A brief view from the other side: my position was eliminated less than a year after I made a mid-pandemic cross-country move with my family (including toddler) for the job in question. It was a godsend. I have my own business now, and while it is often anxiety-inducing, and while as the sole wage earner in my family it can occasionally lead to sleepless nights, it has also given me more than I ever could have imagined. It has allowed me to unlearn so many of behaviors and beliefs that kept me small and nonthreatening as a Woman in Late-Stage Capitalism. It brought me closer to who I am and who I want to be. It has given me time with my young daughter, and midday walks, and the ability to show up for so many people that matter to me in my life. It helped me remember what life is.
We should all be able to have this without the attached anxiety, without the fear of poverty and illness, without the fucking hustle. But for the moment? It has been one of life's great surprises to discover that life on the fringes of the system has so much sweetness to offer.
(But also, man, a steady paycheck and employer-provided health insurance are fucking awesome and sometimes I want to run back into the bosom of Cold Corporate Overlord. That's real too.)
Thank you for this comment. I love that you were able to make that leap. Owning a business seems so daunting to me. Like doing taxes or calculus!And health insurance is sexier than Jason Momoa. It’s a hard habit to break. Do you mind sharing what kind of business you started? I’m totally intrigued.
Of course! I’m a nonprofit and philanthropic advisor, which is my field (that’s made going out on my own a bit easier than, say, starting a cupcake business or something). Your post particularly resonated because never in a MILLION GAZILLION YEARS would I have started by own business if I hadn’t found myself unemployed and needing to make money when a former colleague reached out and offered an opportunity and I just sort of … kept going. It was such a shocking turn of events. I’m still surprised to have a business. It helps that it feels more like a practice than anything else. I’m just doing the thing I’m good at and helping other people and it turns out I can sort of pay the bills doing that. I feel really lucky to have stumbled into this - and grateful to have been let go.
This is kind of where my brain goes when I contemplate getting laid off. Maybe it will open a door to a place that inspires me. But I would never voluntarily leave my job in a million years because it has provided so much safety for me and my family. So happy it worked out like this for you! ♥️
I’m very lucky and I know I have a lot of privilege that’s allowed for this trajectory. And truly I am the least entrepreneurial person on earth. But this path has given me gifts I never could’ve imagined. It’s funny how things play out.
And the safety of solid employment cannot be overstated, for real. I wish there were space for the inspiration and knowledge we all deserve within the structures that also allow for safety.
Hi! I'm self employed/ 1099 and pay for my family's healthcare. What you're doing to take care of your family totally supersedes capitalism and is to be admired. We do what we have to do, not just for our survival, but for the survival of our closest loved ones. Many, MANY, people refuse to "sell out" and get actual money paying jobs and benefits, and then become everybody else's burden.......
(I just payed about $7K off of a medical debt for my SD who is in college that went into collections when someone else was supposed to make sure she was insured and was going to pay that debt that was ruining our kid's credit so I'm not bitter or pissed.... I digress)
Americans are tricked into believing that we're entitled to our most perfect happiness and to do anything, or not do anything, to achieve that first and foremost. Not only does this hurt everyone else, it hurts them the most because we're never going to be 100% in our most perfect happiness bc that's not how this life works.
You, YOU, are providing for your kids singlehandedly, and that? That's fucking badass.
And? It brings content which leads to joy found in unexpected places.
I really appreciate this perspective. I’m so grateful for my job but I also regularly hate myself for feeling like such a corporate tool. Maybe that feeling is leftover from hanging out with so many artists in my twenties. I was once told by an artist that the money he made was more “pure” than the money I made working for a company even though my money was supporting a family.
I straddle this shitty line where I absolute appreciate having a job but not wanting to be the kind of person that throws around phrases like “low-hanging fruit” and who feels passionate about sponsored content. Because it all feels so dumb.
In the end, it’s just survival, the job is. But it feels like it should mean more than that because I spend so many hours doing it? But survival and taking care of human beings ain’t nothin’ to scoff at, I know.
That artist is a douchebag. Money is money and it all comes from the same place. I dated a guy who said shit like that but then would take me to parties at some of his clients million dollar estates, many who were CEOs or some other cog in the capitalist machine. When I mentioned the irony, he didn't get it... he was a great painter, but pretty much a dipshit.
Do you like it? Are you good at it? Do you get any satisfaction from it? What else would you do?
