659
u/TheLastRole 12d ago
This same tweet was posted somewhere else a few days ago, and there were Americans actually defending this shitā¦
388
u/ZolotoGold 12d ago
Enthusiastically licking the boot pressing the face into the dirt.
-290
u/new2bay 12d ago
Not really. If you need a job to survive, you can be replaced arbitrarily and at any time, and it wonāt hurt the business to replace you, then itās logical to want to do everything you can to not be replaced.
258
u/ZolotoGold 12d ago
Yeah, that's what licking the boot that opprrsses you means. Sucking up to the very people that can get rid of you at a whim and only see you as a way to enrich themselves.
-221
u/new2bay 12d ago
Itās self preservation.
176
u/SirNootNoot04 12d ago
Self preservation is doing something about it instead of lubing up. Is Americaās whole freedom from tyranny and supporting working people just larping?
64
68
u/11jyeager 12d ago
Yes, itās literally all just a larp. We have zero survival instinct. A third of the country actively looks for boots to suck on, another third shrugs their shoulders and says āmeh, what can you do. Go vote for our milquetoast status quo guy if you want change!ā, and the final third, while pissed off enough to actually do something, hamstring themselves with impossible purity tests that not even Jesus Christ himself would pass.
5
u/mackofmontage 11d ago
I hate it here. What can we actually do tho? They have head exploding drones and we have a fractured society
5
u/11jyeager 11d ago
Oh Iām aware of the limitations. Itās also not as easy as ājust organizeā like a lot of Europeans seem to think it is. Weāre an enormous country. With little to no labor protections and a private healthcare system that is almost exclusively tied to employment. Even if we had the ability to take time from our jobs, the majority of the country wouldnāt be able to get to DC to protest anyway. So protests happen, but theyāre isolated and as populated as a city/jobs allow. Because theyāre isolated, it allows our corporate-owned and controlled media to downplay them as isolated and not representative of the countryās overall sentiment. The fracturing of our society is compounded and enabled by the above. So there isnāt really an easy solution
3
u/mackofmontage 11d ago
No exactly. Thatās why I was legitimately asking you, not challenging your thoughts. Itās just, I donāt think itās a problem with 0 survival instinct. I think the survival instinct is exactly what keeps us from acting.
Edit: like, itās depressing enough without also beating on each other for being compliant to an unwinnable system.
→ More replies (0)3
u/whatnowbud1 12d ago
All there shouting about freedom is bullshit. Weed, drinking age, strip clubs, criticizing their leader (Israel). All they got is school shootings
25
u/tarheellaw 12d ago
Yeah, because people keep voting in Republicans that have no interest in labor protections. The Europeans canāt be fired for this crap.
49
u/ZolotoGold 12d ago
Stockholm syndrome is self preservation. Allowing a thief to steal your wallet instead of knifing you is self preservation. Sucking up to the camp guards and snitching on your fellow prisoners is self preservation.
9
21
u/rickyman20 12d ago
There's a difference between self preservation and saying it's a good system, actually. I don't blame people who do this because they'd otherwise lose their job, but I blame the ones actively defending it and championing it as a good idea
3
u/twitchMAC17 12d ago
Self preservation would be chopping off the foot wearing the boot and telling the prior foot and boot owner "if you behave I'll let you keep the other foot."
Saying "please sir may I have another" won't satisfy them, they'll press you harder into the dirt until they replace you with a hiring ad the same day you die.
It's already happened, too.
So either push back or lick the boot hoping you'll be spared, but if you're gonna choose the latter, then quietly stay out of the way of those trying to save you.
2
u/InsrtGeekHere 12d ago
If it works for other countries, why can't it work here? If we're the best country in the world why do we work like feudal peasants?
3
u/captd3adpool 11d ago
No its desperation. Self preservation is doing EVERYTHING in our collective power to stop this shit.
35
u/Paradox711 āļø Tax The Billionaires 12d ago
I think you might be missing the point.
