Latest / The imuRgency Room / Gen Z’s Workforce Crisis Has Gotten Even Worse

Transcript

Gen Z’s Workforce Crisis Has Gotten Even Worse · The imuRgency Room

0:00
You could be like Gen. Z doesn't work hard blah blah
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blah. But every single Gen.
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Z person that I know has a full time job, has a part time job,
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has a TikTok that they're trying to make a Papa.
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Every Gen. Z person I know has like A1 full
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time job and then like 6 half jobs.
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So you can't say that we're not working hard because it's like
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you don't see it because what you see is the 140 hour job, but
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you don't see all of the side hustles that every Gen.
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Z person has to do in order to get a fraction of what you had.
0:30
Emergency and welcome. Welcome back to my channel
0:31
today. We are back and we're talking
0:34
about something kind of serious and also kind of sinister.
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Yes, something sinister is definitely in the air right now.
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And while yes, it can definitely be a multitude of things in this
0:45
landscape of the political and economic state of the world
0:47
right now. And look, and I go around
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sometimes and I hang out with other people that are my age and
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they're just kind of. One month.
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Sophie, I'm just like, dude, like, Oh my God, like, can we
1:01
talk about like the political and economic state of the world
1:03
right now? What I'm specifically referring
1:05
to is the sudden shift of how the good old 9:00 to 5:00 that
1:09
Dolly Parton was singing on about, you know, the 40 hour a
1:12
week full time employment with benefits is increasingly
1:16
becoming a 9:00 to 6:00 or 8:00 to 5:00 or more.
1:20
When did we normalize the 9:00 to 6:00 work week and who is to
1:25
blame for that because growing up it was 9 to 5.
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Now all of a sudden I'm an adult and it's 9:00 to 6:00.
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This idea initially came to mind because a lot of my friends both
1:35
in the entertainment industry and in other industries, whether
1:39
full time or freelance, have begun to notice that they are no
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longer working the typical 9 to 5, especially at entry level
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with demanding hours, late nights, or extremely early
1:49
emails or call times. And that got me wondering, is
1:52
the 50 hour work week or 6070 or even 80 hour work week becoming
1:56
the new normal? And to find this out, I decided
1:59
to do a little something different, be on my little Nancy
2:01
Drew and turn the mic over to you.
2:04
That's right, We're going to be hearing from you all, ranging
2:10
from various industries to get to the bottom of this.
2:13
So to start this conversation off, let's begin with the state
2:16
of work for everyone. And I think this period of time
2:24
is especially interesting because whether you have a job
2:26
or not right now, I think it's clear to see that the state of
2:30
the workforce is currently bad and is only getting worser.
2:34
And this isn't just for Gen. Z either.
2:36
People across the board, across generations are working longer
2:39
hours and it's being felt at all levels.
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According to an article from cfo.com, the average work week
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now weighs in at 46.6 hours according to a new survey of
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more than 10,000 Microsoft Office users by Reclaim AIA,
2:52
Dropbox, own provider of workforce Productivity Tools.
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And that same article goes on to note that just three years ago,
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that number was at 45.8 hours, notably above the 40 hour a week
3:03
monitor. Which just goes to show that
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while these numbers may not seem like a far departure from the
3:08
average 40 hours a week, things are quickly increasing.
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I guess 'cause the school year hasn't started quite yet this
3:14
year, maybe there isn't like a estimate of like for past years.
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Like is it generally like the 40 you go above below?
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I'll reference like from work that I recently did like last
3:25
year. It's 40 but it usually goes
3:28
above. I try to get out.
3:30
On time. But I have a big list of stuff
3:33
to do. Like at my program we have a
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list of things for opening and closing and opening.
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I can get most of it done, but closing?
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If a kid has a day and they decide to dump a specific buck
3:53
of art supplies everywhere, who does to clean that up?
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Me because not always that kid will pick it up.
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Which is understandable, but that takes extra time if my lead
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teacher has like tasks for me to do and I have to put them
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throughout the week. We have half days on Wednesday
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so I try to get those tests done but that doesn't always work
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out. Only 30.9% of employees reported
4:16
working 40 hours or fewer per week, and more than one in 10
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said they worked more than 60 weekly hours.
