I enjoy the schadenfreude and I’m happy to play the game. Having worked in door-to-door sales, phone sales, warehouses, as a barista, bartender, gigging actor, musician, dancer, comedian, supply teacher, retail, children’s birthday party magician… my office job is the least hard work I’ve ever done but one where I have to play the part as if it’s incredibly difficult and taxing. And then go into meetings where I say, “hmmm… well if we’re going to market this product… we have to really think about the market we’re bringing it to.” And everyone nods sagely. h If capitalism is a machine that sucks up money to the top by pretending CEOs are working hard, it’s perfectly fine for me to suck money out the side by pretending being a senior manager is working hard.

I can and do work hard when I have to, but also, American culture is so fucked that people genuinely think it’s better to seem like you’re doing something than actually doing something