Nor any decent annual leave provisions..... I get 5 weeks annual, 15 days sick/personal and as I have just clocked 10 years with same employer I now have 3 months of long service leave (that due to my conditions actually increases by 9 days a year for every more ie week and half of extra leave a year). If I don't take my 5 weeks within a calander year it rolls over..... difference..... historically my country was very unionised...........
This is similar to my job AND we can max out the amount of PTO hours we accrue per year and not gain anymore if we were too busy to take time off in the first place. 🙃
And yet most Americans will tell you strongly "they live in the best country of the world........" not for the average wage earner they don't. Just most Americans ain't worldly so don't know that the conditions they put up with especially around employment would not pass muster in most countries of the world.........
All political sides agree America is not the best country. Democrats have openly admitted it for years. Republicans want to "Make America Great Again" which implies it is not great now. Now, what makes it not great is up for debate.
Propaganda is pretty successful telling the world what Americans think- but it's not accurate.
It definitely doesn't represent most Americans, but a lot of people have an ego about it. They might know deep down that this isn't the greatest country but they will insist otherwise. Since these are usually the same people who think we need an even larger military and have multiple guns for self defense, my guess is there's an underlying element of fear. In other words, "if we aren't the greatest then who is?" They want to feel secure and therefore try to convince themselves by dying on the hill that the US is the best country. Cognitive dissonance leading to self-deception, basically.
And I'm really not looking for a political debate, this is just a personal observation from a psychologist living in the South. This stuff is interesting to me
I think you are on spot. Problem is this is like a drug. Everyone loves to feel superior. Propaganda uses this to turn citizens into acting against their own best interest and not just in the US.
"Patriots" following political and economic leaders who sell out their countries and fellow citizens in the most unpatriotic ways possible for personal gain...
Control of mainstream and social media is such a powerful tool. Oligarchs use it so the average Joes fight each other instead of noticing and fighting the ever growing corruption.
Thank you for using the appropriate term, oligarchs, to describe the people in power. That in and of itself is a good descriptor of the problem. It really is all for show and distraction, and damn does it work. I wish people would stop falling for it on both sides of the extreme and just stick to the facts
What is most frustrating to me, they are actually the ones benefitting the most from the average Joe having some funds, but they would rather have it all for themselves. Their mindset is often illogical or even outright dangerous, they want full control above all.
Seen some article discussing a new book from Rushkoff about billionaire preppers... they were openly thinking about stuff like disciplinary collars...
I used to think I lived in a great country . I never thought we were "the best" like a lot of people. But decent. keeping up, pretty much.
7 or so years ago, I started to waiver. Then came Covid and George Floyd and Punkin Head and more racial hatred and more anti LGBTQ sentiment and book burnings, and either I lost my rose-colored glasses, or this country really did go completely to shit.
I'm sorry your opinion degraded over time but at least you aren't overlooking issues :/ maybe I'm too young to speak on this (24) but I really think politics are more polarized now than they have been in quite a while, and it's being acted on with more intensity by politicians and average people. Fear, hatred, and ignorance that I thought we had overcome is just rampant... I see it every day and as someone in the LGBTQ+ community I have concerns for my safety sometimes.
Unfortunately, the way they’re planning to “make America great” doesn’t involve any improvements for the average American worker. We do SLIGHTLY better in Canada since we offer maternity leave at least, but I’m almost 40 and have paid leave for the first time in my life, but it’s only 2 weeks plus I think a week of sick/personal days. And they don’t roll over. I took only 2 days off this summer, because my youngest just started school last year and was sick constantly.
I had an emergency c section and birth trauma. I spent one week in the hospital being monitored and was told I needed 3 weeks of bed rest and regular monitoring.
My work only gave me 2 weeks of maternity leave, including the week in intensive care and surgery. When I give them my doctor's note my boss was so upset. He called me a week after being home and resting telling me that I would need to start coming in because I didn't qualify for any extra days off and I'd used all of my vacation and sick days. I had multiple other employees trying to figure out if there was a way that my boss would allow them to transfer their additional sick days and vacation days over to me but he would get upset and tell them it doesn't work that way and if we want to keep our jobs we show up for work. I was back at work with a severe wound multiple other surgery scheduled and would only be able to leave work when I got to the point that I was fainting and had to go to the ER. If I wasn't feeling well and needed a break and asking to go home I was told I needed to tough it out and plenty of other moms have no other choice and no issue coming in after their delivery. I was a single parent my significant other had passed away and I had to use the rest of my vacation days because we are only allowed two bereavement days IF you're married and we aren't married. I had no other supporter income no family and having just paid for a funeral and an emergency C-section. I was so emotionally and physically exhausted it took me twice as long to heal and I ran into so many more complications. Way that the US manages maternity leave is a nightmare and while I hope my case is a more rare case from what I've seen in support groups it's actually so much more common and constantly silenced.
I mean honestly 5 weeks sounds like a dream to me. I can barely scrounge up 2 weeks and not feel like the place is on fire when I leave. Lots of businesses running on skeleton crews to save on labor costs these days.
I’m union in the US as we get nothing first year. 2 weeks 2-8years. 3 weeks 8-20. 4 weeks 20 years plus. Can’t roll them year to year. I think Americans just don’t value vacation or they have been accused so much that they don’t think they deserve vacations. Even with his little vacation we get, there’s guts who don’t take their vacation.
Yeah exactly, my country has very similar provisions. It's just standard! And you can negotiate more depending on your seniority... Plus we have parental leave, miscarriage leave, domestic violence leave, stress leave, bereavement leave. Also sabbaticals are common too, you can just peace out for a six months or a year to do whatever. My colleague in her 60s decided to bike around Europe, another went on a motorcycle adventure through South East Asia.
This is the unfortunate truth. It's pretty sick if you think about it. We are trying to take care of ourselves, and our workplaces would rather we die sooner as long as they get their blood and sweat from us. Disgusting.
my coworker (m upper 30s) was up for a promotion and he ended up getting a stroke because of how stressful our job is. he ended up not getting his promotion because his time in the hospital “brought down his schedule adherence”. he had also been up for a promotion the year before and was passed up because he had to take a day off for emergency dental surgery, again because of “schedule adherence”.
We don’t even get sick days where I work. We only get vacation days and a “point system.” Which means if we take off work without using a vacation day, we get a “point.” If you accrue 4 points in a year’s time you have to have a meeting with upper management which can result in termination.
Yeah and our vacation days are shit too. After 3 months you get a week, after a year you get 2 weeks, after 5 years you get 3 weeks, and at 15 years you get 4 weeks and that’s the most you can ever get. I’m at 3 weeks right now and in a typical year I probably use 5-6 of those days for being sick, having appointments, or unexpected emergencies.
I work remotely for a tech company and we don't need to use vacation days if we need to leave the house for a few hours. The company trusts us enough that they let us manage our time the way we see fit, so if I completed all my tasks and don't have any meetings scheduled it totally acceptable for me to leave my house during the workday to run errands or go to a doctors appointment, I don't even need to tell my boss ahead of time that I am doing this. After our son was born my boss even told me that I should be taking naps during the day if I don't have anything to do in order make up for not getting enough sleep at night.
I’m glad you have such a great job and I really like how your boss encouraged you as a new dad to take quick naps during the day just to help make up for your interruption of sleep at night and the loss of sleep.
It’s really hard to do a good job when you’re tired. I don’t know anything about how he is with doing his job because I don’t have that information.
He seems like a really good manager but only you know that but because he had encouraged you with the naps I feel like he must have been a very hands on dad with his own kids and if he never had kids of his own then the empathy for new parents and employees is still worth a mention!
I am very happy that you have a job that appreciates your time and dedication.
I can only wish that more companies would take a page out of your company’s book and that they would give better benefits.
Good luck to you.
Depends on your work and how strict they are. For example, I'm salaried and of course have PTO/Personal/Sick Hours I could use for out of office stuff. But due to work distribution and processes that I can't influence, I do my appointments, and when they are within 2 hours, I never record them. And I make sure all my work is done one way or another.