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And these aren't just random stats I'm pulling out of
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nowhere. From chats with friends,
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interviews with y'all, we're seeing that the 40 hour work
4:28
week is now becoming the minimum.
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Meaning on paper, you may be working 40 hours a week, but
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oftentimes to follow expectations and to remain in
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good standing at your place of work, people seem to be working
4:39
or at least are staying in office longer.
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And OK, sorry, I have to do my once in every other video
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mention of the pan here because shockingly, it has impacted more
4:49
than we initially thought and reshaped the trajectory of all
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of our lives. But one thing that I heard that
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really resonated with a lot of people was that lockdown really
4:56
showed them that their jobs could be done hybrid or
4:59
completely remote. No longer having to factor in
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commute times. No need to twiddle your thumbs
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in office every day until 5:00. You can get your work done.
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Then continue drinking your doggone a lot, say learning your
5:08
super lonely dance or your Chloe Ting AB workout.
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What a time, I know. But all this to say is that
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people really started to see their work is just that, work,
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not their entire lives. And also learned that a lot of
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the work that they did have to do was busy work just to keep
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them in office for 8 hours a day.
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And I think we saw in 2021 and 2022 those things still sort of
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linger around in the workspace. But then very quickly it was all
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snatched back with expeditious returns to in person in office
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work. And I don't want to say this is
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all done for nefarious reason reasons because, you know,
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things like team building, collaboration, blase blase,
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whatever you want to call it are real things and are allegedly
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easier to do in person than online.
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But I think a large reason why many people find this push to go
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back in office really unnecessary is for one, we just
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all saw how it could work without it.
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And two, because work from home allows people to not to worry
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about those commute times and also don't have to worry about
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staying in the office just for the sake of looking busy.
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If your productivity levels remain the same or at least
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similar, why would you want to be in the office from in the
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proposed 9 to 5? And Fast forward to now where
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the 9:00 to 6:00 or 8:00 to 5:00 are being more normalized, I
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think we've began to overcorrect just a little bit.
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Another thing that I've started to see people point out is that
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the 9:00 to 6:00 or 8:00 to 5:00 work hours be normalized is due
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to lunch no longer being built in because it's not paid.
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So yes, you do work for 8 hours, but you're also technically at
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work for longer unless you're lucky enough to live a walkable
6:30
distance from your job. But this can also be a fall city
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as well. Most workplaces don't have the
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strictest sense of boundaries when it comes to work
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expectations. And depending on your work
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culture, a lot of these lunches can and will be allocated as
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working lunches. And another thing, and almost
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the bigger thing out of all of this to add to the
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disillusionment of people, is that regardless of how many
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hours a week you're working, it's still seemingly is not
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enough to be able to afford the basic things or really anything
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in today's society. It's no secret that the cost of
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living has skyrocketed over the past few years with a little
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coffee or pastry running you at least a good $15.00.
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But I mean, you might as well get yourself a little sweet
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treat because it's not like the thought out of buying or owning
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a house with the money you're making is seemingly a reality.
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Even though just a few years ago, and I'm using just a few
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years ago very loosely, a pretty normal job was enough to buy you
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a house and support a whole family, which now seems crazy.
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And all this combined really does start to weigh on people's
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mental health. And mental health is something
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that is really important to take care of, especially in these
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times. But getting back into the state
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of work right now, if you ever want to imagine getting out of
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the rat race, honestly good luck.
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Because the job market right now for anyone looking for something
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new or just a job in general are bad and aren't getting any
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better. Because this comes as last
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month's job report has announced that jobs have not only slowed
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down, but unemployment has began to rose.
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Now let's talk about the state of work specifically for Gen.
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Z. I'm sorry, what the?
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Do you mean the? Fact that I got off work at 5:00
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takes an hour for me to get home at an hour long commute.
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Today it's 6:00. And in order to.
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Meet my 6:00 AM wake up call. I got to go to bed in 4 hours.
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Oh my God. Having 3 to 4 hours to spend on
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yourself cleaning, cooking, prepping.
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The gym. Maybe a Pilates class, Maybe go
8:16
painting a little bit? Hobby.
8:18
It's my. First day like officially in
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office in corporate America and I'm already like, Oh my God.
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Sincerely. A girl who's been in the service
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industry and waited tables for the past five years.
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Oh my God. What do you mean?
