Hard work is a scam
Hard work doesn’t pay—it just keeps you from falling behind.
More than 40% of jobs pay minimum wage or less. We live in a time where, if you put in the hours, you are worse off than if you had quit, upskilled, and applied somewhere else.
Loyalty to a company used to mean something. Now? It’s just a way to keep you underpaid.
How Companies Have Changed
"If hard work is the key to success, most people would rather pick the lock." — Claude McDonald
Climbing the corporate ladder is a thing of the past. The way jobs are structured now, promotions are rare, and raises barely keep up with inflation.
Companies used to invest in their employees—train them, promote them, and move them up the ranks. Not anymore. That’s too much effort. Instead of rewarding existing workers, they’d rather hire someone from the outside. It’s cheaper. It’s easier.
It’s not about your effort. It’s about profit margins.
The Reality of Overwork
"If you work hard and sacrifice, you get ahead. If you don’t, you fall behind. Except when you don’t, and they do." — James S.A. Corey
“Work harder,” they say. But are we being rewarded? No.
Every quarter, I’m expected to improve—be 20% more productive, work faster, do more. The market only grows 7% a year, yet my company expects 60% more output from me.
And the real kicker? I’m already doing two people’s jobs. Layoffs happen, people quit, and their work just gets dumped onto the rest of us. No extra pay. No recognition. Just more work.
The Cost of Survival
"The rich get richer and the poor get poorer is a cry heard throughout the whole civilized world." — Friedrich Schiller
Even a full-time minimum wage job can’t sustain a person anymore. Rent. Food. Transportation. It’s not enough.
It used to be that a single income could support a household. Now? It takes two incomes—and no kids—just to afford the basics. If you're lucky, you get to grab coffee or pay for a streaming subscription. But forget buying a home. Forget saving for the future.
We’re poorer than our parents. And it’s getting worse. The wealth isn’t being passed down—it’s being drained by healthcare, retirement, and rising costs.
Inheritance? That’s just debt now.
What You Can Do
"The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion." — Albert Camus
Hard work is dead. So stop breaking yourself for a system that won’t reward you.
Quit often. Job-hop every 1–2 years. That’s how you get a raise—not by waiting.
Minimize your expenses. The less you need, the less they own you.
Relocate. If your city is too expensive, leave. Go where your money stretches further.
Stop buying the dream they sell you. It’s a scam. The system is designed to keep you working, not to make you wealthy.
No one is coming to save you. The game is rigged. Play smarter.
Final Truth: Work Smarter, Not Harder
Hard work is dead. Either you wake up to that truth—or you get exploited. Loyalty won’t save you. Adapt, or get left behind.
Forget the grind. Play the game, or get played.
