cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/13812624

JD.com founder Richard Liu warned employees against prioritizing work-life balance during a recent video conference, stating those who "put life first and work second" were not welcome at the company. This stance reflects a broader trend in China's tech sector as executives face slowing growth and increased competition.

Major tech firms, including Alibaba and Tencent, have cut tens of thousands of jobs since 2021. Companies are now seeking younger, cheaper workers and demanding longer hours from existing staff. Pinduoduo, an e-commerce group known for its high productivity and grueling work culture, is seen as a model by some in the industry. In 2021, two Pinduoduo employees died in incidents linked to overwork by colleagues.

Older tech professionals, typically over 35, face the greatest risk of redundancy and struggle to find new positions. Employers often view them as expensive and less flexible due to family responsibilities. A 2023 survey of 2,200 professionals in China's largest cities revealed widespread anxiety about career prospects and work-life balance. Many in the industry report experiencing depression and high stress levels.

For context: I work security at a Golf/Ski resort. We are told to be "proactive" with noise complaints, and I was trained to give 3 strikes, Strike 1: friendly warning. Strike 2: More serious warning, followed with a noise complaints fee. Strike 3: Escort off the resort.

Back in February, I received a write-up for a customer complaint claiming I beat on his door, told him he was "being a dick," and that I told him to "Shut the fuck up " and that I told him I'd administer a noise complaints fee if he didn't quiet down after designated quiet hours. Apparently he was "so pissed off" he sat in the lobby for 2 hours to "avoid trouble"(on camera apparantly) and then left early due to my actions, and we had to refund his entire stay.

Here's the thing, though: he lied through his teeth because that never happened (at least the way we interacted. They never showed me this video of the guest in the lobby) .

Here's what actually transpired: The front desk called me, and said room 1017 was complaining about noise down the hall. As security, it's my job to handle that stuff. I asked his neighbor to quiet down, politely, and received no issues. However, the guest who complained was actually being much louder. I could hear him blaring music, his kids laughing and yelling, and a bunch of banging coming directly from his room. I was told by my boss to be "proactive" about noise complaints to prevent any complaints from happening and that I should get them under control beforehand. I was told that even if there were no complaints, if I heard noise like this, I was to issue a strike. So I did just that. I gently knocked on his door. He asked what the issue was and extended his hand to me (I shook it). I politely informed him of our noise policy; I didn't even issue him a strike. All I said was that it was after quiet hours, and then I kindly asked him to quiet down. I told him I didn't want to ruin his stay, and that while no complaints for him existed, I wanted to avoid any potential issues, and then I politely told him about our 3 strike process, and made it clear that he wasn't getting one, but that I would have to if he got a complaint later. He said, "Ok, ok, sir, I don't want any trouble. I'll make sure to quiet down." I smiled and said it was all good and that I wanted him to enjoy his stay. Then he closed his door, and I left. That was the extent of things.

So during the write up my boss told me they had no camera footage or witnesses to this event, but he "did some research" and apparently I brag about being aggressive to guests to other employees, and that the guest waiting in the lobby and leaving early was an "extreme reaction". He also told me, "we have NEVER done noise complaint fees."

He asked if I remembered that night. I crossed my arms and focused on his filing cabinet to think, and apparently, he "felt threatened" (???) by that, which he said was more proof I was lying and that I was "unusually aggressive." It devolved into an argument. I browsed the SoP book (security officer protocols) a few weeks later and it said, right there in the book we are told to follow, that we DO give out noise complaints fees, and I pointed that out to both my bosses and was told they'll "change it". It was, however, never changed and is still there to this day.

Fast forward, and I go from working 3 shifts a week to 2 to 1 to none for a whole month. I only recently started working again after asking if I was going to be scheduled. Plus, I specifically asked the day of the write-up if I could use my personal car to patrol. I was told yes. I've seen other officers do it, my managers do it, even the owner said it was OK. For 4 months, I was using my car with no issue. It's hard to miss, I'm in uniform, people know it's me driving, yet suddenly, tonight, my boss told me he "had no idea" I was using my car all this time, and that it "wasn't allowed". I told him even the owner said I could, and that all we needed were magnets to slap on our cars, which I called my manager for, and he mysteriously didn't remember the conversation. Am I being singled out here? I'm always the last to know of any changes as well.