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And as the TikTok is saying, this is only four hours for
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yourself. Now imagine that if you have
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children, right? So I don't want to hear any of
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y'all question the birth rate decline.
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But yeah, put simply, the job market sucks right now.
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And we've made a couple of videos on this channel talking
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about the subject such as the Gen.
8:48
Z stayer video or the Gen. Z recession video.
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But I fear this is not something that's going away anytime soon
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and is arguably only getting worse.
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Talking to other Gen. Z ers, it seems that there are
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three general categories here. One, people that are straight up
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unemployed, likely for to be applying for jobs and have a
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extensive excel sheet going of all the places that they're
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applying. 2, Fully employed but miserable or at least looking to
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improve their working conditions for their next position or their
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current position, but generally feeling the sense of guilt for
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even talking about it because you know, the job market is so
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tough right now. Lucky to have a job so why
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complain about it? Or three, the gig slash part
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time worker who generally has the most insane and inconsistent
9:26
schedule. 2025 Gen. Z's are the new 2008
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Millennials, and if you don't believe me, I have the stats to
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prove it. According to Business Insider,
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Andrew Postings are down 15% while applications per job are
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up 30%. The bottom rung of the career
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ladder has completely been wiped out.
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And why? It's because AI is taking all
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these jobs. According to Goldman Sachs,
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generative AI could automate up to 25% of all work globally,
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wiping out many junior roles that grad you to train in.
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Even if you land a job, you're probably underemployed because
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according to Saint Louis Fed, 52% of all Gen.
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Z graduates are underemployed in their first job, meaning more
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than half of them are working jobs that don't even require
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their degree. Or if you're not underemployed,
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you're forced into the gig economy, according to Business
10:06
Insider. Again, Gen.
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Z is 58% more likely than millennials at the same age to
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take gig or freelance work because traditional careers
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aren't hiring. Experts warn this is shaping up
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to be a job crisis for Gen. Z1 that rivals and may even
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surpass what millennials faced in 2008.
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And this dynamic is creating an environment where people that
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currently do have full time jobs are clinging to those jobs for
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dear life and are trying so hard to meet and exceed expectations
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without exactly ever really knowing what those expectations
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are. And because of how rocky the job
10:39
market is and the considerable amount and frequency of layoffs,
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I feel like most of my full time employment friends are feeling
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like they're walking on egg shells, taking it more
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responsibility needed or is in their job description because
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there are less people for the same amount of work, meaning
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that they have to take on all the workloads for the people
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that were laid off around them without having a positive change
10:55
in compensation for that increase in work.
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But hey, you're lucky you're still there and you're not fired
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and you have a job and you have employment.
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So again, you can't complain. And I get why these friends are
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nervous. Expectations have been set, but.
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Right. Like are these expectations set
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on you or are these like suggestions exactly?
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Exactly. So I'm just like, again, trying
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to like find that balance of like, what do you want from me,
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what I should be doing and what more like if I do, it will be
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like moving me forward and. All that one commonality between
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the gig slash part time workers and the full time Gen.
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Z employees, regardless of where you are, is the general lack of
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time to do anything outside of your job.
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You see how the tables have turned from like 2020 when like
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we were exploring what life looked like outside of work and
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understand like, wow, work isn't supposed to be all of your life
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to the complete 180 that we're at now where work is consuming
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pretty much all of our lives. Which again, I do have to hop on
11:53
my horse and say I do not want to hear any Genz is lazy at work
11:57
slander because trust and believe all the stuff that the
12:02
Boomers and the Gen. Xers were so concerned about
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Gen. Z not doing.
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Like Gen. Z not working, we're working, we
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have no time for anything else. Like you may think that us
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walking into work with a nice latte or whatever it means that
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we have all the time in the world.
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I assure you that that is not the case because we are getting
12:16
off at the same time as you are. We have the same amount of hours
12:18
in the day and everyone is going through it right now.
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I'd say for me the worst aspects of working of Amazon of my
12:26
current job is time. I work morning for my own
12:31
sanity, but that means that I wake up every single day at 4:15
12:37
AM. That's too early.
12:39
The sun has not gone outside, birds are still sleeping, and
12:42
I'm waking up. The shift ends at 2:45 PM which
12:45
is OK travel time. I usually get home at about 3:30
12:50
PM. I still technically have the
12:52
evening for myself, but like time is the biggest struggle
12:57
because while I technically have the evening to myself, the job
13:01
leaves me so physically exhausted.