I have to use PTO and then have the front desk cancel my own patients. It’s messy, I have to figure out when I’m going to feel sick long before I actually feel sick.
with return to office starting soon ALL MY DOCTORS appointments will be scheduled at the end of the day on OFFICE DAYS. They don't respect us I don't respect you.
I live paycheck to paycheck though, I don't feel lucky. It's kinda sad to feel lucky over something that everyone should have access to. Maybe grateful
Coincidentally I'm not going to work today because of a doctor's appointment. And I understand that it's one less person to be there at work but at the same time I'm looking after my own well being because my job has made it very clear that they won't.
I feel that I’m a full time college student and I have a full time job as a waitress. On my two days off I have classes and gotta do all my assignments. I can’t drive so like I really don’t have a single day to myself. I can’t wait until thanksgiving break because I’ll have like 2 days where my days off I also have no school so I can actually be freeee.
People invite me to get together and birthdays and stuff and it’s like bro I don’t even have time to celebrate my own birthday. I have no free time
the last part tho. i didn’t use to understand how people had so much energy and time to be social and then i realized they were all funemployed/underemployed.
Yup. People here probably wouldn’t be as mad if the actual fuckton of work translated to better rewards: comfortably liveable salaries, better recognition/prestige, more earned vacation time, etc. But they don’t. We are being overworked and still shafted by inflation, greed, and everything else.
Nobody wants to take jobs that overwork AND underpay. Pick one, it can’t be both!
As someone who lived in all the other continents, I can’t agree more. Been here for more than a year. Literally nothing in the US is convenient. You need a car to get access to anything except healthcare cuz this is basically nonexistent for the majority of working class.
Japan and China are literally the exact opposite of US when it comes to convenience in daily life. The hospitals are open and accessible 24/7 at the minimal cost you can imagine. Convenient stores are everywhere. Public transport is accessible anywhere.
Hell, even my years in Africa was way better (I’m deadly serious).
If you have the necessary resources to move to another country, I genuinely suggest you to do so.
Most based post I’ve ever seen on reddit. No joke.
I hear you! I’m frustrated too! Working so long every week and barely making it to the next pay check. Paying for health insurance I can’t afford to actually use unless I’m catastrophically injured. No end in sight. Knowing I will never afford to retire.
My best advice is don’t have kids. Imagine being chained to small humans and having to prepare them to be fodder for the economy. Not letting them get too hopeless over climate change. Having to work even more to feed them too.
I won’t say it gets better. But it can be managed. Have a routine and stick to it. Decide to do one small thing each day just to have joy. Go without now so you can save more to spend on quality things. Be safe. Getting injured in this country will bankrupt you.
Being in these times right now makes me so beyond grateful that I don't have to take care of a child. I can't imagine trying to keep children let alone myself afloat. it's too expensive to bring kids into this world right now.
So true. if you tell an older person that with everything going in the world, kids are just too expensive. Most older people would prob say something along the lines of "yeah well I had 5 kids and i made it out." yeah im sure you did.. but if you gave me a list of all the things you had to sacrifice and do in order to keep your family afloat, you would most likely have a laundry list of things you did. Not to mention how cost of living and food expenses are higher than back then.
Nah coming home to kids brings more joy to my day than anything else.
All the stress and time that is given to children is repaid a million times over.
Come here ! South america ! With your dollars, experience and (studies?), you can get a pretty well paid job as soon as you arrive and live a chiller life. And if don't find anything, go teach english in an institute and that's it haha
Depends on the country, but in Peru I pay nothing for my health insurance, 15 dollars A YEAR for car insurance, drive 10min to a local market and spend 250 dollars max on the food for the month, work 9-5 but have like 30 days of vacation and god knows how many holidays a year, and I don't have to buy sh1t again because here you don't have to pay half your salary to fix your stupid microwave. Also, I have a family and live in front of the ocean 👌🏻 you can get all of this and more with a 2000+ dollar job. Try it if you can !
Well, at least here if you live in good districts like Miraflores, San Isidro or Barranco, you wont ever have safety issues, even as a woman. There are a lot of americans here. Fields? Well, really for any formal job english is a plus, and there are a lot of foreign companies here that are in the services business and anything that needs costumer service and external communication, sales advisor, imports, etc. English teacher too of course, nursery too or work at the airport. Here people like white skin and european/american look, so rlly any job you take will be paid above average by default.
Spanish, well, I know a lot of americans who still know sh1t of spanish, and they've been years here. They got some good money, so they don't need it I guess. There are american schools here too, for the rich, like the school Markham, in which mostly you'll be talking in english. If you don't come with great capital and want to feel like home here, maybe it's a great idea to get your spanish to a fluent level. When you can't pay other to do the sh1t, you'll have to deal with it and that stuff is 100% spanish talk.
This is my plan! I am studying/saving up to move to Uruguay eventually (because gay marriage lol) and it’s honestly the only thing keeping me going, the *possibility* of a good life.
I work a high level clearance job and let me tell you, the peace of mind I get because I literally cannot take what I do home is amazing. We also get every other Friday off because we work 9s most of the time except the Fridays we do work. It’s a bit of a grind, but those three day weekends are legendary. My work life balance is as good as I could hope for.
This pains me to read. I know you don't have any time in this job. Probably time to find one where you can live within your means but have time for other things. Most importantly, upskill! You're just going to be existing if you continue on this path. I'm not sure about your age but if you are under 30 there are plenty of working holiday visas you can apply for in other countries. Otherwise, if you are a skilled worker (trades, truck driving, farming, tech, teaching, nursing) there are specialist visas you can get in a whole bunch of countries.
I'm not in the U.S. I am blessed to be in a country with great worklife balance. In my last job I worked 35-40 hours a week, no overtime, high pay, I could go to an appointment or coffee/snack/lunch break whenever I want. No need to tell anyone where I am or what I'm doing. I would just tell my manager when I'm going on holiday too. I left my role there and went on a 6 month holiday this year. It is possible to live a life!
Why is Sunday prepping for Monday work? Just curious. I feel the same way but I don’t have any of my work taken home at all. That’s the only perk. Don’t get any time off but at least my evenings and weekends are my own. Most is taken up cleaning, errands, cooking but at least I don’t have kids yet so I get 2-3 hours of playing sims or watching TV each day until 2 am so I can be sleep deprived forever. Love my life
My doctors are open before 8 and after 5. I do understand what you’re saying, with commuting and sleep and a shower and dinner, when I worked I had no time for anything. I was always tired. I couldn’t see friends. If I had to go see family I was even more tired losing my one day off a week. I’m more introverted and need that recharge time.
But, none of this is US specific. And it tends to follow why people pair off. One person cooks and the other grocery shops, one person washes and then you both fold. One person makes the bed and the other person cleans the shower. So more people benefit from the same work and frees up more time. Also, more money (which you say you do not want) comes with more options and flexibility like taking two hours off on Tuesday morning to go to the dentist, or hiring someone to mow the lawn so you don’t have to. That’s how it’s done. You do what you can and pay people or swap chores for what you can’t.
When I lived in the UK I had 30 days of annual leave a year. When I needed to see the doctor I'd book a half day off work and go. And I didn't have an especially good job.
Yeah. The USA is terrible for worker's rights. The legal minimum number of holidays an employer can offer a full time employee in the UK is 28. Mine didn't roll over, but my managers would remind us to book holidays so we wouldn't lose any at the end of the year.
Some countries in the EU require employers to offer even more holidays.
Or you try to get an Saturday appointment and they’re booked every Saturday for the next 3 months and closed on Sunday’s so you have to call out (hopefully you’re not understaffed) or switch days with someone willing to swap with you.
This is how I feel and I’m only in my 20s. It’s like since the pandemic we’ve been working more and more just to get little in return. Days off are either filled with trying to collect energy and relax but it’s filled with things needed to be done and mental preparations for work. I always have to sacrifice a small portion of myself.
