Drunken Labor Observation Journal: Motivation is Always Estimated for Free

Things I think about when looking at job postings.

Lately, it seems like everyone is short-staffed.

There aren't enough people.

Young people aren't applying.

Even when they are hired, they don't stay.

Such words seem to sigh on the job postings.

But then, I look at the conditions.

The salary is modest.

The time off is also modest.

For some reason, only the job description is overflowing.

At the end, it says this:

"Highly motivated individuals are welcome."

Motivation is always estimated for free.

I thought to myself while looking at my smartphone.

It's not a shortage of talent.

Isn't it a shortage of decent conditions?

400,000 yen per month.

130 days of annual leave.

Minimal overtime.

Decent interpersonal relationships.

If I tried recruiting with this, people would probably come.

At the very least, I would fix my bedhead and look at the application page.

It's not that there are no people.

It's just that there are no convenient people who will work cheaply, without breaks, without complaining, cheerfully, and for a long time.

When I thought that, I remembered the trading company I used to work for.

People quit there often, too.

Mornings were early.

Evenings were late.

The phone would ring even on days off.

I've eaten rice balls in convenience store parking lots while parked in a company car many times.

I don't remember the fillings.

But I do remember the ringtone of the company phone.

When that sound rang, even the rice in my mouth would turn hard.

It wasn't so much a lunch break as it was time to throw fuel into my stomach.

The weather of the day would change based on the boss's mood.

Just a low response to a morning greeting was enough to make the air in the company car heavy for the rest of the day.

The company would say:

"Young people these days don't last."

"They have no guts."

"They quit right away."

At the time, I half-believed it.

That the people who quit were weak.

That I was one of the people who stayed.

A new hire asked about something they didn't understand, and then didn't come back the next day.

At that time, I thought:

They have no guts.

Looking back now, maybe there just wasn't an atmosphere where they could ask.

It wasn't that there weren't enough people.

It was that the conditions for people to stay were lacking.

Not being yelled at.

Being able to rest.

Being able to sleep.

Being able to ask about things you don't understand.

Just with that, many more people would stay.

For some reason, the workplaces that lack those things are the ones where the word "guts" is used the most.

Guts are convenient.

They try to force the worker to provide from within what the company failed to provide.

The old me was a little proud of that grit.

I worked until near the last train and put on a face that said I could still do more.

I pretended to be a man who could answer the phone even on his day off.

In truth, I just couldn't say no.

And after I quit the company, I became free.

Or so I thought.

But once I became independent, I turned into an even more troublesome boss.

My employer is myself.

My employee is also myself.

And that boss was quite the exploitative one.

Cut back on sleep.

Don't take breaks.

Keep going until you get results.

If you stop now, it's all over.

You can rest once you've made some sales.

That's how I kept giving myself orders.

Salary is paid in arrears.

Holidays are TBD.

The only benefit is a single can of coffee.

If I fail, I, the boss, blame myself, the subordinate.

It's a terrible company.

No wonder both my mind and body are resigning.

It's not a labor shortage, it's a condition shortage.

Perhaps this isn't just a story about companies.

I want to try again.

I want to make a comeback.

Even though I think that, if the conditions I'm setting for myself are terrible, there's no way I can keep it up.

No sleep.

No breathing room.

No words of praise.

Self-loathing immediately after a failure.

If that were a job posting, even I wouldn't apply.

"Those looking to make a comeback are very welcome."

Even if it says that, if the working conditions are hellish, people won't come.

Even if that person is myself.

A monthly salary of 400,000 yen and 130 days of annual leave are still far off for me right now.

But at the very least, I decided to let myself work under slightly better conditions.

First, I'll sleep.

As a benefit for making a comeback, it's probably not bad.

👇Drunken Labor Observation Diary

👇A pathetic comeback record of a man who used to earn good money