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Like physically exhausted and drained.
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Many people find themselves in the position of, well guess,
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seemingly having time on paper to live outside of work.
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But often times these jobs that are available to us are
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absolutely draining and don't account for things like commute
13:19
time and leave you with virtually no energy to do things
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except maybe the essential adult things like grocery shopping,
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cleaning, cooking, chores, etcetera.
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Like why does it feel like we have to choose between being a
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fully functioning adult or like seeing friends, having hobbies,
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and engaging in like third space?
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I don't really get to say we have open enrollment.
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So it's not really like a zoning thing.
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It's just whoever like comes, they come and it's not like how
13:42
are we got too many kids in this class, like kind of got to deal
13:44
with 36 being in here, sorry. And it's just like, okay, and
13:52
that's really challenging because there's only one of me
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and there's so many like different kids at the service.
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Not the kids fault at all. Lock them down.
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They're super great. But it's, it's a lot to deal
14:02
with because it's like a constant feeling of being on
14:05
right? And like how that works, like my
14:07
mental health, especially this week, girl, I've slept on my
14:10
couch four days, all four days. Because as soon as I get home, I
14:16
take my dog out, make he spend, get him some water to give out
14:20
one more time. I'm up for maybe like an hour,
14:22
hour and a half, get to watching the show.
14:24
I'm out suddenly 6:00 the next day and I have to go to work
14:28
again. And by now, if you've seen any
14:29
videos on this channel, you already know what's coming next.
14:31
You already know I'm going to say because I say it in every
14:33
single video. And it's not because I'm beating
14:35
a dead horse, although Lord knows when it comes to this, we
14:38
won't beat it, but it's because it's genuinely so important.
14:40
And like we just still are struggling to do it well.
14:44
And that is community. And more so the fact that the
14:47
current state of work right now is straining community.
14:50
Like yes, community and work have coexisted before.
14:52
That's always been a thing. But because for Gen.
14:55
Z, we are in these entry level and just now getting into maybe
14:58
some mid level middle management roles that are all becoming
15:01
significantly more demanding as these layoffs, as these
15:04
increases in work expectations are occurring, they're taking up
15:07
more of our time, making us more constantly consecutively tired,
15:10
meaning that we don't have time or that it's harder to make time
15:13
to build, Foster and participate in these acts of community.
15:17
But of course, you know, we still got to carry on because if
15:20
we want a village, we got to be on our villager duties and we
15:22
still got to put in the effort that we want to see in the
15:24
communities that we want to be a part of.
15:26
And oftentimes that means showing up even when you are
15:28
tired. So I can't say that this is the
15:30
entire reason behind the loneliness epidemic that we're
15:32
experiencing, but it just adds another barrier to entry or at
15:35
least a challenge that we find ourselves and these strives to
15:38
not be isolated and to have a group of people that care about
15:41
us around us. Overall, it just seems that
15:43
across the board, but likely more specifically Gen.
15:46
Z because we're the newest people in the workforce, are
15:48
feeling just more disillusioned with the job market.
15:50
So now we got to talk about tech.
15:55
As a former tech Patty myself and this might be new Lord of
15:58
some of y'all, I used to work in tech before I started yapping on
16:01
here. Recently some tech companies
16:03
have gotten a little too comfortable applauding and even
16:06
some adopting the 996 work week. Now you may be asking what is
16:10
that seemingly random bathroom code set of numbers and the
16:13
answer may gag you because it is quite gaggy. 996 is the work
16:18
week that consists of working from 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM six days
16:23
a week. And this goes without saying, if
16:26
you still have a cushy tech job that's remote with benefits,
16:29
then I sincerely applaud you. I'm really happy for you.
16:31
Get that bag and keep that bag. But there are rumblings of this
16:34
sort of work set up happening, especially at AI startups in
16:38
Silicon Valley to try and win the AI race, whatever that
16:41
means. Experts are calling the 9:00 AM
16:43
to 9:00 PM six days a week culture corporate abuse.
16:47
Yet America's top business leaders work relentless hours.
16:50
Apple CEO Tim Cook sends emails as early as 4:30 AM Former Yahoo
16:54
CEO Marissa Mayer reported clocked up to 130 hours a week
16:58
and Tesla CEO that punk is known to work 120 hours a week.