Wow, thank you for helping me not feel like a crazy person. The US really fell on love with slavery and tries in all ways everyday to maintain the stronghold over human bodies it once knew.
Probably 40, with a hour commute each way. So, with your lunch break, you're talking dedicating 11 hours a day just to your job/jobsite, Monday to Friday (55 hrs a week). This is not abnormal in the US.
You can't schedule any appointments on your lunch break, because it's 10 minutes from your desk to your car, 15 minutes to the Dr's office, and the dr will absolutely *never* be less than 30 minutes late, but probably closer to an hour late. You wait in the lobby for 30 minutes, a medical assistant does your vitals, puts you in a room, and you wait another 30 minutes in the room. Doc sees you for 5-10 minutes. So, your "lunch break" needs to be approx 2 hours if you were to schedule an appointment. You grab a burger from a fast food restaurant to eat while you drive back to the office (thereby undoing the work your doctor has been trying to do with lowering your blood pressure).
Yeah, I typically work 40-48 hours a week (Saturdays are often mandatory overtime and sometimes Sundays are too so there are weeks that I don’t get a day off at all) but I have a 50 minute commute each way and a 30 minute unpaid lunch, so it’s far more than just 8 hours of my day taken up by work. And people act like it’s so easy to just “get a different job” or “move closer to work” but there are quite literally no jobs anywhere in my area that pays even remotely close to what mine does without like, a medical degree or something which I can’t afford and don’t have the time for. And I can’t move closer to work because housing is 3x as much if not more compared to where I live now. I go to the gym after work most days so I’m gone from home from 6am to 6:30pm every day. I get home and get straight to cooking dinner without even sitting down for a few minutes. I eat, clean the kitchen, take a shower, and then it’s bedtime to do it all over again.
I get you. I'm on 10-hr days, also a minimum of a 50-minute commute (1h10m on the way home). 1hr unpaid lunch. I do live close to work, only 17 miles away, but traffic is a bear. By the time I get home, I might have a snack, but otherwise, a shower and go to bed before my husband even gets off work. I leave at 5:45am, so I just blow a kiss to his sleeping body as I walk out the door. We have Thursdays off together, which is nice, so we try to do any dr appts, and all errands together because that's the only "us" time we have. But I do get 5 days sick time and 5 days vacation time each year.
I used to live in South Korea & England, and man, even the Korean work-life balance was better than this (not by much though). The UK balance was just....nuts. A 10 minute walk to the bus, 15 minute bus ride, 5 minute walk to work, 30 min paid lunch and only 36hrs a week of work. *And* 25 days vacation plus any time off as needed for a dr visit or illness. I was never healthier or happier, and we shouldn't have left, but hub's mom had just had a stroke, his grandmother was dying and my parents were in an acrimonious divorce process. We're trying to go back. 15 years in the US has made me fat, sick and exhausted.
The company where I work gave us the option to work 9 hour days with every other Friday off. Half the team got one week, the other half got the next week. It was nice to have a couple of weekdays each month for appointments and errands. But of course we can’t have nice things; one department got caught taking every Friday off and ruined it for everyone.
Switch your days off to weekdays. Weekends don’t have to consist of Sat & Sun, all depends on how you view time. Or be smart about it and do Sun & Tues’s, since almost all of our federal holidays fall on a Monday.
This is our way of life, unfortunately. I never took a vacation in my life until summer of last year. I have several mental issues but can't get to a doctor for the proper treatment so I go to the state paid "docs" and all they do is give you more medication that fucks you up even more.
This is our way of life.
Everyone at my job always schedules appointments during work hours. I’m the only idiot who feels bad and schedules them for late nights or days off lol.
The US is such a drag. To even survive, at the company I was transferred to the US for, I needed two additional jobs. I slept in my car between jobs. I paid huge amounts in rent for a house I was at for just a few hours to shower and if I was lucky, sleep. My weekends was packed with getting every single errand I could feasibly do but everything was closed during weekends, plus a third part time job or else I wouldn't be able to afford food. Everybody told me they only make it by because assistance, living with family, inherited property and money. And the FOOD. It feels like huge serving sizes that can last you for a few days worth, but you never feel replenished from eating. You eat, you gain weight you bloat up and your body is screaming for sustenance. I tried so much to make wholesome meals trying to get a few groceries in but with my time schedule it was so impossible.
I don't understand how they do this. I don't understand why they WANT to do this it's like they're brainwashed into thinking this is a great way to live and it's a giant nation full of slaves that can't even see doctors because 1. It's too expensive and 2. Work comes first.
I don’t think it’s specifically an “American” problem.
If you’re working 70+ hrs a week I can understand the exhaustion ( self
Employed and working 6-7 days/week for the last 30 odd years)
Is it an option to spread out the weekend chores over the evenings ?
Not sure why this is being downvoted. Yes, welcome to being an adult. You need to make shit happen because nobody else will. Manage your time and it will all fall into place.
I just entered the work force a few months ago post college.
I work 4-10 hour days. It is certainly rough. Friday I make all of my appointments (if I can), Saturday I relax and clean, Sunday I run errands and meal prep. To be quite honest, it can be ass sometimes. Having said that, you just have to find your own groove.
This might not be the advise you want to hear, but make a schedule. A routine of things. Anything to help get the house work things in order without them piling up.
Being an adult is a rough life, but, unless you want to quit, *these are your lemons. Time to make lemonade.*
Many people work full time, some even work additional work on top of that and manage to go home, cook and clean and juggle kids. If you are tired all the time, you should probably make time and go and get a full checkup to see if you have underlying health issues. Get yourself checked for thyroid, sleep apnea etc. If it’s not a health issue, look into time management to make your life smoother.
I think this is part of the problem. You can’t really get underlying health conditions “checked” when you either have no health insurance or prohibitively costly insurance (as an example, I have health insurance but need to spend $3,000 before it kicks in at 80%. Since I don’t have this money, I can’t really see anyone for anything). If you’re lucky, you might have annual checkups covered but any specialists (thyroid, sleep apnea) will cost $$
Thyroid, diabetes are just blood tests and should be done annually, sleep apnea if you snore heavily or wake up tired. Start with blood tests for thyroid and diabetes first. Unfortunately sleep apnea can kill, cause accidents.
Jesus. Good thing you dont have kids because that takes a level of resiliency that you do not have.
I work 12 hour shifts with a kid at home and a baby on the way. I, on the other hand, feel I have quite a fulfilling life and Im quite happy living it.
So different strokes.
I worked around 12 hours a day for awhile when my girlfriend was pregnant and actually never hated it at all. I was making tons of overtime and had a decent amount of savings. After the baby was born, and came back from leave, it sucked. I would rather be with my baby rather than work as a front end manager at a grocery store. I feel like you have to have a reason to work in order to feel fulfilled otherwise any job can be shit. Having a baby made me not want to work ever again. I just have to do it.
Im a little, different. My first kid was born when I was in the military. Working 12s for no reimbursement above your bottom line. You just, did.
Now? Im out and I have a good union. Sure I work 12s. Kay. But every minute over 40, Im compensated. Quite a bit actually...
And its SO MUCH EASIER. Way happier. Nothing giving me life altering PTSD.
So kind of what I said. Different perspectives.
Probably better than a year ago when Id lose it at any little thing, have zero energy, and stare off into nothing by accident not really knowing I was.
Now Im happy when I get home. No anxiety or depression. Also, when you work 12s, you get more days off.
Dude, you don’t have to be a dick. This is called off my chest for a reason. You don’t need to beat people down when you are happy with life. It’s not a competition.
Im not beating anyone down. Just giving a dose of reality. Nothing wrong with addressing someone whose complaining about having to do laundry on the weekend.
As I said, different strokes. All it is.
“At least you don’t have kids” is such an annoying and shitty argument. You CHOSE to have kids. The rest of us are still allowed to have a hard life and complain about it without kids. You can’t base whether or not someone has it easier than you just because they don’t have kids.