My husband and I are both self employed and we've been successful, but it's really hard. For a very long time, we were hanging by a thread, and it all comes with another set of problems but at the same time, we're still slaves to making the money so we can live and pay for shit for our kids, our dogs, his mom... there's a few people on our dole.. and you're right, supporting human beings isn't anything to scoff at.
When I was a freelance writer I had zero understanding of 1099 and fucked up my taxes so badly for years. It took me a long time to dig out from under that whole scenario in addition to divorce debt etc. It wasn’t until my forties that I feel like I have a solid grasp on spending, finances, retirement, real estate etc. They should teach that shit starting in elementary.
I fucked up my 1099 shit in my 20s big effing time. We had an independent living class that was in conjunction with home economics, but we do need more.
There is so much shame in regards to money. I see this with a lot with women and I have to remind them that all of this is made up and some of the most successful people in the world have had financial troubles. You learn all of the rules, and you begin to understand how the game is played, which is empowering... AND many financial institutions don't want you to because they profit from debt and the shame it brings. You're more than a credit score, or the number on the size of your pants.
I worry about getting laid off all the time, I have only been in my current corporate role for a few years so I wouldn’t get much of a payout if they did let me go. Over the past few months I’ve been building up a few side hustles to the point that they now contribute around 35% of my income. It wouldn’t cover my expenses if I was made redundant but it would certainly help
I always worry about getting laid off. I operate under the notion that I'm expendable and could go at any time. I've been focusing on side hustles too, including here on Substack. I also work at a restaurant on weekends. The pay is super low and it sucks getting up at 6am on a Saturday morning but once I'm there I really enjoy the environment. 35% is a solid side hustle number! I'm nowhere near that. Maybe 10%? Care to share your side hustles?
Same, like you I have seen it in my workplace and it is brutal. I work as a copywriter and content strategist and do a lot of freelance on the side. I have three clients who give me fairly regular work and I’ve just started pet sitting which is lower paid but easy and nice, plus it all adds up!
Congratulations and condolences at the same time... two people close to me: one fired and one 'laid off' last week. I wonder nearly every day if I'm going to get ~the boot~. Life is fucking hard, it's time we all got a respite from all this bullshit.
A brief view from the other side: my position was eliminated less than a year after I made a mid-pandemic cross-country move with my family (including toddler) for the job in question. It was a godsend. I have my own business now, and while it is often anxiety-inducing, and while as the sole wage earner in my family it can occasionally lead to sleepless nights, it has also given me more than I ever could have imagined. It has allowed me to unlearn so many of behaviors and beliefs that kept me small and nonthreatening as a Woman in Late-Stage Capitalism. It brought me closer to who I am and who I want to be. It has given me time with my young daughter, and midday walks, and the ability to show up for so many people that matter to me in my life. It helped me remember what life is.
We should all be able to have this without the attached anxiety, without the fear of poverty and illness, without the fucking hustle. But for the moment? It has been one of life's great surprises to discover that life on the fringes of the system has so much sweetness to offer.
(But also, man, a steady paycheck and employer-provided health insurance are fucking awesome and sometimes I want to run back into the bosom of Cold Corporate Overlord. That's real too.)
Thank you for this comment. I love that you were able to make that leap. Owning a business seems so daunting to me. Like doing taxes or calculus!And health insurance is sexier than Jason Momoa. It’s a hard habit to break. Do you mind sharing what kind of business you started? I’m totally intrigued.
Of course! I’m a nonprofit and philanthropic advisor, which is my field (that’s made going out on my own a bit easier than, say, starting a cupcake business or something). Your post particularly resonated because never in a MILLION GAZILLION YEARS would I have started by own business if I hadn’t found myself unemployed and needing to make money when a former colleague reached out and offered an opportunity and I just sort of … kept going. It was such a shocking turn of events. I’m still surprised to have a business. It helps that it feels more like a practice than anything else. I’m just doing the thing I’m good at and helping other people and it turns out I can sort of pay the bills doing that. I feel really lucky to have stumbled into this - and grateful to have been let go.
This is kind of where my brain goes when I contemplate getting laid off. Maybe it will open a door to a place that inspires me. But I would never voluntarily leave my job in a million years because it has provided so much safety for me and my family. So happy it worked out like this for you! ♥️
I’m very lucky and I know I have a lot of privilege that’s allowed for this trajectory. And truly I am the least entrepreneurial person on earth. But this path has given me gifts I never could’ve imagined. It’s funny how things play out.