17:02
Some members of the C-Suite expect employees to match their
17:04
996 work schedules. Funnily enough, back in 2022,
17:08
Musk was accused of corporate slavery, perpetuating work abuse
17:12
and job burnout. While praising Chinese employees
17:14
of Tesla for burning the 3:00 AM oil, he said Americans are
17:18
trying to avoid going to work at all.
17:20
That's a lot and that's a lot of crazy.
17:22
I know a lot of that had to do with C-Suite, but again, as the
17:24
back half of that source, because it's not too far before
17:27
they start going like, well, if we're doing it, they should be
17:29
doing it too. And obviously, this all is
17:31
egregious. And I'm not saying that we are
17:32
anywhere near this in this current moment.
17:35
But as patterns tend to show, tech seems to be a Canary in the
17:38
coal mine for work industries and working conditions.
17:41
So what happens there tends to trickle down in different ways
17:44
into the rest of corporate and into the rest of the working
17:46
environment. So let's hope for dear luck that
17:48
this stuff does not stick. But for now, let's put a pen in
17:51
tech because we're going to revisit her later.
17:52
We now talk about the AI replacement theory.
17:55
I have heard the rumblings online and on the news that AI
17:58
is coming knocking at your door to try and steal your job.
18:01
Not if you have anything to do about it.
18:03
And there's been a lot of talks about the AI replacement theory
18:05
and rumblings on the Internet. And if you haven't heard this
18:08
term, let's have Google AI overview, which I can't seem to
18:11
stop from popping up. Explain it for us.
18:13
The AI replacement theory is the widespread concern that
18:16
artificial intelligence will automate and replace human jobs,
18:19
leading to mass unemployment and a potential reshaping of
18:22
society. Some experts believe AI will
18:24
augment and create new jobs, while others argue that the
18:27
speed and scope of automation will be unprecedented and pose
18:30
serious threats to the workforce.
18:33
We've seen this in the tech sector especially perhaps for
18:35
two reasons, but the first being it is thought that tech is a
18:38
sector that kind of leads the way in terms of innovation or at
18:42
least trends in the workforce. What happens in tech first can,
18:45
and likely is spread to other sectors and industries.
18:48
And here's the wonderful thing about, like banks and like
18:51
credit unions and financial institutions.
18:53
It's most of us, you know, you're going to be like, oh, AI
18:55
going to take our jobs or whatever.
18:57
We're still operating in 1700 BC, like our computers, we don't
19:03
even all have two monitors. Like we half of the time our is
19:07
broken our keyboards up. We have one monitor over here.
19:10
Oh, this is the monitor. Don't use this one.
19:12
Oh, that one in the back. That's the back stick that has
19:15
all the up stuff. Like we we don't even have
19:18
enough technology to have enough technology to start using AI.
19:22
And As for layoffs, they have definitely been a Canary in the
19:24
coal mine. Because what what we saw in the
19:26
big wave of layoffs in tech in 2023 and 2024 from tech and
19:30
digital jobs, including Twitter, Amazon, Salesforce, Klarna,
19:34
Google, and so, so many more all come down and happen in specific
19:37
ways before we saw them anywhere else.
19:39
So she and she being Miss AI is allegedly coming for us.
19:42
And that's been the fear. Except, interestingly enough,
19:45
when I asked people what their thoughts were in terms of like,
19:48
AI taking their jobs, it didn't seem like a lot of people that I
19:50
interviewed were actually that concerned.
19:52
Placing certain balls and stuff. I'm not hey, Charlie, Sure, it's
19:56
definitely going to create like new dynamics and like new
19:59
expectations for the roles. And maybe unfortunately a few
20:02
things will not, will be a little bit obsolete.
20:06
But I don't think it'll be like a whole sort of a baby out with
20:09
the bath party situation where it's like, OK, my role as like a
20:13
strategist or something has like changed slightly.
20:14
Like this isn't necessarily. Labor I cover.
20:16
Maybe there's something new I end up doing.
20:19
And I think it really comes down to the fact that when we're
20:21
talking about AI replacement, the threat level really does
20:24
depend on where and how often and the ways in which AI can be
20:28
incorporated in your job of whether or not you need to be
20:30
scared of AI come in to steal your gig.
