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A Reddit user shared a now-viral post on the forum "Antiwork" that after his father worked several shifts at a hardware store, he learned about the treatment of many low-wage workers.
"My boomer dad realized today why 'nobody wants to work,'" read the title of u/arcanepsyche's post, which received more than 24,000 votes.
In the post, u/arcanepsyche explained that his father is semi-retired but recently started working at a local hardware store. However, he quickly became frustrated with his experience and how he was treated.
According to the Center for Law and Social Policy, the COVID-19 pandemic had a major impact on employees working low-wage jobs.
Many of these employees also face unstable scheduling and no access to health care.
"Unstable schedules make it difficult for workers to arrange transportation, attend education and training programs, hold a second job, manage their budgets, obtain quality child care and maintain a stable income" the organization stated.
In his post, u/arcanepsyche wrote that his father picked up a job at the hardware store to earn some extra money.
"Until last week he was generally a 'work hard/bootstraps' kinda guy, but after just 6 shifts full of backbreaking labor and passive aggressive management for minimum wage, he's come to understand just how bad low-wage workers have it and is rightly pissed off," u/arcanepsyche wrote.
The Redditor explained that his father does not politically lean conservative and has previous experience running a construction business and a restaurant.
"He knows what hard work is, but is just now learning there is no longer any value to it," he concluded.
Redditor u/arcanepsyche wrote to Newsweek that he and his father recently purchased a house together, and his father began collecting his Social Security benefits.
After moving, he wanted to work part-time to supplement what he was getting from his Social Security income.
"He worked in the construction industry for 30 years prior to the restaurant work, so his skill and experience fit right in and he was basically hired on the spot," u/arcanepsyche said.
Although his father is unhappy with how he has been treated, u/arcanepsyche believes he will continue working at the hardware store for a few more months.
"Given the mentality of his generation, his loyalty to a job is always high, despite the negative aspects—which I feel is taken advantage of a lot," u/arcanepsyche said.
He noted that his father was not previously outspoken about the issues low-wage employees face but viewed the jobs as the first step toward higher-paying jobs people get later in life.
Commenters did not hesitate to weigh in with their thoughts on the matter.
One Reddit user wrote that each time an employee quits at the company they work for, many executives claim that "nobody wants to work anymore." However, they respond by telling them that those employees choose to leave in favor of a higher-paying job.
"More and more people are struggling to make enough to support themselves, before long most people on the low end of the pay scale will make just as much money on unemployment as they would working," commented a Redditor.
A commenter theorized that because the current price of gas is so high, many minimum wage workers may be paying to go to work.
A Redditor wrote that they've started reading the expectations and qualifications for jobs to their parents, who are both a part of the boomer generation.
"It's worked remarkably well at converting them to seeing it—the problem is, they have no idea what to recommend as a solution or a job now," they wrote.
Many others have taken to the "Antiwork" forum to share their stories.
A sign of an alleged policy declared that for every minute an employee is late to work they will be expected to work an additional 10 minutes.
Another post discussed how a woman learned she is being paid four times less than her coworkers.
One post showed a screenshot of a survey that employees reportedly received asking whether a pay raise or a ping-pong table would help with employee success.
About the writer
Catherine Ferris is a Newsweek reporter based in New York. Her focus is reporting for the U.S. Trends Team. She ... Read more