3 ms·

Not sure if these are psych terms, but just wanted to add them to be used instead of the ones on the left: * Depressed -> struggling (places focus on society i

Not sure if these are psych terms, but just wanted to add them to be used instead of the ones on the left: * Depressed -> struggling (places focus on society instead of individual) * Burned out -> exploited (places focus on employer instead of employee)

prawn 4y ago
Is it fair to think that "burned out" isn't always coming from an employer-employee power imbalance? Startup types or small business owners burn out. Benign employers can have employees who burn themselves out. As a freelancer, I'm quite responsible for my work habits and workload; I sometimes burn out, but I'd never think of it as having been exploited.
- zackmorris 4y ago
  No that's true, burnout has many causes, but I suppose that I'm thinking about it at a systems/societal level. The current era is much more difficult to survive in than when I was growing up in the 80s and 90s. Because wealth inequality (high housing/healthcare/education costs, low wages) has come to dominate our lives. We're working twice as many hours for half as much buying power. We may not see it as much with our 6 figure incomes, but at least half the US is basically living hand to mouth in dead end jobs. No help is coming from the top, so until people wake up and realize that the power is in their labor and organizing power, nothing will change. That's why I think that framing and terminology are so important for progress. Also I define exploitation as receiving less than the lion's share of any income generated by a worker. So if a business bills someone out at $50/hr and pays them $15/hr, that's exploitive. Very few businesses bill less than that, but a huge number pay less than that. So exploitation has become the way that business is done in the US and any countries we exploit for our manufacturing needs. Selling shoes for $100 made by workers who are paid $1/hr, etc.
  - prawn 4y ago
    I've travelled a lot in the US and many parts feel like a developing country. The tent cities and begging and vehicle-dwelling and so on appear worse each time I go over. But people either don't vote or vote against their own interests. Maybe one risk of framing things as a societal issue mean that people are less likely to take individual action in voting or changing jobs (if possible)? Voter apathy in the US is quite remarkable, given the constant media furore. I'm in small business so I'm offering no comment on larger companies, but often here, I think an employee paid $x is expected to produce $3x as an old rule of thumb to cover overheads, taxes, etc. And I have sympathy for the brutal world of small business ownership: if an employee detests that $15/hr, go freelance at $40/hr and wear the downsides that come with it. Almost every business owner has taken a risk at some point to work unpaid or underpaid while getting off the ground, has covered wages during slow periods, etc. It's not always glamorous. An idea I find intriguing is in government or enterprise providing small businesses with as much boilerplate/scaffolding as possible to minimise the impact of wage theft or rostering struggles or anything else in that painful interface between the employer and employee. Without it, an employee is at the mercy of the foibles of the smalltime employer.

prawn 4y ago

Is it fair to think that "burned out" isn't always coming from an employer-employee power imbalance? Startup types or small business owners burn out. Benign employers can have employees who burn themselves out. As a freelancer, I'm quite responsible for my work habits and workload; I sometimes burn out, but I'd never think of it as having been exploited.

zackmorris 4y ago
No that's true, burnout has many causes, but I suppose that I'm thinking about it at a systems/societal level. The current era is much more difficult to survive in than when I was growing up in the 80s and 90s. Because wealth inequality (high housing/healthcare/education costs, low wages) has come to dominate our lives. We're working twice as many hours for half as much buying power. We may not see it as much with our 6 figure incomes, but at least half the US is basically living hand to mouth in dead end jobs. No help is coming from the top, so until people wake up and realize that the power is in their labor and organizing power, nothing will change. That's why I think that framing and terminology are so important for progress. Also I define exploitation as receiving less than the lion's share of any income generated by a worker. So if a business bills someone out at $50/hr and pays them $15/hr, that's exploitive. Very few businesses bill less than that, but a huge number pay less than that. So exploitation has become the way that business is done in the US and any countries we exploit for our manufacturing needs. Selling shoes for $100 made by workers who are paid $1/hr, etc.
- prawn 4y ago
  I've travelled a lot in the US and many parts feel like a developing country. The tent cities and begging and vehicle-dwelling and so on appear worse each time I go over. But people either don't vote or vote against their own interests. Maybe one risk of framing things as a societal issue mean that people are less likely to take individual action in voting or changing jobs (if possible)? Voter apathy in the US is quite remarkable, given the constant media furore. I'm in small business so I'm offering no comment on larger companies, but often here, I think an employee paid $x is expected to produce $3x as an old rule of thumb to cover overheads, taxes, etc. And I have sympathy for the brutal world of small business ownership: if an employee detests that $15/hr, go freelance at $40/hr and wear the downsides that come with it. Almost every business owner has taken a risk at some point to work unpaid or underpaid while getting off the ground, has covered wages during slow periods, etc. It's not always glamorous. An idea I find intriguing is in government or enterprise providing small businesses with as much boilerplate/scaffolding as possible to minimise the impact of wage theft or rostering struggles or anything else in that painful interface between the employer and employee. Without it, an employee is at the mercy of the foibles of the smalltime employer.