this post was submitted on 13 Feb 2024
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Work Reform

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A place to discuss positive changes that can make work more equitable, and to vent about current practices. We are NOT against work; we just want the fruits of our labor to be recognized better.

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Employers demonstrated their infidelity to their staff by paying loyal workers, on average, 7% less than new hires — 20 years ago, salaries were largely the same between new and longtime employees.

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[–] [email protected] 11 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (2 children)

This is also a shift from when older generations were young: In a 1995 survey by the consulting firm Wyatt Co., under-30 Gen Xers — the "works sucks, I know" generation — were actually the most satisfied with their jobs than any other age group.

That answers the main question I had after reading the headline: did all generations feel this way at this age, or is this unique to Gen z.

Edit: just read the about the 1995 survey referenced in the article. It's pretty interesting. https://reason.com/1995/05/01/heh-heh-work-is-cool/

[–] [email protected] 17 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Reason is a hyper pro-capitalist libertarian magazine who, in an interview with then-governor Ronald Reagan, implied he was too liberal because he didn’t think fire departments should be privatized.

I wouldn’t trust them with this kind of survey, in other words.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I just linked to the Reason article since that is what the OP article links to. A different organization actually performed the 1995 survey.

Although, I haven't been able to find the original survey with a very brief Google search. So maybe take the Reason summary with a grain of salt.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago

Yeah, all I’m saying is to take it with a grain of salt.

When a publication like Reason writes about a survey that backs their narrative, it’s possible that it came from a conservative organization (and so might have crafted the study to produce the results they wanted rather than having an impartial scientific approach).

The other likely possibility is that they cherry picked a survey that happened to have the results they want. Even in scientific surveys there’s going to be variability, and it’s never a good idea to base an opinion off of a single survey for that reason alone.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Am on the tail end of Gen X and when I started working even low pay allowed me to afford a place to live, food to eat, and doing fun things occasionally. While work sucked, it at least paid the bills and allowed the freedom to live. Plus there were still some companies that offered actual long term perks, tried and keep people with experience around, and promoted from within.

Gen Z still gets the low pay, but are treated as expendable, and can't afford anything and so it is understandable that they would hate working in comparison.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Want to have fun. Look up where you lived as a young adult and calculate how much it would cost today.

First wage out of college 28K. In two years it was up to 42K. Since it was a government job, I can look up the wage today. Start is at $37K, in two years its $55K

Studio apartment $650/month then, $1,800 now for the same place. Included heating and electricity and a awesome view from the 22nd floor.

Car with 30K miles on it, $185/month plus $50/month insurance. Now $550/month plus $200/month insurance.

Groceries $150/month (I ate well). Now $400/month.

Student loan, $50/month. Now $200 per month.

Phone (landline). $40/month. Now $60/month cell phone.

Take home when I started, around $1650/month. Expenses $1,125. 2 years later when I was making 42K, take home was around $2,450. I paid off the student loans, the most of the car, and had a ton of fun, traveled, dated, and eventually got married.

Today take home would've around. $2,150/month and the cost of living as I did would be around $3,010. Even after 2 years I could barely squeak by with around $3,200/month take home.