20:32
Like, of course, fields such as software development are
20:35
extremely vulnerable right now because AI can come and write
20:37
code at accelerated rates. You also have fields like
20:40
customer service being heavily affected because more companies
20:42
are using AI assistance to help with the stuff that customer
20:45
service would traditionally do. And positions in finance are
20:48
definitely being hit the hardest.
20:49
However, jobs that lack the online data needed to be
20:52
replaced by AI are relatively safe, like things like
20:55
healthcare because of HIPAA and how scattered patient
20:57
information is construction, which is one of the most AI
21:00
proof things right now. And education for now because
21:03
for now, FERPA and student privacy laws protected.
21:06
And right now we're seeing with AI implementation, the main
21:08
roles that are being impacted right now are those middle
21:11
management roles. It's not as much entry level and
21:13
it's definitely not the higher level of C-Suite.
21:16
So it kind of fragments a lot of us.
21:18
And that's kind of where I feel bad for millennials because they
21:20
typically are right now in those middle management roles, whereas
21:23
like older millennials, boomers and Gen.
21:25
X are in those higher level roles in Gen.
21:27
Z for the most part is taking up the entry levels.
21:29
Which kind of leads me to my next conversation around
21:32
layoffs. Because of course the
21:38
aforementioned safe careers from AI aren't necessarily safe from
21:42
other things like funding cuts or general layoffs.
21:46
Because as we know, and as I've heard from people in interviews,
21:48
public health is being defunded in that field, and many other
21:51
fields have other ways of being made vulnerable.
21:54
I got that notice already. Yeah.
21:56
So like I said, the research budgets does this thing where
22:01
they internally fund research. And so a lot of the money for
22:04
the research does come from the institution.
22:07
And they're cutting down on research budgets, especially
22:09
with my professor who's in emeritus status.
22:11
So again, she's not an active researcher who's like
22:15
consistently putting out articles.
22:17
And money does follow, like active research that's
22:20
replicable. And so I got in April, I was
22:25
like March and April, I was like, hey, reappointment comes
22:29
up a little later, like, am I good?
22:31
And she was like, yeah, you're good.
22:33
We're going to ask you back. Usually anything under 2 years
22:36
is like, oh, then why'd you come here?
22:39
Especially because academia works a little bit slower than
22:42
corporate. And so I was like OK, good.
22:44
Like I'm good to go for next year.
22:46
And she was like, yeah, you are. And I was like, OK, And then at
22:50
the end of May, it was like a professional, I'm coming to you
22:53
as a woman type e-mail where it was like, hey, so you should
22:59
probably start looking around. And I was like, OK.
23:01
And then they we're like, you're gonna have a meeting with HR and
23:06
we're gonna bring in the Top Gun.
23:08
And I was like, okay, so I'm getting fired.
23:10
Namely, at the moment, are the government job layoffs and
23:12
hiring freezes going on. With the government defunding
23:15
industries such as healthcare, the sciences, education and
23:18
public media, it's creating a ripple effect.
23:20
A lot of these position people like lost their jobs.
23:23
No, no severance pay, no nut balance.
23:26
Just like, hey, girl, you know, since we're contracts, right?
23:29
You have to renew it every single year.
23:31
And it was just like, so you're not getting a contract this
23:33
year, but we can put you on as like maybe like a pair or
23:35
something or a secretary if you have like therapical background
23:39
and things like that. But obviously not everybody has
23:42
those credentials. And the problem with being a
23:44
librarian, need to have a master's degree.
23:46
So you're demoting me and giving me less pay, but I have more
23:50
education experience. So that was like a really big
23:53
thing for a while. Plus as like a campus as a
23:56
whole, we were losing like staff.
23:58
So whereas you may have had a lot of people in the hallways,
24:01
it becomes the teacher's job to kind of sacrifice some of your
24:03
own class time to kind of monitor what's going on in the
24:06
hallways. Or rather than having a teacher
24:09
and a in support person, it's only just a teacher.
24:12
And you know, the in supports rotate every few blocks, which
24:15
kind of makes it a little bit more difficult, especially when
24:17
we're talking about our more behavior focused kids, our
24:20
special needs students. In general, uncertainty to other
24:22
jobs that receive funding or grants.
