Brielle’s teary face can currently be seen all over social networks. The young woman from the USA published an emotional video on TikTok in which she talks about her first job – and how overwhelmed she is by entering working life.
This is her first full-time job after college. Brielle can’t seem to cope with the change: “I don’t have time to do anything anymore,” she complains through tears. “All I want to do is shower, eat and sleep. I don’t even have the time or energy to cook something or exercise.” She asks all more experienced professionals the question: “How do you have time for anything?”
For her, it’s not so much about the time she spends at work between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. It’s the commute to work that really gets on her nerves: Since she commutes to the office, she has to leave the house at 7:30 a.m. and doesn’t come back until after 6 p.m. It seems completely unclear to her how she’s supposed to have a private life: “How are you supposed to have friends, how are you supposed to get to know a man?”
A question that many people starting their careers ask themselves – because the transition from life as a student to everyday working life, which often takes up almost the entire day, is anything but easy. It’s not for nothing that there’s a lot of talk about work-life balance, which plays an important role, especially for younger employees: They don’t want to let work dictate their entire lives, but instead want to have time for their work in addition to a job that is ideally fun have their own hobbies and private life. Many people who have been in the job for a long time and have been socialized with a different attitude have less understanding of this.
This conflict is also reflected in the reactions to Brielle’s video. Some agree: They also have the feeling that work robs them of the time to live. The 40-hour week model is “outdated,” says one user. More and more people are thinking this way, and not just in the USA: According to the Federal Statistical Office, 27 percent of part-time employees in Germany do not want to work full-time at all. In the survey, this was the most frequently cited reason for a part-time job. In a survey of workers in 34 countries, 58 percent of respondents between the ages of 18 and 24 agreed with the statement: “I would quit a job if it prevented me from enjoying my life.”
But people are also making fun of Brielle’s video: The young professional shouldn’t complain about a normal working week – after all, this is the everyday life of the vast majority of people. Some people boast that they still work significantly more than 40 hours a week. Prominent voices – some from politics, often from business – are also critical of the young generation’s attitudes towards work.
By the way, TikToker Brielle makes it a point to say that her frustrated video has nothing to do with her employer. Instead, in a later post, she draws a comparison to Greek mythology. She feels like Sisyphus: “It’s like rolling the same stone up the mountain every day and still achieving nothing.”
Sources: brielleybelly123 on TikTok / Federal Statistical Office