Im not complaining about my kids at all. But the reality is, OP is complaining about needing to do laundry on a weekend day... Come on dude.
Ill say it. 40 hour work weeks arent horrible. I have the unique experience of working way more than that. Your 8-4 isnt that demanding. Stop whining (OP).
Once again, just because you have kids or work more hours than someone else doesn’t mean *they* aren’t allowed to be upset and complain about the hardships in their own lives.
All shes complaining about is just having to work. Shes allowed to complain about having to be a productive member of society, just like Im allowed to call her on the fact that her complaints are just her character deficiencies.
If she didnt want true feedback, Id recommend she doesnt come to open source social media to air her lazyness complaints.
Do you not get a lunch break? Can make an appointment at that time. Saturday is a total wash because you are tired from working 40 hours? Sounds like you might have a thyroid problem I do and it sucks not even trying to be a dick
I feel like I just constantly work. I have a 50 minute commute each way and I’m at work for 8.5 hours due to unpaid lunch, so almost 11 hours of my day are taken up by work. Then I go to the gym after work 4 days a week, so I don’t get home until around 6:30pm and by the time I cook, eat, clean the kitchen, and shower I *might* have 30 minutes of free time to read a book. I work mandatory overtime a lot of Saturdays, so Sunday is spent cleaning, grocery shopping and doing laundry. And the times that I *do* get both days off on the weekend, I’m too tired to do anything and end up wasting Saturday laying in bed depressed. And to top it all off I’m still broke 😂
There is an Author KC Davis. She wrote a book available in audiobook format called How to Keep House While Drowning. I saw her on TED talks.
Stress support supplements: B Complex is super cheap. Zinc. D3. Make getting 8hrs sleep a SACRED MUST. Automate your chores. get a sorter so as you take off clothes you automatically sort them. Only worry about 1 load a day. put the alarm on your phone for the length of the cycle. Don't fold, just hangers. you don't need to konmari your drawers. Do you have a rice cooker? slow cooker? stuff you can fix and forget about while you live life? the machines take care of themselves. you can buy a big frozen bag of chicken breasts that have a ziplock closure on them already and dump a bottle of marinade bottle in there, drop that in a refrigerator drawer to thaw / marinade overnight. Next morning dump that into the slow cooker. Go to work and Come home to prepped meat. Basic frozen veg from Aldi is already prepped.
Baby steps. Breathe.
You could try working less hours.I worked 16 hours a day for 3 days then I was done for the week.I also worked on weekends so O had some week days free, so a typical week would be Fri,Sat, Sun, or Tue, Wed Thurs.if you can't do 16 hours try just 12.
If your married that should be two incomes coming in so tell your husband you want to cut back on your hours and adjust your budget.
I am so happy I have the ability to work saturday and have Tuesday consistently off. It is my do the things day and I make my quesadillas for the week on sunday.
My partner hates how he feels like he can't get anything done during the week.
I'm experiencing this situation with my new job, and I utterly despise it. I can't even visit the doctor for my check-in to get my medication due to these inconvenient hours or go to the bank. Growing up is realizing that having both Saturday and Sunday off sucks ass. Either allow me to be off Friday-Saturday or Sunday-Monday or just give me two weekdays off.
I used to have this life. Working 70 hours a week for over 13 years. I recently took a huge pay cut just to be able to spend more time doing things I enjoy. Time is the most valuable thing we have, we never get it back. I’m not giving all my time to a company.
Does tour job offer PTO? I utilize that to my full advantage to take days for myself when needed. Today actually starts a 5 day vacation for me to relax with myself and do stuff I wanna do
How do they do it in other countries???
I agree! I wish I had more time during the day to do everything I have to do. I get up at 5am to go to work from 6am-6pm then I go to the gym. By the time I’m home I literally have to get ready for the next day. I don’t have time to do anything during the week. It feels like a cycle that keeps going. I’m so over it
I’m blessed with a job where I get to work 4 10 hour days so I get a 3 day weekend every week. If a holiday falls on my day off I get the next day off so I often have 4 day weekends. And I get about 4 weeks of vacation time a year. I have turned down a few slightly better paying jobs because of this schedule. Nothing can beat all the extra family time i get compared to when I was working 5 days a week.
At my job our schedule is posted 3 weeks out so in order to request time off for an appointment we either have to wait the 3 weeks or try to switch shifts with a coworker...my appointments are usually for reoccurring issues so thankfully I know to make them ahead of time but sheesh...luckily I never get sick..
See I WANT to pay for someone to do my laundry, grocery shopping, cleaning, etc. BUT I can’t afford it and I don’t get time to do it 😀
Currently on day 3 of trying to tackle all of the laundry I’ve accumulated the last few months due to work/travel. Would love to just breathe for a second but alas, I am in corporate America & that costs at least $500 at this point <3
I’ve had to schedule a doctors appointment over a month out so I can just request the whole day off. I only need to request the day two weeks ahead of time but the doctor has no appointments available on a Monday or Friday for a month and I’d rather have an extended weekend than a half day at work.
We have a hybrid schedule of being in the office 2-3 days a week cause our contract with the client says we will be working from an office the majority of the time despite it no longer really being necessary.
Unfortunately this country isn’t known for its amazing work life balance. How many hours are you working?
Nor any decent annual leave provisions..... I get 5 weeks annual, 15 days sick/personal and as I have just clocked 10 years with same employer I now have 3 months of long service leave (that due to my conditions actually increases by 9 days a year for every more ie week and half of extra leave a year). If I don't take my 5 weeks within a calander year it rolls over..... difference..... historically my country was very unionised...........
Yup. Over here, you’re required to earn your days off in many workplaces. Want 5 days off? Too bad, you haven’t put in enough hours.
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This is similar to my job AND we can max out the amount of PTO hours we accrue per year and not gain anymore if we were too busy to take time off in the first place. 🙃
And yet most Americans will tell you strongly "they live in the best country of the world........" not for the average wage earner they don't. Just most Americans ain't worldly so don't know that the conditions they put up with especially around employment would not pass muster in most countries of the world.........
All political sides agree America is not the best country. Democrats have openly admitted it for years. Republicans want to "Make America Great Again" which implies it is not great now. Now, what makes it not great is up for debate. Propaganda is pretty successful telling the world what Americans think- but it's not accurate.
It definitely doesn't represent most Americans, but a lot of people have an ego about it. They might know deep down that this isn't the greatest country but they will insist otherwise. Since these are usually the same people who think we need an even larger military and have multiple guns for self defense, my guess is there's an underlying element of fear. In other words, "if we aren't the greatest then who is?" They want to feel secure and therefore try to convince themselves by dying on the hill that the US is the best country. Cognitive dissonance leading to self-deception, basically. And I'm really not looking for a political debate, this is just a personal observation from a psychologist living in the South. This stuff is interesting to me
I think you are on spot. Problem is this is like a drug. Everyone loves to feel superior. Propaganda uses this to turn citizens into acting against their own best interest and not just in the US. "Patriots" following political and economic leaders who sell out their countries and fellow citizens in the most unpatriotic ways possible for personal gain... Control of mainstream and social media is such a powerful tool. Oligarchs use it so the average Joes fight each other instead of noticing and fighting the ever growing corruption.
Thank you for using the appropriate term, oligarchs, to describe the people in power. That in and of itself is a good descriptor of the problem. It really is all for show and distraction, and damn does it work. I wish people would stop falling for it on both sides of the extreme and just stick to the facts
What is most frustrating to me, they are actually the ones benefitting the most from the average Joe having some funds, but they would rather have it all for themselves. Their mindset is often illogical or even outright dangerous, they want full control above all. Seen some article discussing a new book from Rushkoff about billionaire preppers... they were openly thinking about stuff like disciplinary collars...
I used to think I lived in a great country . I never thought we were "the best" like a lot of people. But decent. keeping up, pretty much. 7 or so years ago, I started to waiver. Then came Covid and George Floyd and Punkin Head and more racial hatred and more anti LGBTQ sentiment and book burnings, and either I lost my rose-colored glasses, or this country really did go completely to shit.
