After the pandemic, there was talk of “quiet quitting” and how it had become trendy for people not to want to work.
However, recent articles have debunked this myth or short-lived trend and claimed that everything has returned to normal.
But based on what I’ve seen on social media, people are still discontent with their jobs and expressing their anger.
This became even more apparent when I spoke with a few over the weekend who shared their frustrations about work. It seems that the trend of “nobody wanting to work” is still very much alive.
Last weekend, I met one of my neighbor’s sisters, who was visiting from the United States.
She currently lives in Philadelphia and works as a lawyer. She told me she was exhausted after 30 years of sacrificing her life for her work. Despite working 60–80 hours a week, she cannot save money. She is burnt out and tired.
While she goes on trips and tries to enjoy life, the high cost of living in Philadelphia makes it difficult. That’s why she has decided to retire and buy a house here; life is too short to be constantly stressed and overworked.
She struggles to sleep, is always on the go, and her stress levels are off the charts. Even though she is in her 50s and has a successful career as a lawyer, she is miserable.
That evening, I had the pleasure of meeting a woman in her 40s from Prague. She worked as a hospice nurse in the Czech Republic and shared with me her exhaustion from caring for the dying. She explained that she is constantly reminded of how short life can be and yearns to live hers.
Her daily routine consists of work, going home, and watching TV—it’s like Groundhog’s Day on repeat. Once her kids are grown up, she dreams of moving to Spain, where she believes she can lead a more relaxed and fulfilling life than her current one in Prague.
People do not lack the desire to work because they are inherently lazy. Instead, they are exhausted and burned out from demanding jobs. Many face the reality of working until they are 70 (from 16 years old), which means dedicating 54 years of their life to work.
On average, Americans live until age 76, leaving only six remaining years to enjoy after retirement.
We spend over 90% of our lives working, yet statistics reveal that only 2 out of 10 people are content with their jobs.
The rest of us suffer from feelings of burnout and dissatisfaction. It’s disheartening to realize that we sell our precious time on this planet to greedy corporations for little in return as this YouTuber discusses this in her recent video, and while I was watching, I was nodding.
She brought up the topic of how Boomers have outdated views on modern corporate jobs. According to her, loyalty is non-existent and promotions are hard to come by. Retirement plans may even disappear, and employees can be let go without any valid reason. Ultimately, working hard does not always lead to success in today’s corporate world.
A YouTuber in his twenties from Quebec, Canada, has realized that trading his time for money is a meaningless and unfulfilling way to live. He refuses to accept it as the standard, boldly stating, “I would rather die than work a 9–5 job.” According to him, even having a 10-day vacation is worse than being in prison because it’s just another form of slavery.
The notion of being able to enjoy life when you’re older is just an illusion, as there’s no guarantee that you’ll even make it to old age. And the idea of enjoying life while you’re young is also a myth, as society expects young people to work without breaks or vacations yet still find time to “enjoy” their lives.
On social media, such as Reddit, the hashtag #AntiWork has become popular, with many individuals expressing their anger and exhaustion towards their jobs every hour. Videos on TikTok show people breaking down in tears or shouting about how it’s all bullshit and they’ve had enough.
As you can see, working for a corporation wastes your life, and it is no wonder people are fed up. They had enough of corporate slavery.
I knew this a decade ago but I am happy that especially young are waking up and understand this kind of life leads nowhere.
I am not proposing that we stop working altogether but find alternative ways to earn a living.
Smaller businesses and solo entrepreneurship should replace corporate jobs; the world will be a much better place.
Instead of working for someone else, I have advised my 15-year-old daughter to pursue her independent job. She dreams of becoming a firefighter and starting her own bike tour company. I fully support her in this endeavor.
As for me, I am currently involved in self-publishing. In the upcoming year, I am excited to introduce a new venture: a cozy yurt retreat for individuals seeking a technology detox experience.
My husband even began to pick up some carpentry skills which are needed in our village.
The field of travel nursing has changed, with agencies and hospitals cutting corners wherever they can.
It’s no wonder you may feel exhausted and drained from your corporate job. That is why you should join the “nobody wants to work” team and consider learning new skills, and starting something on your own because it looks like working for a corporation will continue to get worse.
The corporate scumbags have no scruples, and they will stop at nothing just to get the profit, and our politicians are allowing it to happen.
