Small business owner calls out the exhausting 'rat race' that is the modern work culture

People in modern society continue to be weighed down by the burden of finding success and satisfying societal expectations to the point where it's been called a "rat race." It involves having constant pressure to outdo oneself, coupled with a never-ending sense of competition. It can leave individuals physically and mentally exhausted. In a recent post, Reddit user u/bazza9215 ranted about how exhausting being stuck in the rat race has been for them and their wife.

They begin the post by stating that they and their wife had done all the "right" things to succeed in life. Their wife managed to get a good education without having any debt. The individual managed to start a small business and they both had a couple of kids. They wrote: "If we were making the amount of money we are now about 10-15 years ago, we would be doing very well."

The individual expressed their gratefulness for buying a home 10 years ago, as they would not be able to afford one in the current housing market. Despite the fact that they seemed financially well-to-do, the individual remarks how financial independence always seemed to escape them. They wrote, "Grocery store prices are constantly going up, all the insurance costs are skyrocketing, property taxes going up."

In case an emergency expense comes up, the family ends up having to spend "tens of thousands of dollars down the drain." They continue to work more and pick up more shifts, only for the money to disappear as soon as it comes in. They share how their neighbor worked their entire life so they could retire early. Unfortunately, they retired only to find out that they had cancer and that it would consume their retirement fund.

This cycle of constant work and not being paid properly proved to be exhausting for the individual and their wife. They wrote, "It literally feels like you’re a hamster on a wheel of constant stress and anxiety. I applaud those of you who have found the courage to leave the rat race." They concluded the post by saying that it was ideal for them to sell everything once the kids were grown up and live frugally for the rest of their lives.

People on the platform could relate to what the individual was going through and expressed their thoughts in the comments section. u/Callmepanda83744 said, "You really can't win anymore it seems. I had to attend the funeral of a family friend who finally retired in July and then bam, had a heart attack last week." u/PalmTree1988 commented, "As someone who is 60+, I wholeheartedly agree. My company recently switched to 4-10's, and having a 3-day weekend is a benefit. Also, I no longer despise Mondays, so yeah!"

u/traveller-1-1 shared their insights saying, "What can I say? We are moving towards feudalistic capitalism. We will work to the max we can live in the tiniest possible accommodation and die in debt, but our billionaires and their subordinates will be even happier." u/capalbertalexander said, "Remember, even if you win the rat race, you're still just a rat."