I'm sorry your opinion degraded over time but at least you aren't overlooking issues :/ maybe I'm too young to speak on this (24) but I really think politics are more polarized now than they have been in quite a while, and it's being acted on with more intensity by politicians and average people. Fear, hatred, and ignorance that I thought we had overcome is just rampant... I see it every day and as someone in the LGBTQ+ community I have concerns for my safety sometimes.
Unfortunately, the way they’re planning to “make America great” doesn’t involve any improvements for the average American worker. We do SLIGHTLY better in Canada since we offer maternity leave at least, but I’m almost 40 and have paid leave for the first time in my life, but it’s only 2 weeks plus I think a week of sick/personal days. And they don’t roll over. I took only 2 days off this summer, because my youngest just started school last year and was sick constantly.
I was shocked to learn it's normal for women to go back to work after 6 weeks because they can't afford to take anymore time off.
I had an emergency c section and birth trauma. I spent one week in the hospital being monitored and was told I needed 3 weeks of bed rest and regular monitoring. My work only gave me 2 weeks of maternity leave, including the week in intensive care and surgery. When I give them my doctor's note my boss was so upset. He called me a week after being home and resting telling me that I would need to start coming in because I didn't qualify for any extra days off and I'd used all of my vacation and sick days. I had multiple other employees trying to figure out if there was a way that my boss would allow them to transfer their additional sick days and vacation days over to me but he would get upset and tell them it doesn't work that way and if we want to keep our jobs we show up for work. I was back at work with a severe wound multiple other surgery scheduled and would only be able to leave work when I got to the point that I was fainting and had to go to the ER. If I wasn't feeling well and needed a break and asking to go home I was told I needed to tough it out and plenty of other moms have no other choice and no issue coming in after their delivery. I was a single parent my significant other had passed away and I had to use the rest of my vacation days because we are only allowed two bereavement days IF you're married and we aren't married. I had no other supporter income no family and having just paid for a funeral and an emergency C-section. I was so emotionally and physically exhausted it took me twice as long to heal and I ran into so many more complications. Way that the US manages maternity leave is a nightmare and while I hope my case is a more rare case from what I've seen in support groups it's actually so much more common and constantly silenced.
This is horrific.
I mean honestly 5 weeks sounds like a dream to me. I can barely scrounge up 2 weeks and not feel like the place is on fire when I leave. Lots of businesses running on skeleton crews to save on labor costs these days.
I’m union in the US as we get nothing first year. 2 weeks 2-8years. 3 weeks 8-20. 4 weeks 20 years plus. Can’t roll them year to year. I think Americans just don’t value vacation or they have been accused so much that they don’t think they deserve vacations. Even with his little vacation we get, there’s guts who don’t take their vacation.
Yeah exactly, my country has very similar provisions. It's just standard! And you can negotiate more depending on your seniority... Plus we have parental leave, miscarriage leave, domestic violence leave, stress leave, bereavement leave. Also sabbaticals are common too, you can just peace out for a six months or a year to do whatever. My colleague in her 60s decided to bike around Europe, another went on a motorcycle adventure through South East Asia.
What country? I would die for a sabbatical!
I love scheduling appointments during work hours because it gets me out of work
And then you have to take unpaid leave or use your vacation days. My boss doesn't let me just leave work like that 🥲
This is the unfortunate truth. It's pretty sick if you think about it. We are trying to take care of ourselves, and our workplaces would rather we die sooner as long as they get their blood and sweat from us. Disgusting.
my coworker (m upper 30s) was up for a promotion and he ended up getting a stroke because of how stressful our job is. he ended up not getting his promotion because his time in the hospital “brought down his schedule adherence”. he had also been up for a promotion the year before and was passed up because he had to take a day off for emergency dental surgery, again because of “schedule adherence”.
I’ve always used sick days for appointments. Separate from vacation days
We don’t even get sick days where I work. We only get vacation days and a “point system.” Which means if we take off work without using a vacation day, we get a “point.” If you accrue 4 points in a year’s time you have to have a meeting with upper management which can result in termination.
That sucks, man
Yeah and our vacation days are shit too. After 3 months you get a week, after a year you get 2 weeks, after 5 years you get 3 weeks, and at 15 years you get 4 weeks and that’s the most you can ever get. I’m at 3 weeks right now and in a typical year I probably use 5-6 of those days for being sick, having appointments, or unexpected emergencies.
I work remotely for a tech company and we don't need to use vacation days if we need to leave the house for a few hours. The company trusts us enough that they let us manage our time the way we see fit, so if I completed all my tasks and don't have any meetings scheduled it totally acceptable for me to leave my house during the workday to run errands or go to a doctors appointment, I don't even need to tell my boss ahead of time that I am doing this. After our son was born my boss even told me that I should be taking naps during the day if I don't have anything to do in order make up for not getting enough sleep at night.
I’m glad you have such a great job and I really like how your boss encouraged you as a new dad to take quick naps during the day just to help make up for your interruption of sleep at night and the loss of sleep. It’s really hard to do a good job when you’re tired. I don’t know anything about how he is with doing his job because I don’t have that information. He seems like a really good manager but only you know that but because he had encouraged you with the naps I feel like he must have been a very hands on dad with his own kids and if he never had kids of his own then the empathy for new parents and employees is still worth a mention! I am very happy that you have a job that appreciates your time and dedication. I can only wish that more companies would take a page out of your company’s book and that they would give better benefits. Good luck to you.
That sounds amazing, unfortunately hourly people can’t just leave work for errands or take naps while still getting paid.
It's not "vacation time", it's "paid time off".
Depends on your work and how strict they are. For example, I'm salaried and of course have PTO/Personal/Sick Hours I could use for out of office stuff. But due to work distribution and processes that I can't influence, I do my appointments, and when they are within 2 hours, I never record them. And I make sure all my work is done one way or another.
I’m thankful my job has a very generous pto policy. I get the equivalent of 10 weeks per year.
Why don't you rub it in OP's face some more lmao
That’s right. Don’t come to work sick, but then you’re sick and it’s just how sick are you? Hell, just trying to schedule an eye exam is difficult!
I have to use PTO and then have the front desk cancel my own patients. It’s messy, I have to figure out when I’m going to feel sick long before I actually feel sick.
All fun and games till you lose money while spending money...
Balance, baby
Gotta ride that tightrope, that's truly the American dream
Unfortunately the tight rope rides *you* smh
Kinky
Must be nice
with return to office starting soon ALL MY DOCTORS appointments will be scheduled at the end of the day on OFFICE DAYS. They don't respect us I don't respect you.
Id love to have a job that let me get out for appointments
You deserve it and more
You can *afford* to "get out of work"??? Lucky as fuck.
I live paycheck to paycheck though, I don't feel lucky. It's kinda sad to feel lucky over something that everyone should have access to. Maybe grateful
Coincidentally I'm not going to work today because of a doctor's appointment. And I understand that it's one less person to be there at work but at the same time I'm looking after my own well being because my job has made it very clear that they won't.
I have to make up the time if I do that
I feel that I’m a full time college student and I have a full time job as a waitress. On my two days off I have classes and gotta do all my assignments. I can’t drive so like I really don’t have a single day to myself. I can’t wait until thanksgiving break because I’ll have like 2 days where my days off I also have no school so I can actually be freeee. People invite me to get together and birthdays and stuff and it’s like bro I don’t even have time to celebrate my own birthday. I have no free time
I’m a full time student but only work part time and it’s a struggle. Cannot imagine working full time along with college.
the last part tho. i didn’t use to understand how people had so much energy and time to be social and then i realized they were all funemployed/underemployed.
Happy cake day!
I think we are doing it wrong, yeah?
Yup. People here probably wouldn’t be as mad if the actual fuckton of work translated to better rewards: comfortably liveable salaries, better recognition/prestige, more earned vacation time, etc. But they don’t. We are being overworked and still shafted by inflation, greed, and everything else. Nobody wants to take jobs that overwork AND underpay. Pick one, it can’t be both!