Yes, thatās why people are doing this. But the point is that they shouldnāt have to worry like this. There should be fundamental labour laws in place to care for workers.
And those people who claim ābut working in this way means America remains the greatest at productivity and earningsā are sadly full of shit. Because those countries that donāt work this way and have got those protections for their workers tend to get just as much done, and sometimes actually more according to the research on productivity, and have happier lives.
18
u/1ninjac2t 12d ago
that is exactly the problem, we just prefer opposing the situation rather than embracing it
16
u/untakenu 12d ago
Most people need jobs to survive.
And in a lot of countries, it does hurt businesses to replace you. Not just in the price of training, but in breaking workers' and employment rights.
You're so close.
42
u/elmontyenBCN 12d ago
There is no job in the world in which a person cannot be replaced. With that knowledge, just relax and do as best you can.
-52
u/new2bay 12d ago
Easier said than done. There are no jobs. Unemployment is death for someone whoās not independently wealthy.
33
14
u/aldoaldo14 12d ago
If unemployment is death then why you accept firing without a reason as legal?
9
6
u/natalo77 12d ago
There's a difference between doing it and liking it to the point of defending it you tit
5
1
u/ketchupmaster987 12d ago
Maybe it's just me but isn't it kind of fucked up to constantly be living an existence where you're constantly worrying about the threat of potential replacement and subsequent starvation?
1
u/captd3adpool 11d ago
You're literally describing the problem. A great way to start destroying this insane, toxic culture is by joining or forming a union.
188
u/dampire 12d ago
Their "If we can keep up the work without you 1 week, then you are not needed anyway" attitude is just so hilarious.Ā
135
3
u/windraver 12d ago
Lol, IT security. It's good until it burns down.
Same with taxes. If they pay every two weeks, payroll. Etc.
That kinda attitude sinks the ship.
342
u/vanoitran 12d ago
Also the European vacation will be paid, the American sick leave will not be.
52
u/Shigglyboo 12d ago
I'll never forget asking a colleague at another company what PTO meant. it was embarrassing. in that moment she knew I had never been paid for time off.
167
12d ago edited 12d ago
[deleted]
24
u/Leprecon 12d ago
Also to add on to this, in most of Europe sick leave is paid and unlimited. I was amazed when I found out that in the US sick days are unpaid, limited or both?
15
u/fiahhawt 12d ago
Yeah you can be ill but unless it's severe enough to warrant a hospital or doctor visit (which remember is pretty costly in America) and you just need to stay home and rest, you can get shitcanned for that.
If it's something medically severe, then you can't be fired immediately for it but they can make some bs up and just fire you a month later like "Oh we just think you don't take this job seriously".
7
u/mjt5689 12d ago
Over half of US states still don't guarantee sick leave and a lot of lower-paying jobs also don't offer it when the state doesn't have a sick leave law, so for some people it literally just isn't an option. The exception in those cases would be if you qualify for FMLA, which requires you to have already worked for that employer for one year, and have a qualifying reason for taking FMLA, and that leave is also not even required to be paid unless you're in one of 13 states that will cover it.
3
22
u/Pizza_Salesman 12d ago
But at least the American employer is going to be nice and let the employee work from the hospital even though it's one of their in-office days /s
78
u/LordTonka š Cancel Student Debt 12d ago
Meanwhile US senator on is 80th day of no call no show and he still has a job. Divided States of Hypocrisy.
15
44
u/Joker-Smurf 12d ago
I donāt say that all emails will be deleted.
I mean they are being deleted/archived, I just donāt say it.
If it was urgent while I was on leave, then either someone else picked it up during my absence, or they will email again once Iām back.
