Work Nightmares: A Fantasy of Fairness

Yes, discontent with the corporate system and rule by managers is a thing. As are the associated nightmares, and the corresponding fantasies of justice.

Still having work nightmares

When I retired, I only semi-humorously asked somebody at Bogleheads how long it would take for the work-related nightmares to go away. Answers ranged from months… to years… to “not so far”. Empirically, it’s been a year and a quarter for me, and they haven’t stopped. Slowed down to once or twice a week, maybe.

Corporate life certainly had its discontents. ^[1] And they were many! I still remember the time they tried to impose “proper business attire” on scientists… as remarkable an instance of wooden-headedness (in the sense of historian Barbara Tuchman’s views) as I can imagine. And I’m an imaginative guy.

So this video from Radiohead, “If You Say the Word” ^[2], captured a perfect revenge fantasy: 3 working class guys practicing humane catch & release. They capture suits who have escaped out into the real world where they are pests, and then release them into an urban office district (looks like City of London?) where they are… still pests, but for other reasons. The handing out of briefcases scene is perfect.

The Weekend Conclusion

Late stage capitalism. Not my favorite.

But European style social democracy and regulated capitalism will be an uphill battle for the rest of my life, here in the US. The bright side is that that “the rest of my life” may not be especially long, so maybe everybody else won’t have to wait too long?

---

Notes & References

1: Kudos to the Weekend Editrix for finding a typo here, living up to her status as an editor. ↩

2: Radiohead, “Radiohead - If You Say The Word”, YouTube Radiohead Channel, 2021-Sep-23. A Canadian/British friend living in London says he couldn’t quite identify the neighborhood, but it looks like the City neighborhood of London. ↩