There's a lot of talk about inflation and its causes. Is it corporate greed? Supply chain issues? One clear base cause of inflation less talked about is having an inflationary currency supply. Any other inflation caused by supply chain issues, corporate greed, lack of market competition, etc is just added on top of that. Fiat inflationary currency is a rather new invention in terms of the human timeline. In the US, Nixon is the start of it. Central banks aim for 2-3% inflation in "good years". The money supply expands, the portion of that supply a single dollar represents, and therefore its value, decreases. This isn't a conspiracy, it's government policy, and both parties gleefully support it because it benefits their rich donors.

Think of it: in the last 50 years, everything has gotten cheaper to produce thanks to increasing mechanization, outsourcing to cheap labor/low regulation countries, and extremely efficient supply chains. Yet so many things "cost more" than they did 50 years ago. Even basics like bread. What used to be 5c in the US in the 50s now costs $5.00. How is that the case? Shouldn't it cost less? Where is that "extra efficiency" going if not to lower prices? The answer: bread is the same value it's always been, the money has gotten less valuable. This is how they keep working class people running on a treadmill, never able to achieve economic mobility.

Inflationary currency devalues the currency you worked hard to earn by increasing the supply. It hits the middle class the worst because they have more of their net wealth in cash, often in the form of emergency funds, savings, and putting together enough money for a down payment on a home. Rich people have their money in assets which aren't harmed by currency inflation. Actually, even worse, it inflates the value of those assets! If the dollar loses value (all other things being equal), it takes more dollar to buy a share in Amazon, just like it takes more dollars to buy a loaf of bread. Poor people live hand to mouth, so their net wealth is not impacted much, but inflationary currency prevents them from saving and "moving up". If you want to identify the causes of increasing wealth disparity, the inability of people to save money and theft of value from the middle class via money supply expansion is a major one.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/15914243

The academic workers at UCLA and UC Davis will join 2,000 already on strike at UC Santa Cruz.

I have no choice but to work a job for survival although I am in constant pain, my feet, my legs, my back, my shoulders, which is ironic because here I am as your massage therapist so you might assume we're impervious to pain, But no, not only am I your licensed massage therapist but I am first & foremost a Disabled Army Veteran but I have no choice but to work because all my disability benefits are being garnished by the government.

Ideally to heal my pain, I would rest and exercise and do yoga all day which is what I really need to do, but that won't earn me money to survive, and if I don't earn money to survive then I cannot survive. So I have no choice but to work a job, and if I could have any job in the world I wanted, it would be this job, as a licensed massage therapist here in this oceanfront Spa at this exclusive Beach Club that charges members $7,000 to join and $1,000 a month club dues, yes this is an exclusive club and I am grateful you hired me to work here,

I went to school for this, and jumped through so many legal hoops and bureaucratic documentation and licensing and testing in several different states just to have this job, So I'm investing myself into this job because I've already invested so much effort into it, and I don't want to jump through any other hoops for any other job because I'm already exhausted.

although what I really want to do is be a yoga teacher but I tried that and it only pays $25 a week and I cannot survive on $25/week, so I'm sticking with this job as a massage therapist and I'm grateful you hired me because this spa is on the beach and we can literally see the ocean from our windows and front promenade and it is so beautiful. And an employee benefit you offer us is a cafeteria with free food during our breaks and that is amazing. I'm grateful to work here,

but let me be clear that I do not want to work AT ALL and I need to rest and my body is in constant pain and I literally have disability benefits so I shouldn't be working but the government /IRS is garnishing all of my disability benefits because of something stupid my ex-husband did 10 years ago, So I have no choice but to work this job, and if I must work a job, this is the best one. But I am worried I will not be able to keep up and I will be so exhausted that I simply can't do it anymore, and then what? I will die because we need money to survive and if I don't work then I won't have money. And mind you, death from lack of money is not a quick instant painless death. No, it's a slow horrible undignified demise.

