That same old routine, no way out, no escape. Drag yourself out of bed on a cold windy Monday morning, wash, have that 4th coffee, in hope that it will give you the energy to get through another day, do the required eight hours of the shift, that long exhausting trek home, shower the living hell away and put some dinner in the oven, maybe just a microwavable meal. Put the washing in and get ready for bed, just to repeat this day over and over. Friday is here and with that, the weekend is here no sooner do you blink it has gone and the start of a new week ahead. Stuck in a dead-end job, zero prospects and no ladders to climb, worried about income how you will budget this month, maybe living pay slip to pay slip. It is easy for people to say change, do more on the weekends, but in reality, it is just as easy to get trapped and just glide through it. To do more and be spontaneous, you need money, to get money you need a job, (unless you are a freeloader and have everything handed to you) the minimum wage is dreadful, even a few up from minimum wage is not exactly great, so you just about earn enough to pay the rent and bills, where does this money come from to do more in our downtime? Thats it over time, extra shifts and maybe a second job, so now where is our downtime? The extra money you got from the extra twenty hours or so, now you can enjoy it well no because we are working too much and are exhausted. Sacrifice social aspects of a social being, to work and earn money, before you know it depression kicks in, young and hungry for fun but all they do is work, and or study. The pressure for our youth is ridiculous, take a part time job around the study time, not everyone is lucky to have rich parents or an inheritance, or to live at home till they are in their forties, so they have to pay bills on very little, maybe the stress causes some to drop out of study, well there goes their decent future. Then enters the rut, the routine. How many people have got home from work and thought, a beer or a wine? How long before that turns in to, two, three or even ten a night? Suddenly you find a way to spend the extra money and becoming an alcoholic, is probably not the best use for it! but what else is there? Not much you can do at 10pm with work looming the next day. There is also the real stress of work, customers are a real pain in the arse, then add the management, talking down to you and just being plain ignorant, this adds to the emotional distress. How many have left work in tears, or just angry, fed up and totally deflated? Then add the ridiculous statements from deluded friend's or influencers, get a new job, go back into education, be better do more, become famous like everyone can just walk out and become famous. Sometimes people forget the situation, quit the job suddenly you are behind on bills, an empty fridge going for jobs that you have to compete with a hundred people for, next thing you know debt collectors start rattling the door knocker. Time to understand everyone has a different situation, and instead of offering unrealistic advice, it is time to acknowledge the real struggle of certain workers, and it is time our government start helping these people. The fact is if you work forty-hour weeks, you should be able to afford a roof, a car, at least one holiday a year and a little money left over for potential savings, or enjoyment. I am not saying someone on minimum wage should afford top of the range stuff, and five-star hotels, but why should they not be entitled to these things? even if it is a two-star hotel in Scotland, it is a holiday. And with the extra money they have to save, invest in college or whatever to help them earn more in the future. The fact is some seriously cannot afford food after all their bills have gone out, due to the rising costs it will only get worse. But I guess that is how the workers are treated, as long as our governments get their wage and addons, and the lazy receive their benefits screw the people that pay for it all! Work depression is real, worry, anxiety and stress does not help. Is it not bad enough we pay for a home we barley spend time in? Is it not bad enough we are worked till we drop? We are in fact just dispensable, replicable and not important. Every worker no matter what their job role is, we should be supporting each other, not putting professions down and degrading people for their roles. It is not just minimum wage roles that are stressful, even in the highest paid jobs can cause employees to become distressed, depressed and even suicidal, we are all in this together at the end of the day.