What is considered normal or socially acceptable is changing all the time. Less than a century ago, doctors were endorsing cigarettes, and people were smoking on planes as casually as we sip juice on flights today. 50 years ago, the world was a very different place, and it’s likely that in another half century, we’ll be saying the same thing.
One aspect of our lives that’s likely to undergo major changes in the coming decades is the workplace. And according to Reddit users, there are plenty of common practices they believe will be considered unethical or illegal in the future. Below, we’ve gathered some of their most thoughtful responses, so enjoy reading through and imagining how much better work environments might be for our children and grandchildren.
#1
In the US (at least), I think visual privacy. I have an office, so I'm not fussed, but my staff who I love, are in "open office" that I can see anything they're doing.
I've never said it, because I totally don't give a s**t as long as they finish their work, but it should be illegal for me to be upset/report (I absolutely do not) that they've hopped on Facebook for a ten minute break or whatever.
The visual privacy thing causes a lot of stress - worrying about checking your phone at your desk, etc. If there's a performance issue, there's a performance issue. If there's not, there's not. Did you submit a Draft to me at 1:30pm? Great. Was it in good-enough quality to be workable? Great. Did you spend 15 minutes chatting on Whatsapp chatting about plans this weekend? Great.
It should be illegal for a workplace to stare-at and punish someone for living their life. And it should be unethical to have people in a fishbowl with eyes on them the entire time.
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109points
#3
Health insurance tied to employment.
97points
#4
Paying barely above minimum wage for jobs that require a university degree.
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96points
#5
Tipping culture being so prevalent, and even required, for some workers to barely make a living wage.
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93points
#6
Forcing a 40-hour work week when there isn't 40 hours worth of work. If it's a salary position and there's nothing to do, we should just be able to go home. We work late when there's deadlines, but when nothing is going on we can't go home early.
80points
#8
Physicians being forced to work 80+ hours/week, 50 weeks/year, for 4-7 years after graduating medical school, while spending precious “free time” studying for board exams, completing tedious research projects, etc.
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69points
#9
Paying people different for same/similar jobs and prohibiting people from talking about it with each other.
62points
#11
On call 24/7 365, even on vacation and not being compensated for anything off hours because you are salaried.
This includes the hospital as my child was born, getting written up for not answering my phone when I was under for back surgery (they knew I was having it, but my stand in couldn't answer something so they said I failed my due diligence, and cost POTENTIAL productivity.
Fun fact, I quit and they refused to take my resignation 3 times. It took 6 weeks for them to finally stop hounding me.
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58points
#12
Attempting to encourage resignation in order to get an employee to quit without having to pay out severance or unemployment benefits.
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50points
#13
Being expected to work while sick.
Im currently about to start a ten hour shift even though Im ill and have a doctors note. Because I was negative for flu and covid, my work will count the absence against me even with a doctors note.
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49points
#15
Working for decades with a skeleton crew where each employee has the tasks of 3 employees and is paid 1/3 the wage, so they need to find a second or third job just to survive.
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48points
#16
This probably won't take 50 years, but forcing people to work in an office when their job does not require it.
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48points
#17
Working in a 110-125 degree fahrenheit factory while watching your coworkers fall out and having the call the ambulance multiple times a week. But don't worry we got a 20 minute lunch in our 12 hour shift.
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48points
#18
Probably stretching but I hate when places tell you to come in for an interview for giving a wage estimate. Some situations it makes sense, but if you are running a local business offering people $7.25 US minimum wage whether they are 16 with no experience or the top of the field then you should state it and not waste people's time.
So many of the "no one wants to work" crowd are trying to offer less than McDonald's pays for positions that require years of experience, education, or training.
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47points
#19
Unpaid training. My very first job I worked at a pizza place I "trained" for 2 weeks, never getting paid. At the end of the 2 weeks, I was informed that I would actually be a cook instead of the cashier position I applied and trained for. I left immediately.
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46points
