Why Everyone Feels Insane Right Now

In this month's video essay, Chelsea dives into the dichotomy we currently can't escape: a "booming" economy and positive stock market growth amidst a high cost of living and job market that seems terrible for everyone.

Special thanks to:
Dot Sawler
Dain Laguna
Jazmine Reed

SOURCE LINKS:

00:00:00 Intro
00:06:22 Why no one is hiring but everyone is interviewing
00:12:40 The pandemic of it all
00:19:12 Congratulations graduate, there are no jobs
00:28:30 Layoffs: bad for employees, great for companies
00:35:36 The gig economy enters the chat
00:48:00 You're looking for a job, now what?
00:54:11 What to do if you're not actively looking
01:00:39 Conclusion

[Sidneycozzoi]

When an argument starts with "businesses can't afford to..." meanwhile, profits are at record highs...

[hellolove]

I was unemployed for 6+ months recently and EVERYONE kept asking me why when they keep hearing there are SO MANY JOBS out there? BECAUSE THEY’RE LYING!!!

[aubz]

Whats crazy is when I first started working in the mid-90's, the average starting wage was $10/hr. Rent was $300-450/mo for a 2 bedroom apartment, and I could afford to have a nice sporty car, a nice apartment, a full fridge, and money to go to concerts, travel, do activities with my friends.
Now, I still see jobs hiring around $10/hr...same jobs, same pay almost 30 years later?!?!? Something is completely off with the whole game.

[mikrn]

"cAnT aFfOrD tO hIrE tHe wRoNg cAndIDaTe" they say, while interviewing 50 people over a month, spending an hour on every candidate, for dozens of positions that they don't intend to fill. That woman you interviewed is so full of crap.

[kailiek]

Us “lacking professionalism” is code for we won’t accept 15$ an hour with a degree when we can make that at a gas station 🙄

[eggrat]

"The economy booming is a reflection of how much the ruling class is making, it's not actually reflective of the average worker." Thank you for emphasizing this point!

[ridabydidaby]

Hearing Jazmine Reed say that Gen Z needs professionalism training is infuriating because I’ve seen the 40-60 year old management and administration have the worst abilities to treat people decently and separate their personal lives and states of emotion from their work.

[missx]

My 25yo college educated son could find a job in his degree field. He ended up in a warehouse job. He was so broken. He said says and rightfully so, I didn't go the college to work in a warehouse!
These kids aren't entitled.
They are right. They were told by us that college was the way to great future. THEY WANT THAT FUTURE!

[kimberlynoble]

Can we also talk about how insane the interview process is? You want me to do a 30 minute call with the recruiter. Meet with the hiring manager. Meet with the team. Then present to the team (3-5 hours of prep work). Just to be rejected. I don't have the time or the mental fortitude to handle the stress for nothing.

[sydney]

One thing I saw said "If potential employees in your area can't afford to work there because your pay is too low, your business can't afford to function there."

[MoondustManwise]

Professionalism is fucking stupid. I'm autistic, not only does the little dance of professionalism seem like a strange archaic nonsense, it's actively weaponized against me because I can't fulfill the social requirements. I can't even stand for long periods, and in the USA, if you want any low paying box store job, you have to be able to stand. Facing the job search with unhappiness, all I ever wanted was to work to help people.

[pomegranatejelly]

“No one wants to work anymore”… meanwhile I have 3 part time jobs and often work 70 hour weeks, yet don’t make enough to move out.

[mryan]

It's not just Gen Zs who "don't want to work." Gen X here, and I'm among many people in my age group who also don't want to work. Ditto Millennials. It's not that people don't want to work. It's that our healthy threshold for participating in an inhumane, unsustainable system has slammed shut.

[charlotteshewchuk]

As Gen Z, it seems like a lot of people don’t care about professionalism because it feels unimportant and performative. People my age will send out super professionally written emails to employers and professors and get a thumbs up emoji back (real example) or get completely ghosted. (Rhetorically) What is the point of being professional when we can communicate the same information in a more personable way that is more accurate to who we are? There’s no incentive for us to be professional because nothing comes from our effort, no matter what we do.

[jinxedfates]

im sorry but jazmine seemed so distinctly out of touch this whole interview

[Infersha]

I was unemployed for 5 months+. Putting in job apps everyday. Sometimes just spamming my resume. Countless emails of rejection, scams and low balling pay as much as possible. I finally got a job but it was only because a good friend of mine put in a word for me at her job. Felt like all my efforts were for literally nothing. This job market is not okay.

[SpicyGramCracker]

Can’t afford a bad hire? How about valuing the great employees you already have so they don’t leave?

[nervousbreakdown]

“We were told college degrees would guarantee us high paying jobs!”

*cries in a Master’s degree*

[venusforfran]

Something insane about these jobs is:

Picture this, youve worked as a vet assistant, in 4 different pet shops, an aquarium, animal shelters, other retail jobs and you have a qualification in animal management and a FUCKING DIPLOMA in zoology, but a pet store paying minimum wage decides youre "under qualified".

[kayleawilson]

As an elder gen Z, I see first hand the “don’t wanna work” kick really taking the shape of “don’t wanna lack stability but also don’t want to be unfulfilled.” It seems like all my unlucky or even professionally unskilled friends are trapped in a cycle of “I see how unfulfilled my parents were and I don’t wanna do that” versus “I desperately need work, ” so they take any job they can find that doesn’t make them wanna jump off something. Which is still underpaid and has no benefits. It definitely sucks