance letter it said I could make up to 25% commision, and I took the job because he acted like the commission was a huge part of the job and I would be making a boatload of money. However two weeks into my training I had to sign a commission sheet, that explained to the commissions. When I looked, it was backdated to 2022, and the highest commission I could ever make would be 16% and that was with a extra license I had to get. Then I get told that only one person has ever gotten to that highest tier in the whole time that it has been available. It also turns out that it's extremely hard to get sales in the specific job I'm in because I'm not really a salesperman, but a customer service person. If I do happen to get 10 sales, I only get 1% commission. It's also teered by ten sales per teer. So in order to get the next percentage I have to make 20 sales. Anyways I asked about why I was lied to, and all my supervisor could say was excuses about how I can make money other places. But they said that they would tell my hiring manager, and they would discuss it when they got back from vacation. They also said it will be talked about in the commission meeting in a few days. It was never brought up at that meeting, and when my manager just got back from vacation, he never mentioned it. There's a few other reasons, but I decided to quit and I stated the the lie in commission as one of my reasons. And all my manager replied back with was, "So you want to be a salesman?". Because if you're a salesman instead of a customer service rep, that's the commission you can make. I said no, because that's not the job that I got hired in as, and that's a very different job than what I I was currently doing. To me it's more about the fact that they lied to try to get me in the door, rather than the money, and did not follow up with me about why there was that error. What do you all think? Am I being too petty? My boyfriend seem to think that that wasn't that high of an error. He also said that they probably said 25% because in a few years maybe they'll change it, and then I will be able to make 25%. I think that's a lame excuse, and it should just be accurate.

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The original was posted on /r/antiwork by /u/Usual-Interaction-83 on 2023-08-11 17:28:07.

• Graduate students are in complete academic mercy of their PI (they can withhold your degree because you “did not publish enough”; not that requirements should not exist, but the ease of your degree can vary drastically within the same field depending on your PI)
• Graduate students are concentrated in cities (where the largest academic programs exist); yet in NYC they make less than $16/hr and in LA it is about $17/hr
• Grad students in America are 3X more likely than the rest of the population to experience mental health disorders

The people being trained on the most forefront aspects of our collective technological and societal tools/activities are also some of the most exploited individuals in the country.

If you hate academia you can leave… unfortunately this is not the full story. Depending on the source, about half of post-docs are international, on a student visa of some sort. Leaving is a much more perilous option when the two alternatives are staying in a program sucking your life away or upending your life and leaving the country within a few weeks/months.

It is understood (ask professors and students) that PIs have the ideas and students do all the work. Yet, in several states, students have limited unionizing opportunities.

What does it say about the U.S if we treat the next upcoming generation of scientists like this?

I always wanted to be highly specialized in whatever field I end up in; and it was a very difficult choice to leave academia, but I was unable to stomach the amount of crap I may be subjected to. Was I weak? Maybe. However the poor treatment of these students is unacceptable.

To any people that have similar aspirations:

You can get proper training w/o academia by working in the field with your bachelor’s. It is not as traditional, but if you work 10 years in the field I think you have just as much right to call yourself an expert as someone that went to grad school.

To those grad students/postdocs: What was your impression of academia before you started? Has it changed since?

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The original was posted on /r/antiwork by /u/shta89 on 2023-08-11 17:15:09.

Boss has is wife working for him. This isn't a mom and pop. This is an actual business where youre breaking the rules by working with a spouse. She's entitled, not a manager but micromanages everyone. Its miserable. The other day we had a small tiff where I actually said nothing back. I emailed my bosses assistant as I don't feel like my boss should be in on discipline regarding his own wife. My boss then pulls me in the office and says he saw the email and decided to make the issue about what his wife was being nasty about and i reiterated that she was nasty and that was the bigger issue for me. He then says "I will talk to her about it" I said again that that was not appropriate and asked if he could understand how rhat would appear to anyone else. All I got was eye rolls. So out I sent an email to hr. I highly doubt anything will come of it. I'm fuming to an extent and really left feeling miserable.

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The original was posted on /r/antiwork by /u/BLADERUNNER2033 on 2023-08-11 18:26:48.

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The original was posted on /r/antiwork by /u/Technical_Shirt5078 on 2023-08-11 16:58:44.

I absolutely cannot stand how weird and soulless Corporate America is.

The office politics ✅

The self-important people (fyi - nobody knows or cares who you are when you leave the building) ✅

Pointless meetings ✅

The passive-aggressive pressure applied by executives ✅

Being looked at weird for leaving before 5 PM ✅

It all feels so pointless and silly. Waking up every day, going into an office to play this corporate game. Feeling stressed, losing sleep, having no energy left for myself. All of this for what? To make the executives and the investors happy and richer?

Ohhh my one day I’ll get a promotion! And a new fancy title! 🤮

What’s weird is, the last few years of my life I have been that company guy! First to get into the office, last to leave! I used to scoff at people who came in later or left early. I thought I wanted to climb the corporate ladder and I was well on my way. I got promoted multiple times, got some fancy titles, and some pay raises. To do this, I worked long hours, checked emails after work, worked on the weekends, and traveled all over the country. I felt so important and cool. Meanwhile in the background I wasn’t eating great, losing sleep, feeling irritable, and depressed.

I am still in this job, but I have decided that I am resigning shortly and will be going back to school to become a teacher. No job is going to perfect, but I want my life back and I want to do something meaningful. I don’t want my life’s purpose to be making some big company a profit and adding to the CEOs collection of exotic cars. I don’t want to talk about spreadsheets or sales numbers. I don’t want to sit in another stupid strategy meeting or be talked down to by a client. I don’t want to work for another incompetent boss with an out of control ego.