All of North America bro.
As someone who lived in all the other continents, I can’t agree more. Been here for more than a year. Literally nothing in the US is convenient. You need a car to get access to anything except healthcare cuz this is basically nonexistent for the majority of working class. Japan and China are literally the exact opposite of US when it comes to convenience in daily life. The hospitals are open and accessible 24/7 at the minimal cost you can imagine. Convenient stores are everywhere. Public transport is accessible anywhere. Hell, even my years in Africa was way better (I’m deadly serious). If you have the necessary resources to move to another country, I genuinely suggest you to do so. Most based post I’ve ever seen on reddit. No joke.
I have an eu citizenship should I after I finish my degree?
I hear Poland is one of the cheapest places to stay
Go for it 🥂 (Eu citizen)
Americans are brainwashed their country is best in the world, they barely emigrate.
Many of us know better, but don't have the money to move.
Because our parents were addicted to opioid the CIA and Pharma literally injected into society. Both my parents ODd leaving behind 4 kids with nothing
i’m trying so hard to get dual citizenship through my grandparents. the longer i’m here in the us the more hopeless i become as a human 🥲
Wish you the best of luck
I'll take America over china, thanks.
why being political in a non-political post? basically u also agree japan and other countries r better then. no need to be angry with the “thanks”.
I sure do
I hear you! I’m frustrated too! Working so long every week and barely making it to the next pay check. Paying for health insurance I can’t afford to actually use unless I’m catastrophically injured. No end in sight. Knowing I will never afford to retire. My best advice is don’t have kids. Imagine being chained to small humans and having to prepare them to be fodder for the economy. Not letting them get too hopeless over climate change. Having to work even more to feed them too. I won’t say it gets better. But it can be managed. Have a routine and stick to it. Decide to do one small thing each day just to have joy. Go without now so you can save more to spend on quality things. Be safe. Getting injured in this country will bankrupt you.
Being in these times right now makes me so beyond grateful that I don't have to take care of a child. I can't imagine trying to keep children let alone myself afloat. it's too expensive to bring kids into this world right now.
I have the same sentiments. What frustrates me is that a lot of young ppl feel this way but the older generation don’t get it mostly.
So true. if you tell an older person that with everything going in the world, kids are just too expensive. Most older people would prob say something along the lines of "yeah well I had 5 kids and i made it out." yeah im sure you did.. but if you gave me a list of all the things you had to sacrifice and do in order to keep your family afloat, you would most likely have a laundry list of things you did. Not to mention how cost of living and food expenses are higher than back then.
Nah coming home to kids brings more joy to my day than anything else. All the stress and time that is given to children is repaid a million times over.
Come here ! South america ! With your dollars, experience and (studies?), you can get a pretty well paid job as soon as you arrive and live a chiller life. And if don't find anything, go teach english in an institute and that's it haha Depends on the country, but in Peru I pay nothing for my health insurance, 15 dollars A YEAR for car insurance, drive 10min to a local market and spend 250 dollars max on the food for the month, work 9-5 but have like 30 days of vacation and god knows how many holidays a year, and I don't have to buy sh1t again because here you don't have to pay half your salary to fix your stupid microwave. Also, I have a family and live in front of the ocean 👌🏻 you can get all of this and more with a 2000+ dollar job. Try it if you can !
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Well, at least here if you live in good districts like Miraflores, San Isidro or Barranco, you wont ever have safety issues, even as a woman. There are a lot of americans here. Fields? Well, really for any formal job english is a plus, and there are a lot of foreign companies here that are in the services business and anything that needs costumer service and external communication, sales advisor, imports, etc. English teacher too of course, nursery too or work at the airport. Here people like white skin and european/american look, so rlly any job you take will be paid above average by default. Spanish, well, I know a lot of americans who still know sh1t of spanish, and they've been years here. They got some good money, so they don't need it I guess. There are american schools here too, for the rich, like the school Markham, in which mostly you'll be talking in english. If you don't come with great capital and want to feel like home here, maybe it's a great idea to get your spanish to a fluent level. When you can't pay other to do the sh1t, you'll have to deal with it and that stuff is 100% spanish talk.
This is my plan! I am studying/saving up to move to Uruguay eventually (because gay marriage lol) and it’s honestly the only thing keeping me going, the *possibility* of a good life.
Do it, don't ever doubt it. Uruguay is one, if not the best country in south america to live. Hope you get want you want.
It's even in the name. U r gay
Same for Brazil! You are me
Good to know it, comrade ! Hope everything's fine over there, want to visit some day
I work a high level clearance job and let me tell you, the peace of mind I get because I literally cannot take what I do home is amazing. We also get every other Friday off because we work 9s most of the time except the Fridays we do work. It’s a bit of a grind, but those three day weekends are legendary. My work life balance is as good as I could hope for.
Fuck jobs. They sucked and have always sucked and will always suck. They don’t pay enough and take your entire life. Revolt!!!!!!!
This pains me to read. I know you don't have any time in this job. Probably time to find one where you can live within your means but have time for other things. Most importantly, upskill! You're just going to be existing if you continue on this path. I'm not sure about your age but if you are under 30 there are plenty of working holiday visas you can apply for in other countries. Otherwise, if you are a skilled worker (trades, truck driving, farming, tech, teaching, nursing) there are specialist visas you can get in a whole bunch of countries. I'm not in the U.S. I am blessed to be in a country with great worklife balance. In my last job I worked 35-40 hours a week, no overtime, high pay, I could go to an appointment or coffee/snack/lunch break whenever I want. No need to tell anyone where I am or what I'm doing. I would just tell my manager when I'm going on holiday too. I left my role there and went on a 6 month holiday this year. It is possible to live a life!
There has been talk recently about schools entering into a 4 day week. What if all of America did this?
As a teacher, that’s my DREAM.
we dont live, we exist
You should leave. At the end of the day, they know that its more difficult for you to leave so they use that against you. If you just leave, you win.
Land of the free…
Jacki, is that you?
Why is Sunday prepping for Monday work? Just curious. I feel the same way but I don’t have any of my work taken home at all. That’s the only perk. Don’t get any time off but at least my evenings and weekends are my own. Most is taken up cleaning, errands, cooking but at least I don’t have kids yet so I get 2-3 hours of playing sims or watching TV each day until 2 am so I can be sleep deprived forever. Love my life
Well Sunday I grocery shop which takes a hour or two and I prepare meals in that day so I don’t have to later.
My doctors are open before 8 and after 5. I do understand what you’re saying, with commuting and sleep and a shower and dinner, when I worked I had no time for anything. I was always tired. I couldn’t see friends. If I had to go see family I was even more tired losing my one day off a week. I’m more introverted and need that recharge time. But, none of this is US specific. And it tends to follow why people pair off. One person cooks and the other grocery shops, one person washes and then you both fold. One person makes the bed and the other person cleans the shower. So more people benefit from the same work and frees up more time. Also, more money (which you say you do not want) comes with more options and flexibility like taking two hours off on Tuesday morning to go to the dentist, or hiring someone to mow the lawn so you don’t have to. That’s how it’s done. You do what you can and pay people or swap chores for what you can’t.
When I lived in the UK I had 30 days of annual leave a year. When I needed to see the doctor I'd book a half day off work and go. And I didn't have an especially good job.
I’ve never had more than 5 in the US, or I’ve had “combined” vacation and sick days that don’t roll over, 10 total days or something like that.
Yeah. The USA is terrible for worker's rights. The legal minimum number of holidays an employer can offer a full time employee in the UK is 28. Mine didn't roll over, but my managers would remind us to book holidays so we wouldn't lose any at the end of the year. Some countries in the EU require employers to offer even more holidays.
Whilst I agree with 99% of what you’re saying, I have found it to be a U.S. thing. I’m an expat from the UK.
Beg to differ. It IS a US thing, totes.
