The 7 Lies of Wage Slavery

[Your Old Comrade]

In this video I wanted to share the 7 lies of wage slavery. Escaping the 9-5 rat race using quiet quitting might seem wrong. But my failed life story so far shows me that is it actually makes perfect sense in corporate work. This is not just a rant, but a reminder why reaching financial freedom is important.

00:00 Introduction
01:26 Lie 1: "Your Employer Cares About Your Well-being"
03:13 Lie 2: "The customer pays your salary"
04:23 Lie 3: "Society would crumble if we stopped working"
06:33 Lie 4: Lie 4: "The More You Work, the More Valuable You Are"
08:12 Lie 5: "Job Security Equals Financial Security"
09:35 Lie 6: "Making More Money is Always Better"
11:13 Lie 7: "Hard Work Always Leads to Success"
12:51 Conclusion
13:49 Behind the scenes vlog

[Your Old Comrade]

Quiet Quitting Tiktok has blown up in the past few months. Tik Tok users have been posting about their experiences with bad bosses, bad workplaces, and how they've quiet quit their jobs.

In turn, many have asked What is Quiet Quitting and Is Quiet Quitting a bad thing?

Quiet Quitting (QQ) can be defined as follows: Meeting your job's minimum requirements, but not going beyond. You're mentally checked out of work after you're off the clock.

"Quiet Quitting" largely came from Generation Z (Gen Z) kids, tired of their bad work environments, low wages, and bad bosses. The movement spread across Tiktok and other social media platforms quickly, as more and more young people identified with the trend, and some older boomers wrestled with the idea.

Today we examine Why Quiet Quitting has become so big and so popular over the past few months - we also address whether it's a good thing or a bad thing.

In my view, Quiet Quitting is a byproduct of decades of poor economic decisions, short sided corporate leadership, and working class burnout. Quiet Quitting, by virtue of what it is, means that workers are still collecting their paychecks, and doing the bare minimum work to collect those paychecks, but they're not getting mentally invested in their jobs. I argue that Quiet Quitters are extremely burnt out. Quiet Quitting is a byproduct of workplace burnout.

Some have referred to Quiet Quitting as Silent Quitting, because it's not technically quitting. Workers who quiet quit are really just checking the boxes of what their managers expect.

They're getting their jobs done - they're just not doing extra for zero pay. This is where you get the term "Act Your Wage" - if you're not being paid to do something, then don't do it.

I have a lot of sympathy for Gen Z and Millennials who are focused to Quiet Quit like this. Baby Boomers have beaten the idea of "hard work" into young people, but in 2022 - hard work is simply not enough. Young workers today are forced to work 2 and sometimes 3 jobs to survive. The idea of being mentally present and dedicated to multiple jobs isn't realistic.

Young people today are having troubles buying homes, buying cars, and even paying rent. The economy is doing terrible and young people are running out of options.

My argument is: If Gen. Z and Millennials can't afford homes even after dedicating themselves fully to a job, then why should we expect people not to quiet quit? Quiet Quitting can be a good thing if it means people can get paid for two or three jobs instead of just 1. Mental bandwidth is limited in 2022 and 2023. Our minds aren't limitless. We have to work smarter, not harder with our times.

The Working Class is Quiet Quitting your jobs because it's the only way to survive. Companies aren't paying out enough for people to justify complete loyalty to a single company.

Bosses aren't cutting checks good enough for the average middle class kid to buy a house.

Prices just keep going up. Corporate profits keep going up. Inflation keeps going up. The only thing that doesn't go up in any meaningful way is Worker Pay - Worker Wages - Worker Compensation.

These economic trends help to explain why quiet quitting happens.

Also, after the great resignation happened - worker burnout hit a new level. Workers who stayed at their jobs became very tired and overworked. Quiet Quitting is partially a byproduct of that great resignation that happened in mid to late 2022.

I believe that this movement is largely a defense mechanism of a stressed American Working Class. People can't justify being more productive when there's no monetary reward. Labor isn't free. Labor needs to be compensated - that's how the youth largely feels.

Some of the biggest names in media have talked about Quiet Quitting: Dr. Phil, Trevor Noah, Matt Walsh, Mr. Wonderful a.k.a kevin o'leary, joshua fluke, cnn, etc. This just goes to show how powerful this movement has become. Social media users have essentially started a digital union.

Workers rights will be fought for on social media in the next decade - that's the trend that I'm seeing.

I believe Quiet Quitting is a tool that Gen Z can use to regain leverage in the job market. Quiet Quitting is not a bad thing if used correctly. It could allow people in their 20's to have a brighter future. That's just my two cents though - what do you think?

Is Quiet Quitting a good thing?
or
Is Quiet Quitting a bad thing?