The Failed Promise of Work
The dependable meritocracy - where if you work hard, you’ll move ahead (or at least not get laid off) - is no more. It’s possible it never was.
The same groups that preached “work is worth” are now stripping that worth away. Opportunities to grow. Opportunities to build value in a role: Gone.
I feel like Steve-O’s dad about it: not so much angry, just disappointed.
Work was promised as a safe space. Sitcom-style. Leadership as parent proxies (they always say we’re “like family,” no?).
Well if that’s the case: Dad, you let me down.
What is this insider-trading hellscape?
The messaging I see lately keeps circling two ideas:
• Treat people like people
• Push back on AI - before it’s even really out the gate
You could blame Terminator movies.
But I bet the job posts asking for people to train their own AI replacements is a close second.
I was thinking about the irony of a ‘Capitalism is bad’ post on a jobs site.
But most of the actual humans I see posting here aren’t profit-first.
They’re looking for meaning through fulfilling work.
They’re looking to feel *worth*.
And if the canary call on LinkedIn, Reddit, and the rest is “treat people like people,”
well, maybe this *is* one way capitalism is failing.
Or at least, the late-stage version where profits flow to boardrooms, not to the people and places that generate them.
Look, I like money. Pay me all the money.
But also, like Chubb Rock said:
Treat ‘em right.
I’ve always been skeptical of big orgs.
Concentrated power seems to attract a certain kind of a person:
not the one who built it, loved it, or ever had to ship it.
Vague? Sure. But whatever came to mind? That’s who I meant.
The thing about critical thinking is:
It lets you poke holes in the system and prepare for when they lose your pension.
It’s preventative medicine:
• My community is my vaccine
• My garden? Gummy vitamins. Get it?
I’m out here trying to feed my soul, hoping the bank account follows.
Assuming the people at the levers don’t have my best interests at heart has given me the freedom to pursue worth first.
Maybe I’ve been burned too many times.
Maybe this is just what happens when you’ve been in the game long enough.
But if the perks disappear, the work still needs to mean something.
Company culture matters.
It’s a shortcut to meaning.
If leaders treated people like people, that alone would be enough for most.
I love teams. I love projects.
I love helping the people around me.
You don’t have to work for a nonprofit to feel something.
We can find worth in community *if it’s offered*.
I get that this is a tempting moment for companies to squeeze:
• Job market sucks
• Let’s go back to the office
• ...and charge for parking
But don’t act shocked when work quality drops
and churn explodes the minute the market shifts.
Read a paper: AI’s not there yet.
You still need people.
It’s too soon to write us off.
Treat ‘em right.
A reasonable promise of work.