24:24
And regardless of industry, with layoffs comes understaffing
24:28
people who are laid off, whether the powers that you want to
24:30
admit it or not had real roles and duties to fulfill that
24:33
they're still employed. Counterparts will then have to
24:35
pick up the stack to do which not the play the which is worse
24:38
Olympics, but that creates a pretty situation for all workers
24:42
involved. Yes, I won't go in specific what
24:44
my program is, but programs like mine in my particular have cut
24:51
off programs for after school elementary students and toddlers
24:56
for lack of funding. We've also lost administrator
25:00
jobs and so a lot of times my supervisor had like assistant in
25:05
her office. She doesn't have that anymore,
25:07
so she has to do a lot of the office work but.
25:11
That that. Is so much work because
25:14
sometimes someone will walkie-talkie here because they
25:16
need help with the kid and then someone will come up to the
25:19
office. No one's there.
25:21
But we don't have the funds to have another person anymore.
25:24
And I was really worried last year because there was a
25:27
possibly we were losing services for kids and services that a lot
25:33
of our kids with bigger behaviors needed and thankfully
25:38
we have them for this year, but who knows for next year how that
25:41
funding will go and. That kind of brings me to this
25:43
final point of like something's got to give, like something has
25:46
to happen to change this because we are all being squeezed out of
25:50
like the last of our resources right now.
25:52
We are living in such a weird and uncharted territory right
25:55
now. AI is advancing and said to take
25:57
over a lot of tech and digital forward jobs.
25:59
Employed people are being overworked, under paid,
26:01
understaffed, new job postings are going down while the
26:04
unemployment rate is continuing to rise month after month, and
26:07
the general job market just is not looking too hot.
26:10
And I mean of course right now when it comes to what should you
26:12
do, the common and safe answer has historically been like, oh
26:16
go back to school. It seems like right now that
26:18
degrees aren't doing anything to help either.
26:21
You have people with master's degrees, PhD degrees, still
26:24
being unemployed and having to pick up jobs that they are
26:26
overqualified for. I have a bachelor's degree,
26:29
which means I have no opinion in academia.
26:32
That's crazy to say. Like that's crazy.
26:35
That's like the case. Well, yeah, it's like you, you
26:38
got the bare minimum because if you think about it, with your
26:39
bachelor's degree was two years of Gen.
26:41
Ed and then you got to like specialized things like I have a
26:45
PhD, right? And I've been doing X amount of
26:48
research on top of that because she did OB.
26:51
But usually people do a postdoc. So it's after you get your
26:55
doctorate degree where you then do like another internship type
26:58
deal and then you become a professor, assistant professor.
27:01
And then you're an assistant professor on the 10 year track.
27:04
And then you make tenure and then you go out and celebrate
27:07
because you are set for life. It's quite normal and called
27:10
for, quite honestly, to feel frustrated and angry with this
27:13
whole situation because it's not fair.
27:15
Because as a generation we are sold a dream.
27:16
We are sold a way of life that if we did these certain things,
27:20
we'll be granted or at least would have a shot at.
27:22
And it has been a long time of us having to wake up repeatedly
27:26
to whatever nightmare this current reality is.
27:28
And everyone has their boogeyman and groups to blame for why
27:30
we're in this position. Again, see my recession video to
27:33
see potentially a reason behind why we are here.
27:35
But where does this leave us as a universal basic income on the
27:38
horizon since we're all losing our jobs?
27:40
Probably not. I don't even want to go that
27:42
route. I don't even know what we don't
27:43
do. There is a large wealth
27:44
disparity being exacerbated right now and it is becoming
27:46
harder and harder to keep up and do what we need to do.
27:49
And the expansions and to these working conditions is not making
27:52
things any better, whether that be the increase in expectations,
27:55
the obscurity of the expectations that are put upon
27:58
us or just the general feelings of uncertainty with our
28:00
generation, we are going through it.
28:02
But I guess the silver lining behind all this is that we
28:05
aren't necessarily the only ones going through it because this is
28:08
happening to everyone across the board.
28:10
And there really needs to be some kind of change, whether
28:13
that be legislatively, socially or professionally, because the
28:15
way that we're currently on track to go is not going to
28:18
benefit anyone. But I'd probably say the 2%,
28:22
which I don't know, maybe that's the goal.