That’s my rant.

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The original was posted on /r/antiwork by /u/R0meosd1stress on 2023-08-11 15:59:30.

So I applied at a bakery 10 minutes from my house. I've been unemployed since April and have been applying to dozens of places daily. I lost count at 90 something, and these are your typical food service jobs.

The manager asks why I hadn't applied to "X" place since I said I loved it so much and there were so many in the area and I told him I had and that it still didn't pan out. He goes "they turned you down, even with experience? Huh" and he was fucking flabbergasted. He then asks how I've been supporting myself since I don't have a job, and why haven't I had once since April, and I told him I was applying constantly to many places with no luck. He couldn't believe I hadn't had a single grab. It was almost like he couldn't believe me.

One of the last things he says to me is "did someone give you a ride here?" and I mentioned that my car was in the shop and that yes someone had but that transportation wouldn't be an issue in the future but he seemed visibly annoyed by this for some reason.

I left that interview feeling like such shit about myself. The guy seemed like he didn't live on the same planet as me, and borderline insulted me. Over the phone when setting up the interview, he hadn't even bothered to look at my resume and was asking about my job history and seemed very confused about my experience. He'd said that same thing over the phone about "how come you haven't worked since april" and I'm so exasperated at this point, having been rejected 10+ times after so many interviews, that I accept a sit down interview anyway that ended up feeling like a waste of time, despite me giving the best answers that I could and showing interest in the job.

I don't know how some people can be so delusional about the state of the job market right now.

Just needed to get this off my chest, I'm very annoyed.

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The original was posted on /r/antiwork by /u/ThrowRAbone1 on 2023-08-11 16:10:11.

We are a good departments, we make constant profits (that it's quite uncommon in our business). He was by far the best of us, insanely good at his job, he sold so so much. He asked for a 10% raise (that it's still so low compared to how much he sold), was fired at the end of the day. I actually like my job, salary is not high but hours are not too long, but now I feel like I am just a number, if he can't ask for more, no one can (I'm very good at work but he is literally the best of all in a 400 people department). I'm also surprised that except very few co-workers, all the other ones don't seem to care about what happened.

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The original was posted on /r/antiwork by /u/Tiredworker27 on 2023-08-11 14:45:31.

Original Title: Our work load is getting ridiculous - I bet we do 2-3x more than people 40 or 50 years ago. Thats why they yould work more hours and be halthier and fitter - because the were working only at 50 or 60% work intensity all the time while we are at 90 or 100% all the time.

Every day I get around 100 Emails - 50 of those require some form of action from me or are new work loads by the boss. We are a skeleton crew, (the new normal in the business world) instead of 2-3 people which would be required do to the job properly - I am a one man "department". Then theres phone calls and zoom/teams calls. It just too much.

I cant imagine office work before those damn Emails. Sure everything took longer - but the only way you would get new work is directly by the people in your vicinity or if someone made a phone call. But since a phone call took at least some time and effort, people thought twice about calling.

Also with PCs we are much faster than 40 years ago. If the boss needed a list 40 years ago - it was enough to keep someone busy for the entire day because one had to go into the archive - search through the files - and summarize the information.

Now this is done within 10 or 20 minutes - and of to the next task you go. Technology has made working easier but instead of freeing workers - it just increased the workload. Work used to be slow - now its ultra fast and sadly getting faster.

Out of the 8 hours I am at the office (omiting lunch break) - I work nonstop for 7 hours and 40 Minutes. Just 20 Minutes are used for toilet breaks, stretching, getting water, loking out of the window and talking with colleagues.I bet people in the 80s worked at most 5-6 out of their 8 hours in the office. Hell they had wiskey dispensers at work during that era....

They also were not disturbed at vacations. Wen I am on vacation they still expect me to work parttime.

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The original was posted on /r/antiwork by /u/Tiredworker27 on 2023-08-11 14:40:55.

" I need you to finish these tasks by tomorrow".

"I am on vacation for 1.5 weeks from tomorrow onwards. My first vaccation since 8 months"

Look of disgust and disbelief....

They than wanted me to take my laptop an check the emails daily.

I rebelled and told them I will take my laptop but only check them once every 4-5 days - lol.

Despite this being an extremely generous offer on my part I was met with a look of anger, disgust and disbelief and the recommendation to check them daily.

And then theres people telling us how much work office work was 40 years ago before those damn emails...

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The original was posted on /r/antiwork by /u/HeadlessHookerClub on 2023-08-11 14:42:47.

Original Title: PSA: Companies don’t want to you to discuss pay with your coworkers because they knowingly underpay. You HAVE THE RIGHT to talk about pay under the National Labor Relations Act. REPORT companies/managers who violate this to the National Labor Relations Board

Contact your regional NLRB office on how to go about reporting a company who is illegally banning pay discussions and/or punishing employees that talk about pay:

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The original was posted on /r/antiwork by /u/IngeniousIntellect on 2023-08-11 12:42:01.

It’s been 4 months. After applying for any and all jobs I would remotely qualify for, I’m done.

Contract jobs, retail jobs, full-time/part-time jobs, temporary jobs, you name it, I’ve applied and yet here I am, still awaiting the utter privilege of employment.

Connecting with recruiters and applying on job boards leads to nowhere.

I need and deserve a break from the madness, stress, and seemingly unending disappointment that this job market so disturbingly brings.

What’s next for me? I don’t know but I hope it will come soon.

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The original was posted on /r/antiwork by /u/DracoSolon on 2023-08-11 13:24:34.