jobs

In 2020, the U.S. unemployment rate skyrocketed to 14.8% due to the Covid-19 lockdown. Although the country is slowly recovering, many are still struggling to find reliable work. But is it the 'work' itself that civilians desire or is it self-determination and financial security? Of course it's the latter. The stress that comes with unemployment is hellish when you don't have a safety net, but for those fortunate enough to be in the position to say 'hell no' to work for an extended period of time, the experience can be absolutely joyous.

Comedian @_RobertSchultz often tweets about the painfully relatable annoyances of working full time and his recent quip about 'gaps in the resume' hit home for a lot of people. Spending time away from work while maintaining financial freedom can open one's life up to an array of new possibilities and everyone should get the opportunity to experience an extended stress-free break. Let's get those 'f*ck it' funds started!

At times when unemployment is through the roof, many people are so desperate for work that they're bound to overlook some subtle red flags that no one should ignore. For example, any interviewer who can't give you an answer about why they like their own job should tell you that working there is probably going to suck. One redditor asked people to share their stories about subtle red flags that cued them to nope the hell out of job interviews. We've put together some of the best answers that might be helpful for anyone on the job hunt right now.

This Twitter thread written by @TheWrongNoel details the frustrating reason you may not have gotten picked to interview at your dream job. Hint: it's not because you aren't qualified, and more due to a lack of competence by the HR department.

Have you ever come across a construction mishap or architectural blunder so disastrous that it almost seems like someone went out of their way to fail so conspicuously? These blatant mistakes might be eyesores to most passersby, but as long as no one's getting hurt, the results of someone's negligence can often be pretty hilarious. We've got a bunch of amusing examples of times people couldn't be bothered to do their one job. 

While some people spent April Fool's cataloguing all the brand jokes and PR stunts (ahem, Tubbycoin), DSA Cleveland decided to ask Twitter to share work experiences they wish were jokes. We're guessing that this had something to do with Amazon being under fire for their inhumane work conditions, but there's something about hearing horror stories from other industries that really puts things into perspective. The experiences range from absolutely heartless, to the kind of acceptable shamefulness that people experience every damn day. While we take no pleasure in sharing these bleak realities, it's kind of wrong to keep ignoring the f*ckery that we all deal with to pay the bills. 

As Sunday comes to a close, you may need a little help staying positive while fending off the "Sunday Scaries." The dread of returning to life's draining responsibilities after a relaxing weekend is real. To help temper those feels and fears, we're bringing you a mixed bag of amusement. It boasts relatable and witty tweets, scrollable memes, and a few funny pics for good measure. Stay strong.

Another day, another terrible Twitter take. The state of how we work has been a major topic of discussion as the world attempts to return to normalcy as Covid-19 seems to be less of a threat for many countries. There have been many think-pieces and Twitter threads about working remotely and fair wages. Then there was the revelation that people would rather quit their jobs than go back to the office. People are starting to question how much of our lives are devoted to work. Which is healthy. Time is precious. We need money, but should we be grinding ourselves to death for it? Or spending 10 hours a week commuting? We don't think so. 

There are, of course, opponents of this radical way of thinking. There are CEOs who are eager to pull the plug on remote work - and the BBC is reporting that the five-day workweek will be re-normalized by 2022. But one person thinks that five days is not enough. Twitter user and venture capitalist (Principal at Atomic) Jordan Kong stoked the ire of a lot of people this past weekend when she tweeted her thoughts on young people trying to work on their careers. 

Unpopular opinion: the best thing young people can do early in their careers is to work on the weekends.

— Jordan Kong (@ImNotJK) June 11, 2021

The sentiment - which seems a little dehumanizing - was not received well. Proponents of balance and "working to live" were quick to share their opposition. Incredulous people shared some roasty zingers. And then, of course, the funny people of Twitter turned the tweet into a snowclone, with some memes showing their disdain for the take and others using it to make jokes filled with pop culture references. Though we're sure some people will disagree, it's nice to see some people standing up for our right to not work. Even if they're doing it through memes.

Another day, another dollar. Sometimes it really does feel like we're all working our whole lives away. Whether you're working from home, in an office, at a bar, driving drunk people around, in a grocery store—it's essentially all the same sh*t if you think about it. Just a dull, thankless hell making more wealth for the big boss as the bills and debt pile up. Well you know what, there's one thing they can't take from us: memes. Scroll on the clock or text 'em to your coworkers. Hell, maybe even take it to the next level and make some work memes of your own in those moments where you've just had enough. 

In the words of Dolly Parton, "9 to 5! For service and devotion, you would think that I would deserve a fair promotion. Want to move ahead, but the boss won't seem to let me. I swear sometimes that man is out to get me."

We love to see ordinary people exploiting glitches in the system, flawed discount deals, lazy employers, and any big institution that profits from usually doing the exploiting. When you spend most of your life rising and grinding every damn day to pay the bills, even the smallest win can feel like striking gold, like figuring out how to secure a free weekly lunch for the next couple years. 

We've got a bunch of great examples of clever people taking advantage of loopholes thanks to a hot recent thread from r/AskReddit.

For the past several years, the media has dubbed Millennials the lazy, entitled, 'snowflake' generation who go around killing entire industries with their discriminating taste. Despite the fact that Millennials are now between the ages of 25 and 40, they still get blamed for things like Covid-19 super-spreader events on college campuses. With how generously the term gets used as a general pejorative, you'd think 'Millennial' could just mean 'youngish person who I don't like.' Well many are sick and tired of taking crap from out-of-touch people who seem to consider their own generation to be completely blameless. One redditor asked the internet to vent about the most annoying stereotypes about Millennials they've heard, and the replies are pretty spicy. If you're a disgruntled Millennial who's over all the slander, these top responses from the Reddit thread will probably resonate with you.

It's true that you can sometimes make bank while being a server. Unfortunately, it's also true that you'll be abused by customers, deal with MIA managers, and spend hours of your precious time doing inane side work like polishing silverware. These server memes are for anyone in the struggle. We hear you, and we see you.

Older people often complain about a lack of work ethic in younger generations. While they're often dead wrong (see: all the millennial hatred) there are often exceptions. These folks clearly don't understand the concept of hard work or humility. The entitlement is off the charts!

A lot of funny crap happened over Thanksgiving break, but our favorite Twitter meme has got to have been the "Is there a doctor on board" joke format. The self-deprecating snowclone, which mostly plays on a parents' disappointment in their child's career choice, is perfect for an emotionally charged and often family-filled holiday season.  It's a great way to laugh at our feelings of inadequacy and parental pressure - which definitely beats crying about it all.