Managers don’t care about their underlings. They want to extract as much labor from the working class as humanely possible for the lowest price.
Their motives are evident in their demand that employees work ungodly hours and sacrifice their lives for the company.
Of course, legally, they can’t force anything, but that doesn’t mean the expectation disappeared.
The Boss Says it Out Loud
One employee came to a popular internet community to vent after their boss told them their work-life balance would interfere with their promotion potential.
The Original Poster (OP) shared that they used to go above and beyond, working through lunch and well into the evening. They got nothing for their efforts, so they decided to dial it back a bit and actually enjoy their life.
“After realizing that late nights and skipping lunch/breaks wasn’t getting me anywhere I started prioritizing work life balance,” shared OP.
Boss Noticed
Of course, the boss didn’t say anything when OP was busting their tail day and night, but he did the second they relaxed a bit to destress.
“Boss man pulled me in and said it looks like I’m no longer invested and that if I will no longer be considered for a manager role if I’m not willing to work through my lunches or into the evening,” they shared.
OP Unphased
It didn’t bother OP.
“I can’t help but laugh because it completely reinforces my thoughts toward the boss/company,” they said.
Though they didn’t share their thoughts toward the boss/company, we can imagine they realized that they wouldn’t get that management position either way, and the boss was just using it as a carrot to dangle in front of their face to get them to do even more work.
The Internet Agrees
OP didn’t ask for advice, but the internet commiserated against the messed-up work culture that demands this level of service for little reward.
“After having fallen victim to the scam of work hard now for later rewards, I’ve become pretty adept at recognizing the signs and noping out of those situations,” said one user.
Companies Demand Too Much
Many users pointed out companies’ sky-high demands and how little they provide in return.
Even employees who go above and beyond have no protections against layoffs, and many bosses refuse to promote their high achievers because it’s so tough to find hard workers.
A Messed-Up Work Culture
The entire story highlights the backward way America thinks about work. Companies demand sacrifice because they can because historically, Americans will take it.
Only recently have conversations about work-life balance entered the picture, and only people in cushy corporate jobs get to enjoy it. The rest of the workforce continues to suffer from the outdated ideals of the past.
Companies fail to realize that happy, well-rested employees are actually the most productive. They can’t look past the right now to see the second and third-order effects of their behavior.
It will catch up to them eventually, but how many businesses will fail before that happens?
Source: Reddit