Viral Tweet About The Importance Of Working Weekends Prompts Backlash

Updated September 8, 2021

The one thing about the internet you should always remember is that everyone's got an opinion. You'll probably find yourself agreeing with most opinions (depending on who you follow online), but there are times when you may come across the most contentious of them all: the unpopular opinion.

While everyone is (and should be) entitled to their own thoughts on how the world should work, some opinions get more attention (positive or negative) than others. And this one tweet definitely stirred up a lot of thoughts and backlash.

It all started with a Twitter thread.

Jordan Kong posted her unpopular opinion to Twitter earlier this June.

She starts her Twitter thread by simply stating, "the best thing young people can do early in their careers is to work on the weekends."

The thread goes into a bit more detail.

Confessing to working "countless weekends" since the early days of her career, Kong also expresses how important it was for her to work hard.

And while there were moments when she had to push herself more, she also says that this isn't super hard if you truly love the work you do.

Interestingly enough, she also shows how difficult this really is.

Kong states that, after working 90+ hour weeks in her early 20s, she gave herself pre-diabetes. She also suffered other health conditions during these times of excessive crunch.

It's prompted people to wonder why this would be worth putting yourself through in the first place.

And in typical internet fashion, many people reacted.

With over 16k quote tweets, most people are expressing their outrage over the thread. Most agree that this kind of lifestyle...just isn't healthy.

And during a labor shortage, too.

The U.S. is currently in the middle of an unprecedented labor shortage, fueled by the pandemic. As more workplaces begin to open up and expect employees to return to the office, people are willingly quitting their jobs in search of better opportunities, the Mary Sue writes.

People are tired of the workforce.

It's not that everyone's collectively decided they don't want to work anymore, but as the Mary Sue notes, people are tired of the kind of work they're doing.

Being overworked, underpaid, and facing poor working conditions can only last for so long, after all. This Twitter thread really came at a bad time.

So yeah, no weekends.

Working a full week is tiring enough, so it's unsurprising that very few are willing to sacrifice their weekends as well. There has to be a better way to work your way to a successful career than to work yourself to an early grave.

Especially since there's no guarantee this can work for everyone.

Not every situation is the same. Working every weekend of your life doesn't guarantee success. It does, however, guarantee damage to both your mental and physical health.

Human bodies aren't built to withstand stress, and as many of the comments and quote tweets reiterate, this is a really unhealthy way to live.

Luckily, it's just an opinion.

Sometimes, I feel like people tweet these kinds of things just to stir up controversy. Whether you agree with Kong or not, it's important to remember that this is just one opinion. You don't have to follower her advice, or work with her.

h/t: The Mary Sue.

Filed Under: