35 Of The Most Popular Posts Shared By The WorkReform Community

"WorkReform began as an offshoot of another popular Reddit community examining labor issues. WorkReform is now part of an activist group of subreddits, including r/NewDealAmerica and r/SandersForPresident. NDA and SFP are more political. WorkReform is focused on improving living conditions for all working-class people," the r/WorkReform mods explained to Bored Panda.

They shared that the entire team is "100% all-volunteer" and take up the job because they believe in their cause. "Our primary moderation goal is to keep the working class community cohesive and supportive of each other. 'Divide and conquer' is the primary way workforces have been oppressed throughout history. When divisive efforts are kept in check, the community self-organizes to an amazing degree," they explained.

According to the mods, workers "do their best bargaining" when they're part of a united block. "This is why the richest people in the world spend so much effort on stopping unions. The billionaires understand that all value is created by human labor. They know organized labor is unstoppable. This is why you see Amazon attacking union organizers by having them falsely arrested," they explained why there's a lot of anti-union sentiment in some of the larger multinational corporations.

"Organize with your fellow workers - together you are powerful!" they said. As for why employers don't want to see their workers earn fair wages and have good work conditions, it all comes down to "a culture of increasing short-term profitability at all costs."

The r/WorkReform movement is all about fairness and giving people of all wages access to the necessities of life. The group’s moderators shared a list of their beliefs, and odds are that you can get behind the majority (if not most) of them.

“People should not be worked to death. People should be paid a living wage for their labor. Income inequality and power inequality are the primary causes of social strife and lower living standards,” they write.

What’s more, the r/WorkReform mods believe that “workers must join together” to fight for what is “rightfully theirs.” They also urge workers not to be divided and conquered. “Workers gain the most when they focus on unifying issues,” they say.

Among the subreddit’s goals are: fighting for better compensation, getting better worker representation in the workforce (that includes unions and more), getting better and fewer working hours. What’s more, they aim to support political campaigns that “put workers first.”

Bored Panda got in touch with financial expert and author Sam, the founder of the Financial Samurai blog, to understand the nature of work negotiations better. He was happy to share with Bored Panda the main things to keep in mind when going to negotiate for a better salary, as well as better work conditions. In short, preparing for the negotiations is more than half the battle. And knowledge is power.

According to financial expert Sam, there are a number of things that you should keep in mind when going to talk about the future of your career with your manager or boss. The first thing to keep in mind is the current competitive market environment.

“Is your industry growing or shrinking?” Sam said that employees should ask themselves this so they’re prepared for the negotiations better. Doing your research, knowing what the general trends in the job market are like, are very powerful tools in your arsenal.

According to the expert, the next thing that you should consider is how well your company is actually doing at the moment. He noted some things to consider: “Is your company's stock price doing well? If it's a private company, is it raising funding at higher valuations? Is company morale good? Are there more benefits?”

Then, you should move on to evaluating your own performance. You also have to take a look at how your colleagues are performing. Do your best to try and objectively pinpoint where you are results-wise relative to other workers. If you’re consistently overperforming, you should draw attention to that.

“Everything is relative in terms of performance. You should be paid based on how well you do and if you are outperforming your peers,” financial expert Sam pointed out to Bored Panda that you have to look at performance in broader terms than just how you are doing as though you were in a vacuum. Performance, after all, is relative.

Finally, you should keep in mind how long you’ve worked at the company. Ironically, employees who have worked longer don’t necessarily get better conditions or wages.

“The longer you are at the company, ironically, the less you get paid compared to the market. Therefore, you need to consistently speak up for yourself each year as new employees join with higher and higher pay packages,” Sam said. You can read some of his tips on how to get paid and promoted faster right over here.

So, dear Pandas, which of these r/WorkReform posts got you thinking the most? What do you personally think is stopping employers from giving all of their employees a fair wage for their labor and giving them access to decent working conditions? What do you think it would take to eradicate poverty and exploitation? Share any thoughts that you might have in the comments.

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