I will honestly tell you, along the same vein of preferring to be a yoga teacher if it only paid a living wage because that would be better for my body and my health, I've also thought of being an exotic dancer so I can climb a pole and be upside down and exercise which is what I crave, so much better than standing on these hard floors all day bending over massage clients, Oh it's 3:45 a.m. and my body is still throbbing in pain from the prior day of work, but I chose this vocation as a massage therapist because it is respectable, and guaranteed steady income as long as I can tolerate the pain and keep showing up to work every day,

whereas being an exotic dancer would not be respectable, and also I don't have the personality or the street smarts to be an exotic dancer. I would just like the physicality of it, climbing, stretching, dancing, that's what my body needs to do.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/13612789

Finally had my performance review with my boss. (It's about a month late and I'm the last one on the team to get it.)

Objectives: 💯 Goals: 💯 Feedback: FenrirIII is great. Keep up the good work! No negative feedback. Bonus: 100% Raise: 0%

I find out that there was an incident that cost me my raise (i.e. my director denied it).

Earlier in the year, my Sales team fucked up and screwed up a deployment, which has nothing to do with me. I went out of my way to fix their fuck up because they punted it over to me. It took 2 weeks and a lot of favors to get it fixed and running.

That same Sales team blamed the whole thing on me (again, not involved until they screwed up) and told the customer (who had never met me) to tell my VP and Director that I suck when they met them in person at an event. Unbelievable. Now, I'm expected to go work with these sabotaging assholes and keep breaking my back to keep them from torpedoing me again.

Fuck that. It's quiet quitting time and job hunting elsewhere. There will be other asshole Sales people out there, but maybe I can get a pay bump out of it.

From Reddit

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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/11373276

Leftist news commentary & interviews. Fighting for political and social change. Sabby Sabs podcast is a part of Revolutionary Blackout Network.

01:05 Clip From CaseStudyQB, Fox News Interview With UAW President Shawn Fain

02:06 Problem With Shawn Fain's Statement, Joe Biden Is Also A Scab, Railroad Workers Strike

02:42 If You Are Really Pro-Worker And Pro-Labor

04:56 UAW Public Statement For A Ceasefire In Gaza

07:02 Do Not Agree With Unions Endorsing Presidential Candidates, Shawn Thaught Us That

07:49 Candidates That Support Ceasefire and Stood With Workers On The Picket Line

08:36 Clip Of UAW Pulling And Dragging Out Pro-Ceasefire Protestors Out

10:46 Shawn Says A Great Majority Of Members Will Not Support Biden, Clip Of Fox News Interview With Shawn

12:02 Speech From Shawn, Calls Donald A Scab

14:41 Sat Here For Two Years And Watched Unions Cave

15:40 Part Two Of Clip, Shawn On The Biden Endorsment And Trump Differences

18:36 Sabby Comments On Shawn Talking On UAW Supporting Environmental Concerns

19:27 Sabby Looking For UAW Rank And File Members To Interview

Way to motivate your workers.

Oh but the Executive Leadership Team? They're getting bonuses.

Assholes.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/11207741

In the 1920s an increasing number of corporations were acquiring machine guns for labor relations related reasons. Deterring striking employees.

Did you know that the Peters company made ammunition specifically for riot control for the Thompson submachine gun in the 1920s? And it wasn’t rubber bullets, either – it was paper-wrapped snakeshot. The cartridges were actually longer than a standard magazine would accept, necessitating the production of a special longer magazine to fit them. That magazine would hold 18 rounds, and was specially marked as such...

... At about 8 feet it made a pattern about 18 inches in diameter (from a rifled Tommy Gun barrel), and did not cycle the action... the proper way to use this ammo for crowd control: fire it into the pavement in front of the crowd, allowing it to ricochet up into the crowd at a lower velocity. It would be less lethal that way, but still a great way to lose an eye!

Ian's video: [5:30] https://youtu.be/ud3Csq6568k?si=

Old Popular Mechanics article that mentions this type of ammo.