this post was submitted on 18 Jan 2024
1916 points (98.4% liked)
Memes
45674 readers
722 users here now
Rules:
- Be civil and nice.
- Try not to excessively repost, as a rule of thumb, wait at least 2 months to do it if you have to.
founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
What is this anti worker propaganda on .ml? Your fellow worker is brainwashed by the capitalist state and instead of seeking to build solidarity with them you mock them? How about sympathizing with their excessive workload and likely lacking compensation and eventually introducing that a different system would not require that from them?
Relax, slave, it's just a joke.
Also, it is a time management issue, on a cultural level. Try getting Germans to stay past their shift they'll tell you to get better at managing. Not their department, not their problem.
Thinking "fixing this requires a socialist revolution" honestly is part of the problem: Organise to fix the issue, there, workers will see that issues can be fixed, fix more that comes up, and they'll both be emboldened and educated about their strength. Foreplay before sex.
The fact that you suggest it's a cultural issue and then state it can be rectified by organizing is exactly my point. This person is essentially shaming the individual worker for falling prey to a cultural and systemic problem.
I never said we need a socialist revolution. In this context I left system open ended, but you can't effectively organize anything with people you're hostile to and unwilling to build solidarity with. I don't think a socialist revolution is likely or even necessary, but more empathy is. The OP sentiment is not foreplay, it's outright rejection. It seems like we are actually in agreement.
And that's not a way to change culture because...? It's "if your friends jumped from a bridge" in disguise.
Shame is not as effective as offering support, especially since the root cause of the behavior is not necessarily in the persons control. Working additional hours might be seen as a requirement in some fields, so you might be shaming them into not talking about the issue, but the best way to actually solve the problem would likely be to empathize with them and change their perspective.
If someone is in an abusive relationship and they mention the abuse to someone, shaming them for being in that relationship and subjecting themselves to that behavior is unlikely to fix anything. Offering them compassion and support and safe alternatives is demonstrably more effective. Shame is likely to make them more defensive about their choices or stop talking about the abuse they suffer entirely, especially if the issue is not entirely in their control. I think similar behavior and responses would be elicited in the case of working relationships as well. 
You're talking individual, not group psychology. Chances are that in a group someone will laugh, others chuckle, and the person directly addressed will not be individually offended because you made a joke. Deflated, maybe, yes, but that's par for the course when bragging. Which is what OP's post talks about. If you go all "dear, dear" on people doing that they'll definitely be offended.
Is the slave comment supposed to imply that I might be working more than I should? I'm literally saying it's a bad thing that it happens but we should be sympathetic to people who don't yet realize that and show them that they are being exploited. I don't see how this is funny, as there is no punchline or set up or anything. I don't think everyone needs to agree about comedy but I was sharing my opinion on this sentiment.
What about the part where a valid criticism is an antiwork propaganda to you?
The issue is that the criticism is generally not valid. If you're criticizing a colleague for poor time management because they legitimately have poor time management, fine, whatever. It's not something I would do, but there may be cases in which that is done. In the context of this meme, it is likely not the individuals fault that they are overworked. It is likely a systemic failure that foists too many tasks on each individual worker. Generally, the people "bragging" about working additional hours are not poor performing employees, but people that are dedicated to their job or the company, and believe that the additional hours will help them advance their careers. Approaching it from a place of "if you are a good worker, they should treat you better, not worse" rather than shaming the individual is most likely to help them see the issue with that sentiment. Also, I'm pretty sure it was just a spelling error, but just to be clear I believe this is anti-worker, not anti-work.
The point is to normalize not working extra hours so companies stop expecting it. It's not anti-worker at all.
This of course refers mostly to salaried workers, as, at least in the us, hourly gets overtime pay at 1.5x normal pay. Up to an extent, many workers appreciate the extra pay.
Not always though, as even then, some companies want lower workforce, and will work them half to death.
Appreciate you adding that last sentence, but ideally no one would work more even for additional pay. People need time to recuperate and enjoy life and in the current system often just getting by requires overtime pay. I've worked in both types of positions, and though I'm glad overtime and holiday pay exist in our current system, often the people working more or over the holidays are the most desperate or marginalized.
I think the OP sentiment was directed towards salaried workers because I've basically never heard hourly workers talk about it in this way or context. I think the reason salaried employees brag about long hours is largely due to the fact that they might not be getting additional compensation so are at least trying to get social capital in exchange for their time.
Yes, but the joke implies that it's the person's own fault that they're working too much, which very often it isn't, at least in the USA from what I've heard.
"Not normalizing" comes in many forms and this one seems hostile to fellow workers. Approaching it from a place of empathy is far more likely to help than a place of blame. It's not the workers fault. It's a systemic problem and the first step to helping someone realize that is to open their eyes to the fact that they are struggling for no reason other than that the institution demands it, not that they are the problem.