Discussing and Demystifying the Antiwork Movement

Hey, this isn’t Brooke’s Nuclear Heavy Hitter!

What a keen eye you have! In a shocking turn of events, Brooke underestimated the amount of mental toil it would take to address the U.S.’s long-standing history with nuclear… things. So, we’re pushing back the heavy hitter and, instead, addressing something that’s been on our minds for a hot minute.

And that would be…

That’s right! The title of this episode!

The Antiwork movement isn’t new, but it has picked up quite a bit of steam in the last year or so with what some are calling the Great Resignation—or that neat phenomenon where people are tired of working abusive jobs for pennies. The term originally comes from anarchist and communist circles, but don’t let the labels sway you just yet, because Antiwork and the activism it promotes is good for everyone—from every political and social background.

The details of what Antiwork activists are fighting for differ by person and ideology, but the basic idea is: the modern workplace is inherently violent to humanity. You’re required to work for the vast majority of your daily life in order to (sometimes!) earn the right to survive, even when working violates your individual needs. This conception of work prioritizes the profits of corporations over the human beings employed there and ultimately results in an overworked, underpaid, and unwell populace. 

The current state of work isn’t terribly surprising, either. The U.S. work system was built directly from the systems that kept the wheels of slavery running, and you can see remnants of those structures in the hierarchies and management techniques in modern businesses. 

Plus, rich people like the idea of Antiwork—as long as it’s exclusive to them. Billionaires have built a life of leisure and excess from the exploitation of others, and then they have the audacity to claim that they can’t reduce work hours because poor people can’t be trusted with that much free time. In reality, the consequences of a liberated populace would simply be too threatening to the world the 1% has so carefully constructed. If we’re free, we’re too close to being their equals. We have the energy to innovate, to change things, and, most distastefully, to organize. 

What’s the solution?

That’s always a complicated question, no matter what it refers to.

Antiwork philosophers and activists know exactly what’s wrong with the system and why, but the solutions depend on what is best for the majority, what is reasonably possible right now, and how much support the movement has.

The r/Antiwork library has a collection of essays, articles, books, and other resources to help get you started in understanding the basic tenets of the movement itself. In a nutshell, most supporters fall on a spectrum between a reconstructive overhaul of the work system and the complete abolition of work as we know it. 

To clarify, the latter doesn’t mean that we would simply do nothing all the time. Contrary to popular media coverage, it also doesn’t mean that everyone wants to be lazy without consequences (though, even if they did, who can blame them?). Instead, it looks to an aspirational future where the bonds of Capitalism are broken and people are free to build a society based on mutual care and compassion. People would do the work they want to do and, according to supporters of this movement, it would have minimal effect on what work actually gets done.

Olivia and I probably fall somewhere in the middle, but only because the abolition end of the spectrum seems to be a hard sell to a population already living in survival mode. Even small changes like a 4-day work week or a 4-hour work day would drastically improve people’s quality of life—and the longer people stand their ground against exploitative companies, the closer we get to a reality where people aren’t forced to sell their lives for the privilege of continuing to exist.

Why don’t more people support Antiwork?

There are a few reasons, but none of them are all-encompassing. First, the ruling class has a vested interest in dissuading workers from knowing their worth, and they have ample resources to push that message. Major media outlets are owned and operated by large corporations and routinely use bad faith arguments and false narratives to sway public opinion against workers’ rights movements. Union-busting tactics are rampant in Corporate America, and many working class people simply don’t know what their rights are. 

Even if they do know their rights, many working class folks are rightfully terrified of being fired or sued for organizing or demanding better treatment. Retaliation for organizing is, by the way, illegal, but many just don’t have the time or resources to exercise their rights when it happens to them. This r/Antiwork FAQ contains resources on how to unionize at your workplace and is a great place to start your journey in understanding workers’ rights.

But people do support it, even if they don’t support it by name. Though this isn’t the most indicative statistic, I think it’s worth mentioning that, as of right now, the r/Antiwork subreddit boasts over 1.6 million members. People are tired of the status quo, and it’s finally starting to affect the way they interact with their jobs. For the first time in a long while, we’re seeing people stand up for themselves, advocate for their worth, and reject the pittance that so many companies offer. 

As a final note, Olivia and I speak extensively about our own experiences in the service sector and our current positions in academia and financial services. Though we both have experienced the exploitation that runs through most service positions, we know that our experiences were relatively mild compared to what many endure every day. Especially now, where we have found positions that pay above scale, treat us extremely well, and prioritize employee wellbeing, we want to emphasize that we cannot and will not appropriate the collective trauma of the working class though we both technically belong to the working class.

As two exceedingly lucky people in a world that primarily seems to value and reward luck, we are disgusted and saddened when we witness friends, family, neighbors, and millions of strangers subjected to abuse and dehumanization as a means to survive. The enjoyment and freedom Olivia and I have when we work should be the bare minimum for every single person alive today, and we won’t stop fighting until that’s the reality we live in.

We encourage you to read the personal stories shared to r/Antiwork as a window into what the average worker experiences. Familiarize yourself with the collective struggle, find community, support your local union chapters, donate to grassroots workers’ rights organizations if it’s within your means, and keep fighting the good fight. We deserve a world that doesn’t just allow joy, but honors it as a fundamental part of the human experience.