And the safety of solid employment cannot be overstated, for real. I wish there were space for the inspiration and knowledge we all deserve within the structures that also allow for safety.
Such a great comment. Thanks for reading and sharing 😘
Hi! I'm self employed/ 1099 and pay for my family's healthcare. What you're doing to take care of your family totally supersedes capitalism and is to be admired. We do what we have to do, not just for our survival, but for the survival of our closest loved ones. Many, MANY, people refuse to "sell out" and get actual money paying jobs and benefits, and then become everybody else's burden.......
(I just payed about $7K off of a medical debt for my SD who is in college that went into collections when someone else was supposed to make sure she was insured and was going to pay that debt that was ruining our kid's credit so I'm not bitter or pissed.... I digress)
Americans are tricked into believing that we're entitled to our most perfect happiness and to do anything, or not do anything, to achieve that first and foremost. Not only does this hurt everyone else, it hurts them the most because we're never going to be 100% in our most perfect happiness bc that's not how this life works.
You, YOU, are providing for your kids singlehandedly, and that? That's fucking badass.
And? It brings content which leads to joy found in unexpected places.
I really appreciate this perspective. I’m so grateful for my job but I also regularly hate myself for feeling like such a corporate tool. Maybe that feeling is leftover from hanging out with so many artists in my twenties. I was once told by an artist that the money he made was more “pure” than the money I made working for a company even though my money was supporting a family.
I straddle this shitty line where I absolute appreciate having a job but not wanting to be the kind of person that throws around phrases like “low-hanging fruit” and who feels passionate about sponsored content. Because it all feels so dumb.
In the end, it’s just survival, the job is. But it feels like it should mean more than that because I spend so many hours doing it? But survival and taking care of human beings ain’t nothin’ to scoff at, I know.
That artist is a douchebag. Money is money and it all comes from the same place. I dated a guy who said shit like that but then would take me to parties at some of his clients million dollar estates, many who were CEOs or some other cog in the capitalist machine. When I mentioned the irony, he didn't get it... he was a great painter, but pretty much a dipshit.
Do you like it? Are you good at it? Do you get any satisfaction from it? What else would you do?
My husband and I are both self employed and we've been successful, but it's really hard. For a very long time, we were hanging by a thread, and it all comes with another set of problems but at the same time, we're still slaves to making the money so we can live and pay for shit for our kids, our dogs, his mom... there's a few people on our dole.. and you're right, supporting human beings isn't anything to scoff at.
When I was a freelance writer I had zero understanding of 1099 and fucked up my taxes so badly for years. It took me a long time to dig out from under that whole scenario in addition to divorce debt etc. It wasn’t until my forties that I feel like I have a solid grasp on spending, finances, retirement, real estate etc. They should teach that shit starting in elementary.
I fucked up my 1099 shit in my 20s big effing time. We had an independent living class that was in conjunction with home economics, but we do need more.
There is so much shame in regards to money. I see this with a lot with women and I have to remind them that all of this is made up and some of the most successful people in the world have had financial troubles. You learn all of the rules, and you begin to understand how the game is played, which is empowering... AND many financial institutions don't want you to because they profit from debt and the shame it brings. You're more than a credit score, or the number on the size of your pants.
I worry about getting laid off all the time, I have only been in my current corporate role for a few years so I wouldn’t get much of a payout if they did let me go. Over the past few months I’ve been building up a few side hustles to the point that they now contribute around 35% of my income. It wouldn’t cover my expenses if I was made redundant but it would certainly help
I always worry about getting laid off. I operate under the notion that I'm expendable and could go at any time. I've been focusing on side hustles too, including here on Substack. I also work at a restaurant on weekends. The pay is super low and it sucks getting up at 6am on a Saturday morning but once I'm there I really enjoy the environment. 35% is a solid side hustle number! I'm nowhere near that. Maybe 10%? Care to share your side hustles?
Same, like you I have seen it in my workplace and it is brutal. I work as a copywriter and content strategist and do a lot of freelance on the side. I have three clients who give me fairly regular work and I’ve just started pet sitting which is lower paid but easy and nice, plus it all adds up!
Congratulations and condolences at the same time... two people close to me: one fired and one 'laid off' last week. I wonder nearly every day if I'm going to get ~the boot~. Life is fucking hard, it's time we all got a respite from all this bullshit.