161–170 of 209 posts
Seriously though revolutions have happened because of this feeling, so you're far from alone. I've been struggling with this for all my life and yeah at some point I'll go nuts if I don't own my own work. I'm not advocating communism as the right solution for the disenchantment of having your labor exploited- I am saying that I think the frustration of that lies beneath both entrepreneurship and most anti capitalist movements.
My issue isn't really the work itself, it is the risk that comes with stepping out on your own when you have a family to support. I have seen firsthand what a failed start-up/small company can do to a family (twice actually) and it scares the shit out of me. That's one of the reasons I am so hesitant to live off of savings while the work pipeline builds.
On top of that, my family and I have grown accustomed to our current income level which I don't think I could keep up as a consultant/freelancer/etc, at least for the first year or so.
For me the question is: is my full blown happiness, with my career, worth potentially risking our future and current lifestyle? It is a really hard question to answer...
You might be conflating a few things here. 1. Be careful not to confuse hating working for somebody else with what sounds to me like the edges of depression. 2. Entrepreneurship doesn't have to be a grind 3. You don't have to get your personal pride and accomplishment through work So you could talk to somebody about your feelings and might find some coping strategies. Let's suppose this isn't clinical depression and…
Exactly on point. Overindexing on the futility of the future while simultaneously minimizing the plausibility of positive outcomes.
I have these same thoughts, and these same problems. The OP's post has left my mouth many times. Strong odds it's depression.
It's not your job. No matter where you go, there you are.
2. Consider that you probably can't change someone else but you can probably change your own response. In other words, figure out how to quickly identify the stuff that is total BS, actively choose not to stress about it, and train yourself to focus on the parts of it that you genuinely enjoy.
3. Know that you're not alone.
If you go freelance, watch the fuck out.
This post reads like you're depressed with the direction of your life, and are bucketing the causes into your workplace because it's intellectually easy to do.
I don't mean that to be disparaging - I say it with authority because I do it too, and your post reads exactly like the monologue that runs through my head every day.
I was a freelancer for many years. It's 85% pipeline management - networking, lining up your next gigs months in advance, and tending to relationships with existing customers to turn them into repeat customers. The actual "do the work" part is trivially simple in comparison.
The personality types that write posts like these tend to do poorly with the high-extroversion high-orderliness traits that make or break a successful freelancing career.
Be extremely fearful of the scenario where you quit your job with spite in ambition's clothing, and find yourself struggling to make money because you thought that making money freelancing was about output, not network.
My advice? Talk to somebody professional and really do an insanely deep autopsy on why you hate working the way you do. I think there are hard answers to be unearthed.
Now if only I could take the advice I'm writing to myself as much as I am to you...
Like many people, managers are systems to be used to organize. Coworkers organize your surroundings, managers organize your upper layers.
You could basically decide if you want to decline ever taking responsibility for other people and work in such a job where someone else will organize your food and bed. But then again we can't really choose to have no responsibility to other people (parents, friends) either. So in that case quite a few important people in your life would consider you a dick for good reasons.
Therefore in the end, learn to accept it. This is part of life.
1) You can opt for job roles where your perks are directly linked to your efforts - eg: Sales, Marketing.
2) There are side projects which can get you really decent and increasing revenues. You need not be a big visionary and build a company around it but you with the help of some freelancers can manage it. I can help you with some ideas if you want.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Democratization of work doesn't mean zero hierarchy. It means the workers get to choose how their labor value is used. It is perfectly acceptable for a majority of a company to decide to elect a CEO and form a capitalist-style company, but it is important that it is their choice to do so! And of course, they would still retain their right to revoke such a hierarchy.
So what's stopping this from happening now? The existence of other firms where employees own 0% shouldn't negatively impact worker-owned cooperatives, right? If anything, coops should be at an advantage because no one is sucking out all their value! So why don't we see more of that?
Also the law is set up assuming the firm will ultimately be run through a single point of authority, and if you want to run the place as a coop you'll face investor uncertainty and legal difficulties.
Most of all, the US culture doesn't have much in the way of cultural norms for a firm like this. We have centuries of experience working in a hierarchical style workplace, but people don't really have manners for working in an democratic firm, and there would have to be a lot of time and energy spent on cultural factors that a conventional workplace doesn't have to.
Does this make any sense at all?