The NPC society: conversations from my family

Family pressure for career success, focused on status and comparison, can create toxic environments and a distorted view of personal worth.

## The race for the résumé

It seems that in some families, conversation revolves around a kind of silent competition, where children's success in the job market becomes the main trophy. It's not so much about the happiness or wellbeing of the offspring, but about how their professional trajectory can raise the family's status compared to others. It's as if each career achievement of a child were a victory in a game of social chess, where the goal is to outdo the neighbour, the cousin or the friend. The mention of a permanent contract, a promotion, or even a simple mention by a company is met with an intensity that often borders on the pathological. Sacrifice, resistance to humiliation and the ability to "endure" in precarious or poorly paid positions are glorified, as if that were the ultimate proof of worth.

## The value of marrying money and the gift of a civil-servant job

This peculiar view of professional success is not limited to the most modern professions. Marrying someone financially secure is also hugely valued, as if it were the pinnacle of a successful life strategy. Likewise, civil service exams (oposiciones) passed decades ago, which today might be considered a mere formality for pushing papers, are presented as antiestéticats of unrivalled merit. The irony is that, while this kind of achievement is praised, the effort and dedication of those pursuing a more personal path aligned with their own values is often scorned or ignored, even if it doesn't translate into immediate social status or astronomical figures. Constant comparison and envy seem to be the engine driving these dynamics.

## The pressure of workplace "sacrifice"

The concept of "sacrifice" in the workplace has been perverted to unsuspected extremes. What might once have been a struggle for dignity and better conditions now seems to be a requirement for being considered valuable. There is talk of "sacrificed" children who have spent years doing unpaid overtime, accepting chains of temporary jobs or enduring humiliation in entry-level positions, all for the sake of "keeping a job". This glorification of workplace suffering, especially when accompanied by modest salaries, creates a narrative where precarity is confused with resilience and submission with strength. It is a view that seems to perpetuate a cycle of exploitation, where a person's worth is measured by their capacity to endure and suffer in the work environment.