Employment Quotes

“To turn hours into minutes, turn your employment into enthusiasm.”
― Amit Kalantri, Wealth of Words

“In our generation, we have moved away only one step from slavery. The difference is that, every work deserves a payment nowadays. But the employees are still under the mercy of the employer.”
― Mwanandeke Kindembo

“Bullshit jobs regularly induce feelings of hopelessness, depression, and self-loathing. They are forms of spiritual violence directed at the essence of what it means to be a human being.”
― David Graeber, Bullshit Jobs: A Theory

“That the freedom of the employed depends upon the existence of a great number and variety of employers is clear when we consider the situation that would exist if there were only on employer —namely, the state— and if taking employment were the only permitted means of livelihood. And a consistent application of socialist principles, however much it might be disguised by the delegation of the power of employment to nominally independent public corporations and the like, would necessarily lead to the presence of a single employer. Whether this employer acted directly or indirectly, he would clearly possess unlimited power to coerce the individual.”
― Friedrich A. Hayek, The Constitution of Liberty

“Once government undertakes to determine the whole wage structure and is thereby forced to control employment and production, there will be a far greater destruction of the present powers of the unions than their submission to the rule of equal law would involve. Under such a system the unions will have only the choice between becoming the willing instrument of governmental policy an being incorporated into the machinery of government, on the one hand, and being totally abolished, on the other. The former alternative is more likely to be chosen, since it would enable the existing union bureaucracy to retain their position and some of their personal power. But to the workers it would mean complete subjection to the control by a corporative state. The situation in most countries leaves us no choice but to await some such outcome or to retrace our steps. The present position of the unions cannot last, for they can function only in a market economy which they are doing their best to destroy.”
― Friedrich A. Hayek, The Constitution of Liberty

“Does anyone actually love their job?”
“You’re too young to be that cynical.” He chuckles. “Did you at least like the people you worked with?”
“Not really,” I admit. To be honest, I can’t remember the last time I didn’t have to drag myself out of bed, or didn’t watch the hours pass. I loved the feeling that came as I switched off my computer and grabbed my coat each night.
“Maybe being forced out is a good thing, then.” He grins at me.
“Yeah. Maybe.”
― K.A. Tucker, The Simple Wild

“Those struggling and without work resent the employed. The employed are encouraged to resent the poor and unemployed, who they are constantly told are scroungers and freeloaders. Those trapped in bullshit jobs resent workers who get to do real productive or beneficial labor, and those who do real productive or beneficial labor, underpaid, degraded, and unappreciated, increasingly resent those who they see as monopolizing those few jobs where one can live well while doing something useful, high-minded, or glamorous—who they refer to as “the liberal elite.”

All are united in their loathing for the political class, who they see (correctly) as corrupt, but the political class, in turn, finds these other forms of vacuous hatred extremely convenient, since they distract attention from themselves.”
― David Graeber, Bullshit Jobs: A Theory

“A job often makes it impossible for an employee to enjoy something it makes possible for them to do or have.”
― Mokokoma Mokhonoana

“The current coronavirus crisis continues to have a significant impact on the economy, employment, and people’s lives in general. And, as many meetings are now conducted on Zoom, Skype, or some other cloud-based video conferencing service, it is even having a psychological impact for those fortunate enough to be employed.”
― Cindy Ann Peterson, My Style, My Way: Top Experts Reveal How to Create Yours Today

“How can you have dignity in labor if you personally believe your job shouldn't really exist?”
― David Graeber

“Just as most American employers give us ‘at will’ employments, our entire existence has become subject to their will. We have arrived at a point where most of our stress is a result of not knowing whether we will get the next paycheck. Exploitative employers love it this way. So long as we are afraid, they are sure to get 100 percent submission from us. We cannot let our toxic way of working be accepted as the norm and as the typical American work ethics. We deserve and can do much, much better than this.”
― Louis Yako

“Like its value, money’s ability to control others, or to make them envious, is not affected by how it was made.”
― Mokokoma Mokhonoana

“There was no sadness or nostalgia, only disgust that I’d wasted so much time on unnecessary labor when I could have been sleeping and feeling nothing.”
― Ottessa Moshfegh

“Education teaches us how to make a living, not how to live.”
― Mokokoma Mokhonoana, P for Pessimism: A Collection of Funny yet Profound Aphorisms

“If you keep feeding your hobby, your hobby will feed you too.”
― Amit Kalantri, Wealth of Words

“Idleness and laziness are two entirely different things. The former revolts against unemployment. The latter is revolted against by employment.”
― Nkwachukwu Ogbuagu

“Affirmative action is the giving, to some people, of a fair disadvantage.”
― Mokokoma Mokhonoana

“it’s three strikes and you’re out of the union”
― J.S. Mason, The Ghost Therapist...And Other Grand Delights

“One of the main differences between a slave and an employee is that the employee sold themselves.”
― Mokokoma Mokhonoana

“If police officers knew that having a suspect die in their care would trigger an automatic termination of employment, I expect we would see far fewer police officers murdering their suspects.”
― Steven Magee

“that's no job for a white man”
― Matthew Weiner, Mad Men

“What if we all came with a Fact Sheet- like car fax- Not an opinion, assumption or guess about who we were or what someone thought or heard about us, but a real fact sheet. A human history report lol- What would yours say? Would you be a lemon?”
― Niedria Kenny

“The pleasure children get from playing is way more intense, and lasts way longer, than the one adults get from being paid.”
― Mokokoma Mokhonoana

“Equipped your self with employable skills.”
― Lailah Gifty Akita

“I am yet to hear someone claim that a salary is nothing but a number.”
― Mokokoma Mokhonoana, F for Philosopher: A Collection of Funny Yet Profound Aphorisms

“Everyone should have the choice of which job they want instead of that choice being in the hands of employers.”
― James Thomas Kesterson Jr

“There's a thin line between being Employed and Slavery.”
― PK Kasirim

“The difference between Hired and Fired is the letter "F.”
― Chaim S

“Everyday we are complaining about scarce job opportunities and how hard is it to get employed, yet everyday on social media we are trying to get someone fired from their employment ,because we had our differences or argument with them. I think we should choose to find better ways to resolve our issues , without getting others unemployed. Cancelling someone is not solving a problem, but is avoiding it and is causing more damages, because the problem still exist. You can’t be passionate and proud, about destroying someone's life and future, unless your evil yourself. If we think we are better, than the people who wronged us. Then we should choose better ways to resolve our issues.”
― De philosopher DJ Kyos

“Please remember, these homeless or long-term unemployed people were not born this way, they had an accident that brought them to where they are today. Allow them to one day tell the story of this perfect stranger who changed their life without asking for anything in return.”
― Hamza Zaouali, The 30-Day Job Search: Supercharge your Resume, Renew your Motivation, Secure & Succeed at more Job Interviews, and Negotiate your Salary like a Pro!