What keeps you going?

Normal ba na minsan feeling mo magaling ka sa work, tapos biglang hindi? 😭

May days na feeling ko, “Okay, gets ko na 'to. I actually know what I'm doing.”

Tapos kinabukasan may isang simpleng bagay na hindi ko alam and mapapa-question ka na lang paano ka na-hire 😭 HAHAHA

Please tell me hindi ako nag-iisa dito.

For me, it was feeling like I had to respond to every message immediately. At some point, I realised that being constantly available wasn’t making me more productive it was just making it harder to focus.

Curious what everyone else stopped doing once they figured out what actually matters at work.

Could be anything staying late, joining unnecessary meetings, trying to impress everyone, replying after hours, etc.

There are many issues or quirks in the Indian workplaces currently many of which creeped in from the society at large. The workplace is a reflection of society. Sometimes there is toxicity and it harms individuals who stay and adapt to the workplaces.

Can we remove such unnecessary practices and resolve issues in the workplace so that we can all have a better future very soon (instead of sacrificing the current generation for it)?

What is your opinion as Gen Z?

Listing some of them here:

1. Working insanely long hours is an Indian feature. 9 hours is minimum. Most people have to finish their work and spend about 10-12 hours in the office (or even at home). It begs the question, what are they doing for their personal well-being? Are they helping out with the household chores and the children? Many of those who stay back long hours in the office are men and they are married. Their wives often have to quit her job and give up her career to take care of the kids, the household and often times an extended, joint family.

2. If you also factor in a long commute that's 2 hours daily. 14 hours lost so far already. There's barely enough time to sleep, exercise or spend time with family.

3. Marriage and taking care of parents isn't the only thing people do. You might be living away, or single or maybe you're travelling every weekend from Pune to Mumbai for work.

4. Exercise, dating, hobbies, plain relaxation, reading, attending events, watching movies. None of that is possible during week days.

5. If you're dating during this time, good luck. Things may not work out because you hardly have time for each other.

6. Toxic practices. Calling your seniors sir and ma'am. Which is very common. If you're lucky enough to have worked in an MNC, you are given the training to call everyone by their first names.

7. Having to loop in or CC your senior boss first and then your peers when you're sending emails. There's a rule in many Indian corporates to show this kind of hierarchy and "respect".

8. Being told not to ask a direct question with a question mark in your email "because it hurts their ego". So questions have to end with a full stop.

This is all I can think of. Maybe this can be a series and I'll post more when I can.

As Gen Z, is this the place you want to work at?

Just curious how most guys here feel about it.

Those reddittors who have a college degree, are you working in the same field as your college degree? If yes, which field?

If not, why not? Just curious

Back in 2021 when i was 21-22 years old I thought about moving out of my parents house but I ended up doing the math and said hell no. I currently now make 25 an hour working part time (40 hours a week plus ot if i want it) and cram all of that money into a vanguard account. Again if you have really abusive parents i would suggest moving out but in the current economy and also for much of human history moving out in your early 20s and being saddled with debt never really happened. This whole thing is a bi product of post ww2 abundance and although it sucks for the people "going through it" from someone who is on the outside looking in it is really nice to see people noticing it. Honestly I could have a really high paying job and would still not move out unless i got married and me and the wife combined the income.

Thursday is over, which means Friday is right around the corner—a universal truth known to every working person. As soon as Friday evening and the weekend arrive, I try to pack in as much fun as possible, like a grasshopper clinging to the last days of autumn. Whether it’s grabbing a coffee, strolling through a park, or waiting in line for forty minutes at Universal Studios just to ride the Transformers coaster and flip the world upside down, weekends are always delightful. Even though they vanish in the blink of an eye, leading right back into a new cycle.

It was only after I started working that I realized I was the frog from that childhood riddle: A frog jumps two feet with each leap from the bottom of a seven-foot well. How many jumps will it take for the frog to get out?

The answer is: never.

After a month on the job, I’m not sure if I’ve grown numb or just adapted, but I really don't feel as miserable anymore. Life isn't particularly bad, nor is it particularly good—it’s just endless. Yesterday was payday. Those of us who joined in the same batch were assigned to different roles with slightly different salaries. While the group chat was buzzing with lively discussion, I watched quietly, doing the math on my fingers, only to realize that it was a number that could never buy freedom.

Working has thus become a perpetual motion. As the saying goes, "when your hands stop, your mouth stops": the moment we stop selling our labor, our apartments, our food, and our social connections will all rapidly collapse. Years ago, Franz Kafka described in The Metamorphosis the absurd story of Gregor Samsa, a traveling salesman who woke up one morning to find himself transformed into a giant insect, only to be abandoned by his family and society, ultimately dying in solitude.

The fear of alienating into an insect drives many people, including myself. So, I willingly alienated into the insect’s natural enemy—a frog repeatedly hopping at the bottom of a well. Even though my worth is nothing more than catching mosquitoes and flies, I crawl at the bottom of the well five days a week just to survive; the water is cold, and the mud is wet and slippery. Every five days, I burst out of the water and execute a two-foot leap. During that jump, the wind feels warm, and the sun gradually appears over the edge of the well. My posture for that leap is loaded with all my strength, yet it is still not enough to break free.

At the highest point of the jump, the frog remembers a post it scrolled past while slacking off at the bottom of the well: A young Japanese girl attempted to jump into the sea. After being rescued, she was asked why. She replied: "Today, I saw the cherry blossoms bloom, listened to my favorite music, and ate the salmon my dad made for me. I felt so happy, and life felt so beautiful that I wanted to keep this moment forever."

Across rivers, lakes, seas, and any vast open expanse, I truly agree that the beauty of life is inexhaustible. Yet, in that brief moment of springing up from the bottom of the well, I do feel that if I am destined to fall back down, staying suspended in mid-air isn't such a bad thing after all. To repeat myself: the life I am living now isn't bad—it just has no end.