New College Grad Complains About Working 9-5...Then Gets Laid Off.

Be careful what you ask for, or you might just get it. The reality of the modern workplace can be pretty sobering, especially if you're not used to a rigid structure and a bit more...freedom. But you can trade it for other ways of approaching your career if you have the stomach for it.

There's also the point of if college is worth it and if we have the right approach to work-life balance. One thing is for certain...the next generation of workers will drastically change how the workplace looks.

0:00 - Her rant on 9-5 jobs
3:01 - The reality of modern work
6:32 - She gets laid off
7:53 - Not making enough money to save
9:20 - Is college obsolete?
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Royalty-Free Music from Bensound

[donteo]

The only major conclusion I have come to from being in the work place is this: Pretty much every job has varying degrees of how much they suck. Flex schedule jobs suck. 9-5 jobs suck. Even freelancing sucks. It's really just up to you to find out which level of "suck" you're willing to put up with.

[alenaanela]

I'm 46, been working 9-18 (or even longer) all my life and I agree with every word she says. It's not life, it's survival.
I really hope our society can find a better work-life balance in some foreseeable future

[aleparedes]

Tbh I absolutely agree with her. As easy as it would be to call her spoiled and entitled, the truth is that no one is happy in a 9-5 job, and not only is it mind-numbing and soul crushing, but the fact remains that, as much as corporate jobs have existed since our great-grandparents, their situations and ours (millennials and Gen-zers) are completely different. Back in the day, a person could stay in one job all their life knowing that they were going to get taken care of once they retired, they didn’t have crippling student debt, they could buy a small house and get married and a one-person salary was enough to provide for a spouse and a couple (or even more) kids. A husband could go to work and return home with no worries because the wife had already taken care of dinner, house chores, kids, etc. A medical emergency wasn’t going to ruin them, staples of meals were dirt cheap, gas and utilities were so too. All of that is long gone.
Nowadays a young couple can barely keep themselves afloat with their combine incomes in a tiny apartment, and god help them if there’s a kid on the way. This is the norm now, not the sad tale of the poor that middle class could take pity on.
So this poor girl had the whole “go to college, get a job and you’ll have your life figured out” BS fed to her by previous generations, and when the reality of debt and low payment hit her and suddenly she can barely survive… is this what she was promised? Really?! Side hustles and whatever are definitely an option and all, but let’s be real, that’s NOT what we had been told we should be doing. As she herself said so, she did everything right, and now she’s been told that she should be looking for ways to cheat the system or look for a way out.
Really, what is this?

[libertysprings]

I am 51 now and I just feel so proud of this younger generation being brave enough to put their stories and feelings online. I remember feeling exactly the same at that age but also feeling so alone like I was the only one so disappointed working and getting home after dark and having that vision of only 2 weeks vacation per year the rest of my life. Poor sweet girl. I'd love ike to give her a hug. Life gets much better as you get older, so hang in there.

[arnieslab]

She wasn’t complaining about working she was complaining about being gone all day long. I can’t argue with that. It blows.

[BtflBlue]

Honestly, she's describing the 9 to 5 grind to a T. What she described is life for a lot of people. You could dunk on here for being emotional but she didn't lie.

[Whytheads]

I'm gonna be honest, I agree with her for several reasons. The first being that in some of the happiest or most fulfilling societies that existed, work starts at basically the break of dawn and only goes over to the afternoon when work gets finished, then people have time to actually live. 9-5 is bad enough but somehow we snuck into an 8 to 5 schedule and some places an 8-6. That is a 10 hour day, 11 counting commute time. That's not a sustainable schedule for living, and we haven't even started talking about families yet. Secondly that's not how life works, that's how America works. Many developed countries and even some developing countries don't follow our example for a good reason. Exploitation and control over workers. Working only 40 hours shouldn't be considered lazy and for the advancements and increase in productivity that the entire country has generated on the past 50 years, it honestly should be less for all workers. Third, the only reason we got to this point is because many of us stopped fighting for better working conditions a while ago, and because of that most Americans get shafted with lower pay, less benefits and a worse shot at living than previous generations. Why is this such a controversial thing for people to grasp?

I'm not saying we shouldn't work or that we should expect everything, but as a society and collective we need to do better...

