The ‘9–5 Slave System’ : A problem that can’t be ignored.

• Myth #1: My company puts people before money

Companies exist to make money — don’t ever forget that. If they really put their people first, they’d be a charity. Companies love to brag about how well they treat their wage slaves.

“We have a fitness center, a hot tub, and beer on tap — come work for us!”

You know why companies invest in such things? So you have no excuses to ever leave the office or stop working. Whenever a company introduces a new “perk”, look deep enough and you’ll see it’s a money driven decision in disguise.

• Myth #2: Climbing the corporate ladder will make me rich

Perhaps the biggest myth of all is believing that a 9 to 5 job will make you rich. Companies require your total dependence. If you made enough money to retire before dementia kicks in, then they’d have nothing to hold over your head — they lose. They work diligently to ensure that never happens. They give you just enough to keep you going — not a penny more.

Even if you do everything right — got an executive job, lived frugally, and maxed out your EPF account (Employees Provident Fund) or some called it retirement fund — you’d still be lucky to retire before 60.

The corporate ladder is not designed to make you rich — it’s designed to keep you indentured.

• Myth #3: My job is stable and secure

I’ve seen hard workers, nice guys, and 25-year company veterans get laid off. Yet the myth of “safety and security” in the corporate world prevails. Unless you’re head-mother-fucker-in-charge, you have extremely limited control over the direction of the company.

That means if stocks tank, sales drop, or new leadership comes in, that’s it — time to cut heads. You could be the hardest damn worker in the company, but guess what? That doesn’t matter when there’s a cheaper method to perform your job functions. If they decide they can save money by automating, downsizing, or outsourcing, you can kiss your sole source of income goodbye.

• Myth #4: Diversity is a victory for everyone

Celebrating corporate diversity is like putting makeup on a pig and forcing everyone to say how beautiful it looks. Diversity in the workplace has nothing, I repeat, nothing to do with altruism, equality, or cultural acceptance. Unless you’re brainwashed beyond repair, it’s not too difficult to see that diversity is just another method of power control.

Parties of interest (women, minorities) love it because it gives them special treatment (or at least the illusion of it).

Leadership loves it because it gives them an excuse to hire foreigners and cheap labor that work for half the price, and no one is allowed to complain. They also want to cover their ass against lawsuits and public attacks from whiny interest groups.

Everyone else says they love it because they’ve been indoctrinated for decades about how wonderful it is, or they’re too afraid to say otherwise (and rightfully so).

I was in involved in hiring a new member for our team in 2013 and my boss said these exact words: “All things equal, you pick the woman or the minority.” Yeah, a “victory” for everyone.

• Myth #5: Things will get better when I get promoted

Why do some people stick with shitty jobs, shitty companies, and shitty careers for so long? They’re bent on the illusion that the promotion fairy will make everything better. As if somehow, a 10% pay increase and double the workload will magically make their lives go from awful to awesome overnight.

Promotions are just another thing for leadership to hold over your head, another doggy treat for you to jump for. If and when you do get promoted, your lifestyle will likely inflate to match (or exceed) the pay increase. Instead of saving, most people see the additional money as “extra” and spend every dime they have. As you progress down the traditional path, it’s also likely that you’ll take on debt — kids, mortgages, car loans, and fancy trips will all ensure you have bills coming in for the next century. Guess it’s time to start working for that next promotion!

• Myth #6: My 9–5 job will teach me valuable skills

Here are some of the skills you’ll learn in the corporate world:

· Basic Microsoft Office skills

· Political treachery

· How to fake laugh at your boss’s terrible jokes

· Bureaucracy

· Avoiding confrontation

The main thing I learned from my 9 to 5 gig was what I didn’t want out of life. In terms of valuable skills, I didn’t learn anything. If I followed the same processes my company used in my own life, I wouldn’t get anything done. The “skills” you learn are just pretty little words you can put on your résumé for the next wage slave job.

• Myth #7: Other people’s salaries are none of my business

Why is there such a stigma around questions regarding salary? Is it really about being polite and courteous? Nope. It’s about preventing you from putting the pieces together. They don’t want you to see the ugly truth:

· There are people in the company who work way less and make way more than you.

· You have to be in the top 1% of the company to get rich — an impossible path that requires decades of promotions

· You’ll find out the next promotion is less rewarding than you hoped

· You’ll see that this career path will never bring you financial security

Companies want complete transparency from their wage slaves, but when it comes to salary information, they have a closed-door policy. A little one-sided, don’t you think?

• Myth #8: Starting a business is a huge risk

I started my first online business with less than RM500 (approx. 125USD) — the cost of product, all customer was met thru Facebook, free web advertising and not a single cent invested for a website domain. And guess what? It tanked, and I came out completely unscathed. In fact, that “failure” was the foundation for what I’m doing here today for not working a 9–5.

With the advent of the Internet, there is virtually no risk to starting a business especially through online. Whether you start a website, develop an app, or try your hand at freelancing, the most you’ll lose is a couple hundred bucks and your time.

What you’ll gain — even if you fail — are invaluable lessons about independence and making your own money.

“Never a failure, always a lesson.”

With virtually no risk and nothing but upside, what do you have to lose? You don’t need tons of connections or capital to start a business anymore — there’s nothing holding you back but yourself.

• Myth #9: My company’s leaders are smart, honest, hardworking people

I hate to break it to you, but those schmoozy, fireside chats between the leaders and your department are complete bullshit. No matter what’s actually going on in the company, “everything is improving” and leadership always has the answer. But for all you know, they could be planning the next round of layoffs or getting ready to retire. Realize what it took for your leaders to get to where they are: decades of political games, backstabbing, and self-promotion. Do you really trust them with your future?

• Myth #10: If I work hard, I’ll be rewarded accordingly

In a company, you can work like a dog for months on end before your boss even acknowledges it. You could save the company millions of dollars, and if you’re lucky, you’ll get compensated of ‘some’ bonus money. If you make your own money, you get out what you put in. If you work 10 extra hours, that’s 10 more hours towards your empire, your vehicle for wealth, your payday.

You take the whole pie, not the scraps.

Money and work in corporations are never distributed fairly, and no matter what, there will always be someone working less and making more than you.

• In Closing

There’s no right or wrong ; If you’re ready to walk away from the 9 to 5 lifestyle, I don’t blame you.

The corporate world is not a place to get rich, live your dreams, or achieve freedom.

Luckily, there’s another path — dropping out of the 9 to 5 and working for yourself OR do both, work the 9–5 and have a side hustle first, then leave when you are ready.