Three years ago, when the pandemic forced us all to stay home, simultaneously causing a boom in various online services, it seemed that the paradigm of remote work, convenient for many, would become the new standard, and the long and, let’s admit to each other, tedious work commute would become an anachronism.
And now, three years later, employers are still pushing us to return to offices, and employees who have tasted all the delights of remote work are not always ready for this. But there are still young people who have never worked 9 to 5, and for them, this is not always a pleasant revelation. Like, for example, for this TikToker.
The author of the video is a college graduate who recently found her very first 9 to 5 job
Image credits: brielleasero
"I'm probably just being so dramatic and annoying. But this is my first nine-to-five job after college"
"I'm in person, so I'm commuting in the city and it takes me forever to get there. There's no way I'm gonna be able to afford living in the city right now, so that's off the table. If I was able to walk to work, it'd be fine, but I'm not. I get on the train at 7:30 and I don't get home till like, 6:15 earliest. And then I don't have time to do anything."
Image credits: brielleybelly123
"I want to shower, eat my dinner and go to sleep. I don't have time or energy to cook my dinner either"
"I don't have energy to work out–that's out the window. I'm so upset. Has nothing to do with my job at all. But just the nine-to-five schedule in general is crazy, being in the office nine to five."
Image credits: brielleybelly123
"If it was remote, you get off at five, and you're home and everything's fine. But I'm not home"
"It takes me long to get home. And I know it could be worse. I know it could be working longer, but like, I literally get off, it's pitch black and I don't have energy. How do you have friends? How do you have time to meet, like, a guy? I don't know. How do you have time for dating? I don't have time for anything. And I'm so stressed out. Am I so dramatic?"
The work commute actually enlarges the whole working time by a third, so it's really exhausting for the author
This woman’s name is Brielle, she recently graduated from college and after a long search (in one of the videos, the original poster admits that she sent out several dozen resumes, receiving virtually only one response - from her current employer) got a job in the field of marketing.
The company where Brielle works is located in New York, and the OP herself lives in New Jersey, and so far, in her own words, cannot afford housing in the metropolis. Therefore, the woman’s work commute is approximately two hours in one direction and the same amount in the other. In other words, the working time span for Brielle increases by about a third.
Of course, after such a busy day at work, the original poster doesn't feel able to do anything else. No communication, no self-development, no dating... just lying down on the couch and resting. At the same time, Brielle is well aware that her situation is not the most difficult at all - and she is sincerely trying to find out from netizens how they cope with their 9 to 5 jobs.
Brielle's video almost immediately went viral, gaining over 2.5M views, and in the subsequent video, the original poster shared all aspects of her job search, and admitted that for representatives of her generation, truly accustomed to all the attributes of remote study and work, to rush into the ‘classic’ 9-5 is not that easy. It's very difficult, even. And Brielle wholeheartedly encourages employers to consider changing standard schedules.
Image credits: Alex Kotliarskyi (not the actual photo)
As they say, there is a proper time for everything - and Brielle's video comes just as the American business world is heatedly debating the demands of many tech giants for employees to return to offices - no matter how productive they actually were while remote. Perhaps this is partly the reason for the popularity of the author’s video - and another performance gained even more - over 7M views. Or is society really ready for changes?
Image credits: Felix Rostig (not the actual photo)
Most people in the comments praised the author for opening up about her feelings, and of course massively sided with Brielle
If you look at the comments, people's opinions there were divided - but they were divided according to the principle from unconditional agreement with Brielle to light sarcasm in this style: “you just have to put up with it!” Moreover, some commenters do point out that, for example, many nurses nowadays work 7-7. And someone else writes that it’s difficult only for the first year, and then you get used to it...
And yet, the vast majority of commenters express massive support for the original poster and indeed urge employers to consider changes to work schedules - after all, time does not stand still. “40 hour work week was designed with a homemaker to take care of house tasks. We need dual incomes now, so that’s not possible. No time for anything,” one of the commenters aptly wrote.
By the way, what do you, our dear readers, think about changing work schedules towards easier ones - especially since the modern world is already familiar with fairly successful cases of introducing such a regime? Please let us know your point of view in the comments below this post.
Image credits: Ephraim Mayrena (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Ketut Subiyanto (not the actual photo)
