Job dissatisfaction has come to the surface, with over 4.3 million Americans leaving their jobs last August according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Coinciding with this Great Resignation is the “anti-work movement.”
This movement has particularly broken ground on social media website Reddit, where the r/antiwork subreddit has gained over 864,000 members who are interested in “unemployment for all, not just the rich.”
But what is leading people to consider a work-free lifestyle?
These people range from those who want to end work, those curious about ending work, and those exploring “anti-work” ideas.
The forum features overworked employees sharing stories and screengrabs of their exchanges with employers, highlighting the toxicity that still looms in the workplace.
Anti-work doesn’t necessarily mean anti-earnings. Instead, this movement aims to explore the challenges that societal standards have placed upon people, and recommend how workplace culture can be altered to better support people who are burnt out.
The idea that hard work and career success are the pinnacle of happiness over nurturing personal lives, hobbies, and other sources of enjoyment is deemed problematic by members of this subreddit.
It makes sense — the pandemic has inadvertently led people to reevaluate their priorities in life, and a mundane career with a destructive culture isn’t part of that picture.