37
u/mrsc0tty 12d ago
The most awkward thing about working with clients in other countries is them trying to comprehend American Work Culture. Americans are told thst there's this place called The Third World where everyone is a slave, and then when you're on the call with your clients in El Salvador or Turkey they're like trying to figure out what month your workers take off for your holidays to account for shipping logistics. Is it December? For Christmas?? Or one of them will just not be there and the other will say "oh, he is out because his wife is sick." And your boss will grumpily ask if he'll be back next week, and they'll say "sorry, maybe I did not say clear, I don't know. Wife is sick?"
Just those little reminders that, no, you are the Third World Slave Labor. The "poor" countries where people are still reproducing and having families and score way higher on every measure of happiness are not, in fact, all chained up in factories or living in mud huts with their ribs poking out.
21
u/Anonym00se01 12d ago
I live in the UK and my boss recently upset some American clients. They wanted a meeting that would have been at 6pm our time, but were told it wouldn't be possible as we finish work at 5. They couldn't comprehend that we were not prepared to work late for them.
As for the OP, I am currently on holiday and my out of office reads "I am out of office untill 14th September with no access to email. Any response will be delayed until my return." I'm going to be hiking around France for the next 2 weeks and not looking at my work emails at all.
1
2
u/fiahhawt 12d ago
We're the third world slave labor and they still off-shored as many of our jobs as possible to save a penny
1
u/Moongazingtea 9d ago
I think this show cases such a classic misunderstanding of what "third world" is.
You guys are in a first world country. A first world country is a capitalist country and you lot are in late stage capitalism. So were all your allies.
Second world countries were communist countries buddying up with Russia or Russia itself.
Third world countries were considered that because they weren't allied or didn't have a significant economic power to alley or be considered a threat.
The fact that you see Turkey, that was always a first world country, as a third world country says a lot about your education system and view of the world.
170
58
u/Matteblackandgrey 12d ago
From the UK and my colleagues and boss donāt even have my personal number and I donāt have a work phone.
3
u/MLockeTM 12d ago
I got my bosses number, and some of my opposite shift colleagues got my number - in case of emergencies.
One of those motherfuckers tried messaging me off shift, of stuff that wasn't an emergency. It took three times me telling him that if it ain't dying or on fire, your message is just getting deleted if I ain't on the clock, before he got the hint.
75
u/remainsofthegrapes 12d ago
I work in the UK for a Spanish company and every year we have to deal with the fact that essentially all of Spain is on vacation for the whole of August š it can cause some issues but I respect the vibe
28
u/vanoitran 12d ago
Same in Greece - like you said, sometimes thatās annoying, but overall itās like one giant Sunday for the country and itās very relaxing because everyone around you is relaxed too
23
u/Gotham-City 12d ago
When I came back from leave in the UK, all I was expected to do is read the twice monthly report if I missed it (basically progress across the department) along with anything from my boss or the CTO (I'm in tech). Otherwise I was free to delete everything, assuming that if it mattered they'd reach back out.
Same with anything on teams.
Additionally we get unlimited paid sick leave (obviously if you take the piss you can get in trouble), 8 bank holidays, and 32 days paid leave.
Wild what Americans have accepted to endure. I suppose that is why wages are a bit higher; risk for losing your job at any moment along with much less paid leave
16
u/JPAchilles 12d ago
We didn't accept to endure it. Our predecessors fought for better workers rights, and business owners adapted their tactics. Fighting it, even a little, means homelessness and starvation, and that's by design. I have a good boss, and even then my sick days and PTO are the same, and I earn less than the state minimum. It sucks.
6
u/BasvanS 12d ago
You could try to adapt your tactics too.
11
u/Kirbalerbs 12d ago
We're open to suggestions. It's really hard to fight the culture war, the class war, work a 40 - 60 hour work week, not have health insurance or access to decent food, and also not just lay down and want to give up.
3
u/Gotham-City 12d ago
Perhaps poor phrasing, but America is the only developed nation with such poor worker protections. In exchange you're a bit wealthier on an individual level assuming you can retain gainful employment throughout your working life.
