I do not know what the general sentiment is here. In real life, with friends and family, I’ve found that most people are pretty reasonable about this topic, but my rant here is more in response to the sentiments I’ve been seeing a lot lately on Reddit.
There are just so many posts and comments on Reddit complaining about having to go back to the office as if it’s abuse. They think that their resistance is to go back is a legitimate labor movement, which is just laughable.
I’m not even one to side with corporations versus employees. In fact, it is usually otherwise the case. I have sharply criticized corporations for treating employees as disposable, layoffs, at-will dynamics, ridiculous hiring methods, poor benefits, various forms of discrimination, etc. And even when it comes to blue collar work, I’ll criticize things like corporations not keeping their employees adequately safe from hazardous materials or other violations of ethical labor practices.
I’m saying this because, however, there are certain people that think one must always side with the employees and never the corporations no matter the issue or how unreasonable the request. Otherwise, you’re a Boomer. That’s the sentiment on Reddit.
And this is an area where I do not side with the employees, but with the corporations instead. I can understand being called back to work 5 days a week in the office might be a bit too rigid, but many employees are whining so heavily on just partially being called back (3 days in the office and 2 days working from home), for example, Apple.
I say this from the perspective of someone who is pretty prissy actually, hates being uncomfortable, and has recently entered a very cushy, stable, and high-paying career path in the office. I think these people are incredibly entitled, whiny, and spoiled.
There are guys out there busting their ass in construction and low-wage service jobs where they get very minimal break. They have to always be on their feet and aren’t able to make themselves comfortable at work at all. They have very little flexibility.
In fact, I noticed this during college when I transitioned from working as a bagger in a grocery store to working part-time in an office for an internship program - immediately how luxurious working in an office was. It was like a completely different level of treatment. You can make yourself super comfortable at your desk, you get to sit in a comfy chair, it’s climate-controlled, you have the break room at your full convenience, and you have so much flexibility in when you get things done. There is so much downtime and not at all the situation whereas in blue collar or service jobs, you have to constantly be working if you’re not on break or else you get yelled at.
Working in an office is so luxurious, and working 40 hours a week in such an environment is not unreasonable at all. Such working conditions are excellent and not at all abusive. I think it is exceptionally spoiled beyond my comprehension how much people, on Reddit at least, complain about office jobs when it’s probably the best working conditions one will see, and even that, in First World countries. Forget about whatever is going on in Third World countries.
Yet, we have people making well into six figures acting as if they’re being treated unfairly by coming back to the office, and not only that, but their complaints are so petty.
Boo fucking hoo, that you have to smell a coworker’s fish in the microwave for a minute. Oh poor you, you had to endure a minute of mildly annoying conversation a coworker made by the watercooler. Oh the worst that your manager checked on you once in the day to make sure you were on track and if you needed help with anything.
Like I said, I’m quite prissy myself I will admit, but this is on a completely different level of not being able to tolerate mild discomfort or inconvenience. Yet, they act like it’s the worst thing in the world if these things happen, and it’s these sorts of reasons they primarily give for not wanting to go back. I think many of these people are just asocial or something. I’m not even the most extroverted. In fact, in many cases, I’m often quite busy with my things and want to be left alone, but none of the above complaints even occurred to me as something to whine about in the context of not going back to the office.
There are people actually suffering out there, having to work near minimum wage multiple jobs with no health insurance and they actually physically have to constantly work no matter their discomfort level. So forgive me, if I feel like telling some software developer making $150,000 with excellent benefits to shut the fuck up and stop being a pussy when he complains about how awful office jobs are. It’s just an exceptional level of classism and entitlement that I’d never imagined I would see become mainstream as it has today.