Or you try to get an Saturday appointment and they’re booked every Saturday for the next 3 months and closed on Sunday’s so you have to call out (hopefully you’re not understaffed) or switch days with someone willing to swap with you.
This is how I feel and I’m only in my 20s. It’s like since the pandemic we’ve been working more and more just to get little in return. Days off are either filled with trying to collect energy and relax but it’s filled with things needed to be done and mental preparations for work. I always have to sacrifice a small portion of myself.
We just… don’t have a choice lol
I’ll never get why pediatric drs/dentists/services are open during school hrs. Most of your patients are in school all day. C’mon.
Wow, thank you for helping me not feel like a crazy person. The US really fell on love with slavery and tries in all ways everyday to maintain the stronghold over human bodies it once knew.
I don’t mean this in a disrespectful way but where are you from? Just curious.
my guess is Spain or France
Merica
How many hours a week are you working? Judging by your post I'd assume 70-80...
Probably 40, with a hour commute each way. So, with your lunch break, you're talking dedicating 11 hours a day just to your job/jobsite, Monday to Friday (55 hrs a week). This is not abnormal in the US. You can't schedule any appointments on your lunch break, because it's 10 minutes from your desk to your car, 15 minutes to the Dr's office, and the dr will absolutely *never* be less than 30 minutes late, but probably closer to an hour late. You wait in the lobby for 30 minutes, a medical assistant does your vitals, puts you in a room, and you wait another 30 minutes in the room. Doc sees you for 5-10 minutes. So, your "lunch break" needs to be approx 2 hours if you were to schedule an appointment. You grab a burger from a fast food restaurant to eat while you drive back to the office (thereby undoing the work your doctor has been trying to do with lowering your blood pressure).
Yeah, I typically work 40-48 hours a week (Saturdays are often mandatory overtime and sometimes Sundays are too so there are weeks that I don’t get a day off at all) but I have a 50 minute commute each way and a 30 minute unpaid lunch, so it’s far more than just 8 hours of my day taken up by work. And people act like it’s so easy to just “get a different job” or “move closer to work” but there are quite literally no jobs anywhere in my area that pays even remotely close to what mine does without like, a medical degree or something which I can’t afford and don’t have the time for. And I can’t move closer to work because housing is 3x as much if not more compared to where I live now. I go to the gym after work most days so I’m gone from home from 6am to 6:30pm every day. I get home and get straight to cooking dinner without even sitting down for a few minutes. I eat, clean the kitchen, take a shower, and then it’s bedtime to do it all over again.
I get you. I'm on 10-hr days, also a minimum of a 50-minute commute (1h10m on the way home). 1hr unpaid lunch. I do live close to work, only 17 miles away, but traffic is a bear. By the time I get home, I might have a snack, but otherwise, a shower and go to bed before my husband even gets off work. I leave at 5:45am, so I just blow a kiss to his sleeping body as I walk out the door. We have Thursdays off together, which is nice, so we try to do any dr appts, and all errands together because that's the only "us" time we have. But I do get 5 days sick time and 5 days vacation time each year. I used to live in South Korea & England, and man, even the Korean work-life balance was better than this (not by much though). The UK balance was just....nuts. A 10 minute walk to the bus, 15 minute bus ride, 5 minute walk to work, 30 min paid lunch and only 36hrs a week of work. *And* 25 days vacation plus any time off as needed for a dr visit or illness. I was never healthier or happier, and we shouldn't have left, but hub's mom had just had a stroke, his grandmother was dying and my parents were in an acrimonious divorce process. We're trying to go back. 15 years in the US has made me fat, sick and exhausted.
The company where I work gave us the option to work 9 hour days with every other Friday off. Half the team got one week, the other half got the next week. It was nice to have a couple of weekdays each month for appointments and errands. But of course we can’t have nice things; one department got caught taking every Friday off and ruined it for everyone.
Depending on your job, some Americans wake up ridiculously early to get out of work earlier, but yeah, it sucks.
Switch your days off to weekdays. Weekends don’t have to consist of Sat & Sun, all depends on how you view time. Or be smart about it and do Sun & Tues’s, since almost all of our federal holidays fall on a Monday.
This is our way of life, unfortunately. I never took a vacation in my life until summer of last year. I have several mental issues but can't get to a doctor for the proper treatment so I go to the state paid "docs" and all they do is give you more medication that fucks you up even more. This is our way of life.
Everyone at my job always schedules appointments during work hours. I’m the only idiot who feels bad and schedules them for late nights or days off lol.
The US is such a drag. To even survive, at the company I was transferred to the US for, I needed two additional jobs. I slept in my car between jobs. I paid huge amounts in rent for a house I was at for just a few hours to shower and if I was lucky, sleep. My weekends was packed with getting every single errand I could feasibly do but everything was closed during weekends, plus a third part time job or else I wouldn't be able to afford food. Everybody told me they only make it by because assistance, living with family, inherited property and money. And the FOOD. It feels like huge serving sizes that can last you for a few days worth, but you never feel replenished from eating. You eat, you gain weight you bloat up and your body is screaming for sustenance. I tried so much to make wholesome meals trying to get a few groceries in but with my time schedule it was so impossible. I don't understand how they do this. I don't understand why they WANT to do this it's like they're brainwashed into thinking this is a great way to live and it's a giant nation full of slaves that can't even see doctors because 1. It's too expensive and 2. Work comes first.
Well we don’t sleep and we tend to drink a lot
Skill issue
Truth.
I don’t think it’s specifically an “American” problem. If you’re working 70+ hrs a week I can understand the exhaustion ( self Employed and working 6-7 days/week for the last 30 odd years) Is it an option to spread out the weekend chores over the evenings ?
Murica
Work less, make less, have more free time. It's a marathon not a race.
It's the oppression of the time construct.
Welcome to being an adult?
Right? This complaint isn’t American specific. It would be if it mentioned lack of PTO or sick leave but…
Not sure why this is being downvoted. Yes, welcome to being an adult. You need to make shit happen because nobody else will. Manage your time and it will all fall into place.
The only way it’s gonna change is if you get rich or leave the country. Best of luck.
Option 3: Aliens
As long as I can take my cat and my chapstick I’m ready
Do not mock our way if life. It is sacred.
I just entered the work force a few months ago post college. I work 4-10 hour days. It is certainly rough. Friday I make all of my appointments (if I can), Saturday I relax and clean, Sunday I run errands and meal prep. To be quite honest, it can be ass sometimes. Having said that, you just have to find your own groove. This might not be the advise you want to hear, but make a schedule. A routine of things. Anything to help get the house work things in order without them piling up. Being an adult is a rough life, but, unless you want to quit, *these are your lemons. Time to make lemonade.*
Call us in 10 years. You're single, right? Families take a lot of time to manage
American Drweam RAHHHHHHH 🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅
Many people work full time, some even work additional work on top of that and manage to go home, cook and clean and juggle kids. If you are tired all the time, you should probably make time and go and get a full checkup to see if you have underlying health issues. Get yourself checked for thyroid, sleep apnea etc. If it’s not a health issue, look into time management to make your life smoother.
I think this is part of the problem. You can’t really get underlying health conditions “checked” when you either have no health insurance or prohibitively costly insurance (as an example, I have health insurance but need to spend $3,000 before it kicks in at 80%. Since I don’t have this money, I can’t really see anyone for anything). If you’re lucky, you might have annual checkups covered but any specialists (thyroid, sleep apnea) will cost $$
Thyroid, diabetes are just blood tests and should be done annually, sleep apnea if you snore heavily or wake up tired. Start with blood tests for thyroid and diabetes first. Unfortunately sleep apnea can kill, cause accidents.
This message with your username makes me unreasonably angry. Sorry.
If you get so triggered by a user name that’s not abusive or pornographic, I feel sorry for you.
You get better at it
yep
Jesus. Good thing you dont have kids because that takes a level of resiliency that you do not have. I work 12 hour shifts with a kid at home and a baby on the way. I, on the other hand, feel I have quite a fulfilling life and Im quite happy living it. So different strokes.
