Welcome to the workplace revolution: or, you know, the desperate battle for progress

For a while there it felt like we were really onto something with this “new era” of work. But are we sliding back to the status quo?

- Alice Snape

Release your job, release the time!' Two-and-a-half years later and Beyoncé's Break My Soul still soundtracks my commute when I just cannot. Most likely a Monday morning as I stand on the cold, wet platform, damp seeping through my trainers into my socks. But Bey's battle cry feels more like a dream than a reality. So I flick through my Spotify in search of the punk sounds of Lambrini Girls' Company Culture. 'Harassed in the workplace, my cold resting bitch face,' blasts into my ears as I squeeze between the bodies in the overflowing carriage of the (delayed) 8.05.

There was the Great Resignation of 2021, when millions quit their jobs in the space of weeks; then “quiet quitting”, “lazy girl jobs”, and even “bare minimum Mondays”, which encouraged us to put the least effort required into feeding the capitalist machine. The headlines say we're in the midst of a workplace revolution but, with a paycheck that struggles to stretch for most of us and a cost-of-living crisis putting more pressure on our bank balances than ever; I'm not convinced.

The thing is, careers hit a little different now. While our parents may have been working at the same company as long as we've been alive, for most of us, the idea of a “job for life” is basically a relic of the past. A survey by Open Study College found the average thirty-something has already worked as many jobs as someone in their 50s has for their entire career. The idea that our careers will nurture us—and pay us enough money to not just survive but thrive—has also been slowly disintegrating over the past decade. In fact, wages have been stagnant since 2008—pay today is 2.7 per cent lower than it was that year and, as a result, we're losing out on the equivalent of £20k (approx. ₹22,67,214) per year because salaries haven't risen in line with inflation.