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.
#21
boss giving you infinite amount of work and if you can't do it then it's the employee's fault.
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38points
#22
Drug testing for what people do off the clock.
Tying job performance or bonuses to number of OSHA recordables, it just encourages people to hide injuries.
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31points
#24
Unpaid overtime is dying out again as we enter a Covid fuelled period of low unemployment - people are not afraid to say 'no'
If a client tried to get me to work unbillable hours I'd first refuse, and if they insisted would bill the hours on other days
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28points
#25
What is accepted/normal is forcing an employee to stand for multiple hours, knowing that they have a documented medical condition that causes them severe pain to stand for hours without end.
What is unethical/illegal in the next 50 years is that with the documented medical condition being known, the managers and supervisors flat out ignoring the ADA accommodation the employee applied for, asking for a short break/chair, and denying the accommodation so the employee has nothing to do but continue to stand in severe pain.
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26points
#26
Hopefully being forced to stay at work once all work is done, non living wages
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23points
#28
**"Clopening"** as it currently exists in the U.S.
As it stands currently OSHA suggests scheduling a person no sooner than 8 hours of their shift if the shift is 8 hours. Thankfully most companies do follow this suggestion. However, there are two problems 1) it's a suggestion and not law so some companies may schedule sooner 2) 8 hours sounds great, but it does not account for the fact that commute time back to home, cooking/eating/getting ready for bed, getting ready for the day and commuting back take up time that would be used for getting rest—you could very realistically end up with just 4 hours or rest due to a long commute, having to cook dinner, fulfill parental duties, etc.
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22points
#29
Working in shops where the air can be seen because of all the diesel smoke/welding smoke etc.
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22points
#30
Rotating shifts and night shifts for less necessary positions. Obviously *some* staff has to be on call or work nights at least occasionally (LEO, healthcare, emergency response) but the average utility worker, for example, should not be required to work rotating shifts. My partner is a wastewater operator and at his previous employer he had to work two weeks of day shifts followed by 2-3 days off, then two weeks of night shifts. This lovely combination ended up giving him unprecedented, unprovoked seizures! (How fun.) His employer wouldn’t work with him to move him to more normal shifts. He went on temporary disability while he couldn’t drive, during which time they hired a replacement to fill his position, forcing him to quit and move to a different company for less pay (luckily on normal, 8-10 hour, day shifts.)
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17points
