Many Americans have it easy. However, not everyone is as fortunate. There isn’t anything inherently wrong with those who have it easy, but those who don’t, or are unable to, must live to work and work to live. Most people with this mindset understand that they must sacrifice their comfort in the present to obtain future rewards. But those who don’t often wonder, “Maybe there’s more to life than just working.” Between workplaces becoming unenjoyable, popular films backing up this ideology, and fewer people wanting to work, the “work culture,” as we know it, is set to disappear. As that happens, people will slowly learn that no one can get what they truly want without making sacrifices.
Due to the pandemic, many people have changed how they view the workplace. Zen Dochterman, a writing lecturer at the University of Southern California, states, “Quiet quitting comes from a deeper, more long-term disengagement with stressful work environments.”
Quiet quitting is a new trend where a person only does what they are paid to do, essentially no longer going above and beyond. The problem with this, however, is that people want comfort now but are, in turn, sacrificing future rewards. It’s like going to the gym. Almost no one wants to work out to the point of failure and then wake up the next morning and do it again. Those who want future rewards, however, will do this. Just as if there is an unpaid work meeting, those who want the experience will attend. Those who don’t will give up the reward of experience because it is inconvenient or uncomfortable.
Many popular films have backed up this anti-work narrative that’s been around for decades, showing what it’d be like in an anti-capitalist society. But those films never highlight the hard work that would’ve brought later rewards. As Dochterman describes, ”Around World War II, crime became an allegory for an anti-work ethos: little effort, big payoff.” Films such as “Double Indemnity,” “The Postman Always Rings Twice,” and “Gun Crazy” document different crimes and how it is to live a life of little effort and big payoff. This ideology, however, is the very opposite of the truth. There might be a chance that little effort yields a big payoff, but overall, you will not accomplish any goal by putting in minimal effort. You can only see the rewards if you put in the work.
Fewer and fewer people want to work. Between technological automation and the inability of paychecks to keep up with the cost of living, one could assume that the workforce will diminish. Although these are key factors in why people aren’t working, one key component is missing: humans are lazy. Due to being lazy, humans have found every way possible to automate tasks for nearly 100 years. Automation has continuously sent people out of the workforce for safety or simply because it’s cheaper not to have them there. However, one cannot have a capitalist society without a workforce. As automation advances, more jobs will follow, such as maintenance on those machines and building the machines in the first place. Regardless, if humans let machines do all the work, they will not benefit at the end of their careers.
The United States was founded on the hard work of our founding fathers. Without them sacrificing their comfort then, none of us would have what we have today. America has its flaws, but as a whole, it has freedom. Every day, people put in hard work and dedication to keep that freedom. But without hard work or taking on extra responsibilities, one cannot achieve any goal. A common saying is, “You can achieve anything you put your mind to.” However, without dedication, one cannot accomplish anything. Even with every odd working against achieving certain goals, America still stands, just as our forefathers worked to ensure. To achieve any goal; to progress in any way, one must sacrifice whatever is needed.