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▲I did no work for a year and no one noticed (self.__VINEXT_RSC_CHUNKS__=self.__VINEXT_RSC_CHUNKS__||[];self.__VINEXT_RSC_CHUNKS__.push("2:I[\"aadde9aaef29\",[],\"default\",1]\n3:I[\"6e873226e03b\",[],\"Children\",1]\n5:I[\"bc2946a341c8\",[],\"LayoutSegmentProvider\",1]\n6:I[\"6e873226e03b\",[],\"Slot\",1]\n7:I[\"3506b3d116f7\",[],\"ErrorBoundary\",1]\n8:I[\"a9bbde40cf2d\",[],\"default\",1]\n9:I[\"3506b3d116f7\",[],\"NotFoundBoundary\",1]\na:\"$Sreact.suspense\"\n:HL[\"/assets/index-BLEkI_5r.css\",\"style\"]\n")t="_blank">leylakazim.substack.com)
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why do you think it's morally acceptable for an employee to negotiate as toughly as possible for his/her salary but not for their time? It's all a negotiation process. the key thing is, he's meeting his agreed upon obligations. whether or not you do it efficiently (like him) or inefficiently wasting all your time is up to you.
Why is ok for your employer to make you complete additional tasks, draining you of your excess energy, but not increasing your salary at all?
When there exists this productivity/energy gap, the default US view seems to be you should give it up to the employer, but the article author is instead keeping it for himself.
i think the types of environments that foster the culture of bullshit jobs are bereft of conscience (ymmv as far as how you react to that in your own job).
additionally, many people within those environments feel that scrutiny or lack of job security even when they play by the rules.
something i've been thinking about a lot lately is that i don't feel very bad being cynical about these kinds of systems when they're helmed by people who are cynical about me. if my job is at risk due to mismanagement, restructuring, "the market" or anything else that would cause my employer to see me as a line item and not a human being with needs, i have every right to view my employment as an asset to manipulate as i see fit as well. turnabout is fair play. conversely, i've also been lucky to have had some good bosses and i don't act as ruthlessly in those situations.
All of this is easier said than done, and there's lots of reasons to stay put and half-ass a good thing while you can. I can't fault anyone for making that choice, and I don't even really view it as particularly malicious. Just not something I can do and simultaneously go home feeling good about my place in the world.
I think also that 'bullshit jobs' are a side effect of large (not even ineffective) organisations. At a certain size, you end up with roles and abstractions that take you far away from what your employer actually produces/generates revenue from, and if you are in such a cost center it can be hard to see how your individual work is meaningful to the bottom line in any way.
But beyond that, man this is such a depressing way to live. I've worked a lot of jobs I don't like and put in varying degrees of effort based on how I feel about the people and the situation. But generally one value I live by is that if I'm paid to do something I'm going to try to do a good job at it. That doesn't mean burning myself out or going above and beyond for a boss or company that doesn't deserve it. But for my own integrity and self-worth I have to at least put in a baseline professional effort. If I can't stomach even doing that then it's a clear sign I need to be planning my exit, anything less is disrespectful to my basic self.
I think this kind of phenomenon is why I feel that some people rightly should be worried about AI automating their job away.
You broke your promise and lied about it every day for a year. You proved that your career (that you presumably worked hard to build) was a farce. This says nothing about the nature of work and everything about the quality of person reporting the “problem”.
People like this make me never want to employ anyone ever again. Congrats you destroyed what little faith in humanity I had left. I’m glad you finally quit and I hope you never apply for or are offered a job again. (Clearly not mature enough to manage your own work without an extreme amount of oversight).
Might I suggest something real and tangible? Serve beer or keep chickens. At least when you violate your promise people will know immediately. (Here’s your beer. The glass is empty. No I filled it I promise. It is clearly empty. That’ll be £6. Again, no beer)
Oh maybe this was satire! “Here’s how a bullshit person operating in bad faith would conduct themselves” I don’t think it was satire.
Never is a long time. Do you not think it's possible that this person could end up in a different environment and be very successful as an employee and be a great asset to her employer? Is there a reason you personally wouldn't want this to happen at any point in the future?
There is an irony that people who tend to resent work are often the same people who proselytize about unions are despite the fact if they were offered a real union job they'd turn their nose up at it. People like this author ruin high-trust societies and hopefully she's only able to work low-trust positions now that she's published this.
my current employer broke no fewer than two promises they had made to me within a few months of my starting there. they did this simply because they could: it was cheaper for them and they knew there was little I could do in response. so you'll forgive me if I don't give half a fuck about these people, and do as little work as i can get away with
I have multiple friends cheating their employers (who are actually not corporations) and working like 1h a day and delegating everything to AI instead and just plain lying about it, if you are paid per hour and not per task, then your duty is to ensure you'll make the company grow with the time they pay you to do, not scam them, I understand why people do it, but let's say what it really is: Scamming people.
All this chicanery to escape work would only eat at my conscience. I don’t believe for one moment that I should be emotionally attached to my employer but at the same time I am a professional and am paid to do a job. I should hold up my end of the bargain. Being deceitful 24X7, 365 days a year will eventually wear me out because there’s always the chance I will be found out. There’s also the reputational risk of being found BS’ing which is non-trivial and could ruin chances of future employment.
The path of least resistance is simply to quit.