[chrisw]

The fact she got laid off is the worst of this story especially since she specifically asserted no complaints about the job or employer. As a workaholic myself I don’t experience this stress but a good employer would have tried to help. Shame on them for perpetuating a stupid work rhythm that dates back to people living next door.

[LanceJapan]

As an older worker, it is easy to say "well that's life grow up girly", but after doing remote work and not commuting 12 hours this week and also reassessing what is important in life, I think we need to consider what these young people are saying because we might have our priorities wrong in some ways. In Japan we can work the same hours and crowd the streets on the way to and from work slowing every one both ways, and then we can all do unrewarding work together in a feudal work place (for many, although my co is pretty good), so yeah, 9-5 is not good.

[Roger-do]

I thought she was going to be a delusional self-absorbed Gen Z'er but everything she says is realistic. I'm in Australia and get to work from home and also have years of work experience so I'm in a different position. But I *have* experienced the commuter grind for years and are happy to be out of it. Also in the US, people's pay, holidays, sick leave, cost of health seem to be a lot worse than in Australia. And she lives in New York so she'd need to live upstate or in New Jersey to get affordable rents.

[aclem]

A side hustle is just a new name for a second job. So lets work 2 jobs instead of one.

[Sojourner-cdgo]

Hard work is rarely rewarded in this work culture. Many of the perks that encouraged loyalty (such as pension) have gone away. Many employers want you to do the job of 2-3 people. It's a different world out here now. It's really just being your own advocate. What do you want to do? And how you can do it with the hours and resources that are available to you? To be honest, leaving jobs bumped my income up in a year more than raises ever could. She will land on her feet, but don't get stuck! While you're young, get all you can from an employer. Don't work anywhere that has no tangible benefit to you (i.e. new skill, tuition reimbursement etc.)

[michelem]

Funnily enough, I just retired after a long 9-5 worklife, and my attitude during my last year was exactly the same as hers: can't do this anymore, I have no time nor energy to enjoy life 😅

[amandaambrose]

I’m with this girl. We need to change this completely outdated work structure. Our live are more important. We need to stop the complacency!

[danhorus]

I sympathize with her complaints about work time and commute time. I've been working in tech for 40 hours a week for the last 7 years, and I always felt like I didn't have enough time for friends, family, and hobbies. Remote work has helped, but not to the extent that I needed. That's why I became a freelancer last month and now I work for just 30 hours a week. It's already made a huge difference for me, and I wish more companies will give it a try

[vmlinuxz]

I feel bad for this girl. I see people trash her, but she isn't wrong. I've been doing it for 35 years, and I still cry on the inside. I always just tell myself that humans weren't built for this, I'm supposed to be a persistence hunter!

[BoogerLeader]

That disconnect is what's going to push for change, because gen z seems to have run into the burnout from work right out of the gate. A burnout that most of the older generations dealt with much later in their lives. The number of hours we work, and the time spent commuting is just no longer truly viable or sustainable for anyone that wants to have a life. An 8-hour job and about 3 hours of commute plus the hour or 2 to get ready or comfortable. That doesn't leave room for anything. We're all grinding at this point and still losing benefits, no significant raises, while living costs go up.

I don't see her original video as an issue. At some point most of us have questioned the 8-hour workday 5-day work week. She just decided to voice it. I want better for the future, and I feel like those attacking her for her commentary might just be a bit bitter that they had to put up with it and don't feel others should have it easier. Previous generations have been exploited for so long that we see this new generation standing up for themselves as being spoiled.

[ikeameltdown]

I'm glad to be retired. I hated every minute of working life. I did it and I am still angry about it. Yes, it is reality. Hopefully some of us will find a way. Not smart to be public about it.

[jamesbillingsby]

I think the shock comes from "How will I retire, how will I afford a house, how will I afford to get preventative care for my health, how will I eat healthy, how will I stay healthy" These things are becoming impossible in our society that pays people like its 1993 still.

[junemelia]

I feel bad for her. After I graduated from college I worked in fitness and my shift was 5am-1pm. I loved that schedule because I had the afternoons free to exercise, shop, etc. It just required discipline around getting to bed on time & waking up in the morning. 9-5pm is a grind - I'm 45 and wouldn't do that - especially with kids & family.