The same advice young people have heard for 40 years
A 60-year-old worker advises young people to work unpaid overtime to get promoted. The new generation calls it hidden exploitation in a changing job market.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
The boomer advice that no longer works: why unpaid overtime won't get you a permanent contract anymore
A 60-year-old worker says that at his age he got up at 8 in the morning, went to factories to hand out résumés, worked unpaid overtime, kept quiet about working weekends, and that's how he landed a mid-level permanent position he's proud of. His advice to young people: give 200%, be nice to the boss, treat overtime as an investment. It sounds like a 1980s corporate self-help manual.
The old school of self-exploitation
The recipe is simple: get up early, keep your mouth shut, work for free, and hope the boss rewards you with a promotion. In this view, discipline and sacrifice are the keys to success. But the speech clashes with a job market that has mutated. Those who defend it tend to attribute their current position to that effort, ignoring that the context was different: a market with less labor supply, strong unions, permanent contracts that actually led to stability.
The generation that no longer buys the story
The majority response is clear: that model is exhausted. Unpaid overtime is no longer an investment but a revolving door to exploitation. "Working for free for the company only turns you into a dog waiting for scraps," they argue. Young people point out that today's market makes it easy to fire people, that wages don't even cover inflation, and that immigration further worsens conditions. The figure of the "corporate bastard" who takes advantage of goodwill is a recurring theme. Skepticism is total: many say the real path is to ask for a raise or go elsewhere where your time is valued.
The shocking fact: despite the same advice being repeated month after month, youth precariousness shows no sign of easing. Perhaps because the problem isn't a lack of "balls," but a job market that has broken the pact between sacrifice and reward.
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A 60-year-old worker says that at his age he got up at 8 in the morning, went to factories to hand out résumés, worked unpaid overtime, kept quiet about working weekends, and that's how he landed a mid-level permanent position he's proud of. His advice to young people: give 200%, be nice to the boss, treat overtime as an investment. It sounds like a 1980s corporate self-help manual.
The old school of self-exploitation
The recipe is simple: get up early, keep your mouth shut, work for free, and hope the boss rewards you with a promotion. In this view, discipline and sacrifice are the keys to success. But the speech clashes with a job market that has mutated. Those who defend it tend to attribute their current position to that effort, ignoring that the context was different: a market with less labor supply, strong unions, permanent contracts that actually led to stability.
The generation that no longer buys the story
The majority response is clear: that model is exhausted. Unpaid overtime is no longer an investment but a revolving door to exploitation. "Working for free for the company only turns you into a dog waiting for scraps," they argue. Young people point out that today's market makes it easy to fire people, that wages don't even cover inflation, and that immigration further worsens conditions. The figure of the "corporate bastard" who takes advantage of goodwill is a recurring theme. Skepticism is total: many say the real path is to ask for a raise or go elsewhere where your time is valued.
The shocking fact: despite the same advice being repeated month after month, youth precariousness shows no sign of easing. Perhaps because the problem isn't a lack of "balls," but a job market that has broken the pact between sacrifice and reward.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (19 replies).
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