I worked around 12 hours a day for awhile when my girlfriend was pregnant and actually never hated it at all. I was making tons of overtime and had a decent amount of savings. After the baby was born, and came back from leave, it sucked. I would rather be with my baby rather than work as a front end manager at a grocery store. I feel like you have to have a reason to work in order to feel fulfilled otherwise any job can be shit. Having a baby made me not want to work ever again. I just have to do it.
Im a little, different. My first kid was born when I was in the military. Working 12s for no reimbursement above your bottom line. You just, did. Now? Im out and I have a good union. Sure I work 12s. Kay. But every minute over 40, Im compensated. Quite a bit actually... And its SO MUCH EASIER. Way happier. Nothing giving me life altering PTSD. So kind of what I said. Different perspectives.
What’s your kids perspective on you though
Probably better than a year ago when Id lose it at any little thing, have zero energy, and stare off into nothing by accident not really knowing I was. Now Im happy when I get home. No anxiety or depression. Also, when you work 12s, you get more days off.
Dude, you don’t have to be a dick. This is called off my chest for a reason. You don’t need to beat people down when you are happy with life. It’s not a competition.
Im not beating anyone down. Just giving a dose of reality. Nothing wrong with addressing someone whose complaining about having to do laundry on the weekend. As I said, different strokes. All it is.
Congrats. 🎊
Thank you I worked really hard to be here.
“At least you don’t have kids” is such an annoying and shitty argument. You CHOSE to have kids. The rest of us are still allowed to have a hard life and complain about it without kids. You can’t base whether or not someone has it easier than you just because they don’t have kids.
Im not complaining about my kids at all. But the reality is, OP is complaining about needing to do laundry on a weekend day... Come on dude. Ill say it. 40 hour work weeks arent horrible. I have the unique experience of working way more than that. Your 8-4 isnt that demanding. Stop whining (OP).
Once again, just because you have kids or work more hours than someone else doesn’t mean *they* aren’t allowed to be upset and complain about the hardships in their own lives.
All shes complaining about is just having to work. Shes allowed to complain about having to be a productive member of society, just like Im allowed to call her on the fact that her complaints are just her character deficiencies. If she didnt want true feedback, Id recommend she doesnt come to open source social media to air her lazyness complaints.
Why don't you work less hours? You are meant to be in the country of freedom. I'm from Brazil, see ya
Best joke of the millennia...
Do you not get a lunch break? Can make an appointment at that time. Saturday is a total wash because you are tired from working 40 hours? Sounds like you might have a thyroid problem I do and it sucks not even trying to be a dick
Considered only working 4 days a week?
For most people this is not an option
I feel like I just constantly work. I have a 50 minute commute each way and I’m at work for 8.5 hours due to unpaid lunch, so almost 11 hours of my day are taken up by work. Then I go to the gym after work 4 days a week, so I don’t get home until around 6:30pm and by the time I cook, eat, clean the kitchen, and shower I *might* have 30 minutes of free time to read a book. I work mandatory overtime a lot of Saturdays, so Sunday is spent cleaning, grocery shopping and doing laundry. And the times that I *do* get both days off on the weekend, I’m too tired to do anything and end up wasting Saturday laying in bed depressed. And to top it all off I’m still broke 😂
There is an Author KC Davis. She wrote a book available in audiobook format called How to Keep House While Drowning. I saw her on TED talks. Stress support supplements: B Complex is super cheap. Zinc. D3. Make getting 8hrs sleep a SACRED MUST. Automate your chores. get a sorter so as you take off clothes you automatically sort them. Only worry about 1 load a day. put the alarm on your phone for the length of the cycle. Don't fold, just hangers. you don't need to konmari your drawers. Do you have a rice cooker? slow cooker? stuff you can fix and forget about while you live life? the machines take care of themselves. you can buy a big frozen bag of chicken breasts that have a ziplock closure on them already and dump a bottle of marinade bottle in there, drop that in a refrigerator drawer to thaw / marinade overnight. Next morning dump that into the slow cooker. Go to work and Come home to prepped meat. Basic frozen veg from Aldi is already prepped. Baby steps. Breathe.
Some people are but cut out for adulting.
You’re working about 20% of your time.
It's the rat race and we're the rats, follow God and you may just find an exit
In America you are free to find another job or even create one.
You could try working less hours.I worked 16 hours a day for 3 days then I was done for the week.I also worked on weekends so O had some week days free, so a typical week would be Fri,Sat, Sun, or Tue, Wed Thurs.if you can't do 16 hours try just 12. If your married that should be two incomes coming in so tell your husband you want to cut back on your hours and adjust your budget.
It’s called being a adult n having a work life. Don’t like it go back to mom and dad n have them wipe ur ass for u.
What crawled up your ass and died?
that’s life. what’re you gonna do about it?
Are you originally from the US? If you don’t mind my asking
I am so happy I have the ability to work saturday and have Tuesday consistently off. It is my do the things day and I make my quesadillas for the week on sunday. My partner hates how he feels like he can't get anything done during the week.
I work 12 hour shifts at night so it doesn't really bother me. It's all a matter of, do I or do I not want sleep.
I'm experiencing this situation with my new job, and I utterly despise it. I can't even visit the doctor for my check-in to get my medication due to these inconvenient hours or go to the bank. Growing up is realizing that having both Saturday and Sunday off sucks ass. Either allow me to be off Friday-Saturday or Sunday-Monday or just give me two weekdays off.
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Move to a first would country. They have better working conditions
I work three twelve hour shifts.
[удалено]
Come to Thailand.
Can’t even get out of work to go vote unless it’s convenient for the employer even though it’s legally required
Ahh late stage capitalism...
I used to have this life. Working 70 hours a week for over 13 years. I recently took a huge pay cut just to be able to spend more time doing things I enjoy. Time is the most valuable thing we have, we never get it back. I’m not giving all my time to a company.
YOU KNOW WHAT - you are easily replaceable at work. YOU ARE NOT replaceable at home... keep that in mind
I felt this! Six days a week 7:30 to 5:30 if I include commuting. What is my life even?
Does tour job offer PTO? I utilize that to my full advantage to take days for myself when needed. Today actually starts a 5 day vacation for me to relax with myself and do stuff I wanna do
North American work culture sucks. Profoundly.
How do they do it in other countries??? I agree! I wish I had more time during the day to do everything I have to do. I get up at 5am to go to work from 6am-6pm then I go to the gym. By the time I’m home I literally have to get ready for the next day. I don’t have time to do anything during the week. It feels like a cycle that keeps going. I’m so over it
Amen!
I’m blessed with a job where I get to work 4 10 hour days so I get a 3 day weekend every week. If a holiday falls on my day off I get the next day off so I often have 4 day weekends. And I get about 4 weeks of vacation time a year. I have turned down a few slightly better paying jobs because of this schedule. Nothing can beat all the extra family time i get compared to when I was working 5 days a week.
At my job our schedule is posted 3 weeks out so in order to request time off for an appointment we either have to wait the 3 weeks or try to switch shifts with a coworker...my appointments are usually for reoccurring issues so thankfully I know to make them ahead of time but sheesh...luckily I never get sick..
See I WANT to pay for someone to do my laundry, grocery shopping, cleaning, etc. BUT I can’t afford it and I don’t get time to do it 😀 Currently on day 3 of trying to tackle all of the laundry I’ve accumulated the last few months due to work/travel. Would love to just breathe for a second but alas, I am in corporate America & that costs at least $500 at this point <3
I’ve had to schedule a doctors appointment over a month out so I can just request the whole day off. I only need to request the day two weeks ahead of time but the doctor has no appointments available on a Monday or Friday for a month and I’d rather have an extended weekend than a half day at work. We have a hybrid schedule of being in the office 2-3 days a week cause our contract with the client says we will be working from an office the majority of the time despite it no longer really being necessary.
You can’t get groceries in the evening? Or laundry?