The whole gig economy / hustle culture was deliberately abused by companies treating people like consultants except with low wages and certainly zero benefits. People are taking all the downside and businesses are completely covered from any liability. It has to end somewhere.
this post was submitted on 29 May 2025
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I'm doing the same thing in the US after getting laid off, have no energy or motivation to apply for jobs or prep for interview. I'm kinda depressed about this situation but also kinda happy to have the freedom to actually rest and breath again, for a first world country the American work system is draconic, and tying Healthcare access to a job is just inhumane
Sorry to hear you lost your job. Hoping the best for you, internet stranger!
I agree that tying healthcare to one's job is totally fucked up. Everyone should get healthcare, period. A less than 40 hour work week, and a ubi would be nice too.
The greatest tragedy of 21 century is masses of pacified people who farm karma and validity online in some circlejerks to feel dopamine hits from moral superiority.
It’s the real brain drain of today.
When they give up, the Machiavellists who were countered by brave people in the past come in full force.
I ask you… no I beg you. Use the internet to enhance communication, not just as an escape. We cannot afford to run from the problems any longer
To tell another story, workers are like kindle of the great furnace of the industrial-capitalist complex, and to stay at home is to take away the fuel from the machine.
Only when the machine stops can we finally take it apart and fix all its problems. (I dont entirely know what this means I just wanted to say something profound-sounding)
thank you, i have been saying the same thing :D
Only when the machine stops can we finally take it apart and fix all its problems
That is what meditation is. Deliberately pausing for a while, to fix your internal problems.
Friend, fuckin' same. It seems like all the propaganda hit pieces do is make them feel more relatable, damn.
You have more in common with a Chinese or Russian worker than any billionaire.
Remember when the USA banned TikTok and all the USA users flocked to RedNote? USAmericans were shocked that, contrary to their propaganda, Chinese life was just like theirs (but with healthcare); and Chinese users were shocked the USA life wasn't propaganda.
Wasn't there also the "lie flat" trend? It's not just Gen Z who are calling uncle. If I had the means, I'd join them.
If only all the rats of the world combined into an unruly rat king... Then things would change.
The millennial era of “work hard, play harder”
I hate to be that guy that calls everything Orwellian, but this is NOT how Fortune was describing Millenials 15 years ago
Ah, yes, the rhetoric 'grind culture' disguising working three jobs just to eat and sleep in conditions that are semi-humane. But being scolded and scorned for never being able to buy a house because we like avocado toast. Working so hard, but never working enough in the same breath.
It was never about the fucking toast. 'Goblin mode' and 'adulting' and 'gamer shut-in' and 'NEET' was never about being lazy. It was always about painting out the propaganda to guilt us into not meeting the model of expectation instead of our elders accepting blame. Maybe, hear me out, they should open their eyes and see that we're living in a level of poverty so hilariously deep that not even our kids--Gen Z and Gen Alpha--will be able to dig it out.
They're not giving up because they're lazy. They're opting out of a system designed to fail.
15 years ago millennials were cast in the generic framework of lazy younger generation. Now we have hindsight for them to be able to observe what actually happened. Millennials absolutely became a workaholic play hard generation.
Yeah wtf is that? I’m a fucking burnout who is so lazy my hair is just a matted mess and has been for like a month
Man I remember when I was allowed to work hard, now robots get all the jobs and I'm stuck. It's really weird.
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Hard not to sympathize. World is fucked.
Solidarity with rats worldwide
I always find these articles being so popular in western social media weird and subtly braggy. It's like the Lyndon Johnson quote about about making white feel better than black people so you can rob them of whatever. Such a distraction that makes people feel like we're better than them/at least we're not them. Yet pretty much every trend I've seen about Chinese ennui was at the time true of Americans and western Europeans just articles being written about the ennui would not be mainstream for a couple more years. Like minimalism during the financial crisis or recently quiet-quitting in the US were celebrated in US social media as great workers movements that are positive social movements and a sign of cultural strength while lying flat in China in US social media is a sign of societal decline. Whatever either is, it's the same shit. It's always weird exoticism to me. You don't get popular articles about youth expectations about young people in Romania or Greece
I would imagine it reads rather differently to different people. Rich guys reading Forbes probably think it's a great dunk on China. Meanwhile, I'm reading it thinking, "Shit, I could get behind this. Just wish I lived somewhere that it didn't mean I would be homeless in less than a year if I tried it."
Americans shouldn't be looking at other countries to feel better about themselves regardless. They should be letting themselves feel bad so that they actually maintain some energy levels to fight for their own rights domestically instead of contributing to the constant stream of jingoism that has been American media since inception. Decades living and its a cycle of next enemy while economic disparity just keeps widening but people are pacifying themselves with the next enemy
Ehh it’s just your projection, people aren’t okay all over the world because of global downturn
There’s no bragging, just journalism. I am from Poland btw and here and in eu all gen z have similar tendencies. Worse in USA and China probably but it is a global trend
That’s just called depression. I’ve been experiencing that for years
Late-stage capitalism induced depression 👈
The environment doesn’t help whatsoever and capitalism absolutely breeds this but it’s not the sole cause. Depression is still a disorder that needs to be treated and would still exist even without this hostile environment we live in
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Aren't rats notable for their hygiene and social skills? Seems like a poor comparison.
Chinese culture has almost satirical levels of disrespect and misunderstanding of animals so it's very much on character.
I used to have 3 rescue rats and they are incredibly clean, active and social animals. I'd used to take them outside and observe how they explore new areas and its was really incredible how coordinated and thought out their exploration plans would be and executed with utter most curiosity. Also very cute how they'd come back to me and ask to be taken home to their cage by basically hugging my foot.
One of the animals in the Chinese year is the rat. I don't think that there is a "satirical level of disrespect" if the animal is that important.
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Rats are the best. Little pocket puppies
/r/rats is the reason I'm still on Reddit
The pet rats community here is far too quiet
the only thing that stops me from getting rats is the short lifespans. I love dogs, and ~10 years is already too short. Dealing with that every two would just break me.
agreed. They really should live longer. the universe is not fair
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Today, over 4 million American Gen Zers remain jobless. In China, the government has said that as of February, 1 in 6 young people are unemployed.
I hate mixed comparisons...
There's about 69 million (nice) Gen Z in America.
So America = 5.7%
China = 16.6%
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Amateurs.
I'm sorry, but Millennials or Genz did not invent quiet quitting. The media made it up to describe just doing your damn job
I can get behind this. Overthrow your country's oppressive working conditions by simply refusing to engage and proudly calling yourself a rat. Everyone in capitalist hellscapes should do that.
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