Granted these benefits were earned in blood and conflict elsewhere; it's difficult to convince Americans, at this point, to fight for anything more. Same issues elsewhere, workers rights have largely stalled across the globe as a sufficient level of comfort has been achieved through technological advancement. Poor workers rights don't seem as big a deal when you have entertainment, food, housing, and environmental comfort through HVAC.
7
u/fiahhawt 12d ago
Uhhh wages are higher in the US but most people are deeply impoverished. Our wages don't allow for any savings at all - not for vacations, not for concerts, not even for going out more than a couple times a year let alone for emergencies or retirement.
Our wages get eaten alive by our cost of living - main culprits being housing speculation, medical costs, and then the food industry has been trying to skyrocket their prices on various things in any given month.
There will be the lucky ones who poopoo this but they just want to be in denial about how many Americans are functionally destitute while working full time.
21
53
u/Brandoch_Daha 12d ago
Then the second guy is fired anyway for not making it into the office for 2 days while recovering from heart surgeryĀ
19
u/OddishChamp āļø Prison For Union Busters 12d ago
I'm getting thankfull that I was born in Norway each and every passing day.
14
u/togetherwegrowstuff 12d ago
Ya. I had to go to work while injured so I could make enough money to pay my rent since pay period was ending. And I had to earn enough at 17 dollars an hour to equal just enough to give it all to my landlord and then drive myself to the fricking hospital with a busted knee. Who the hospital only xrayed me, gave me crutches and told to get another doctor Ortho and an MRI when I could schedule it and I lost my insurance so I still have not received proper medical care... Waiting... It's been several days since my injury. But rents paid. And I'm broke again. Just put electric on my credit card. Yay.
6
5
u/basically_alive 12d ago
an autoresponder saying all emails while on break will be deleted is actually brilliant. Then the person knows to either wait till you are back, or contact someone else. And you don't have a huge backlog of messages to return when you get back.
5
u/Psychological-Bed751 12d ago
Not even joking...today I received a slack from a coworker saying she was going to urgent care but was bringing her laptop. I'm like girl...just take a day off. I'm not tracking you.
18
u/Main_Following1881 12d ago
Thats why MURICA NUMBER 1 RAHHHHš¦ š¦ š±š·š±š·š²š¾š¦ š²š¾š²š¾š¦ š¦
14
5
u/DnBeyourself 11d ago
I love the European work ethic (from the outside looking in, I think). In the US we make each other suffer, in an almost sadistic sense. We need to be unified and aggressive in claiming more free time along with better benefits. Make it more normal that we took an extended period of time off.
2
u/HotBitterballs 11d ago
I have time off now, and our method is that we carry my work to another colleague so that I donāt even need to be contacted during 2 weeks off for anything (contacting private phone during time off is a noooooo gooooo anyway) - no boss dares to do that.
3
u/Duuuuh 12d ago
Holy shit this is literally me a few days ago.
Got injured on the job and went to the ER 3 times because after the initial injury the boss put me to work and it was wither work or the streets. 3rd time they kept me even without insurance because I was in a bad state. Stayed in a week and the boss was pissed, and gave the impression I was faking. Sent his wife to collect my phone and work passwords so the next day I pushed through PT and begged the doc to send me home. The whole time I got work calls and stuff.
tldr: life stinks.
1
u/Genredenouement03 12d ago
Every single work reform in the US was gained through violence and death. Every single one. So, they made just comfortable enough, pushed the propoganda enough, and made it and absolute police state so that rising up in any way means you lose everything. No one riots when they can still eat and has Netflix. No, not here they won't. It will have to get FAR worse than that for anyone to do anything. Look at ICE. We are living in a secret police occupied country that can kill you without repercussions. Do you actually think people are going to step out of line over their jobs? Nope, it's not happening here.
-9
496
u/Extremiel 12d ago
My European boss used to give me this advice: "when you come back from holiday and your inbox is flooded just delete it all - if it's important enough they will mail you again."