the >REDACTED< measuring contest of hard work (inspired by teja's post in the overrated thread)
before we begin, the following is obviously coming from someone who grew up middle class, white and safe in a first world country and has a middle class, first world job. i can understand the working class and the third world vehemently disagreeing with me.
people who wear their 10,000 hours of work each day as a badge of higher morality really annoy me. my job is a responsible one that often requires extra hours at a moments notice late into the evening, and i do those hours partially because it's my job and partially because i don't want my team to suffer. i care about my staff and my colleagues because i am a sappy sook.
the competition to see who can work the hardest is stupid, because tbh i'd rather not aye. the person who works 10,000 hours in a day might be rewarded with a promotion to earn a few thousand dollars extra and a lot more responsibilities, but the 9,999 hour guy just gets told 'better luck next time'.
of course, the above is an idealized scenario. sometimes people who work the hardest aren't necessarily the best fit for higher positions or are too valuable in their current roles to promote, so they get to stay there, willingly walking into their submission every day believing they will be rewarded and are committing a moral good. their mistake is realised further when you note employers often pigeon hole and map out their plans for a new employee after they interview him. if you dream of being a cabinet maker but the personality quiz you took in your interview marks you as a desk maker who sucks at cabinets, you're building desks no matter your goals or the scientific accuracy of the quiz.
every hour you spend at work is an hour lost to your family or your own human needs and fulfillments. one of my best mates is a ridiculously hard worker and a lovely guy, and a few years ago his (now) ex did the dirty on him. without defending the sneaky little bint, i tried to explain to him girls like their man to actually be present in their lives.
hard work and going above and beyond should be respected, but the glorification and growing expectation of it as a normal occurrence and it's spiritual build up as a moral good is an insiduous design of those who benefit most from our hard work - people economically above us who earn most of the money from us. it just takes one person to believe in this snake oil to join a team and all of a sudden you have a team of people getting nervous because one guy is sacrificing his life to the business gods and they feel the pressure to keep up with him.
if i wrote this on some kind of real medium, i would feel nervous releasing it because i know employers would place a black mark next to my name and i would be subjected to accusations of laziness, bludgery and wanting a free ride. my response is a) absolutely, don't you want your cake and to eat it too? and b) **** off i've done enough long hours to get an opinion here m8.
i enjoy going to work because i atrophy without the discipline and i get to make new friends i can get drunk with but i reject the deification of overwork. i don't want to reach the end of my life and realise i wasted it in the office making someone else rich. i am not alive to submit to someone who doesn't give a **** about me except for my economic benefit to him. this lie that has been fed to us is repackaged autocracy and feudalism written for a modern audience.
i am fortunate to have an employer that has brought in the 4 day week, but i've had plenty of colleagues and friends in other workplaces who buy into the lie that working harder and longer makes you a better person.
