I woke up today to the news of the firing of Esther Crawford from Twitter.
Esther went viral some weeks ago, after Elon’s takeover of the blue bird network, after a photo was posted featuring her sleeping on the office floor. She quote-retweeted it, stating this was her way to support her team pushing through to make a deadline.
This was controversial, creating a divide between “loyalists” -who saw that behaviour as genuine commitment- and people accusing her of creating a toxic environment or lacking class consciousness.
And today, Twitter is full of people mocking her for being let go. And I just don’t get it. I don’t get how people who fill their mouths with worker solidarity can cherish someone losing their job. I don’t get how people lack the smallest amount of empathy to the point they cannot fill her shoes for a moment and reflect on how they would feel if they were used like that.
This event made me reflect on all the times I made stupid concessions at work; every time I put a project or delivery before my mental or physical health, caregiver responsibility, or any other basic sanitary boundary between me and my contract:
I remember working from the office until late for a series of Saturdays and holidays because some big ass project had to be delivered. The climax was probably the day I missed the Three Wise Men parade… that night I cried my heart out in my bed out of pure shame and frustration.
I also recall working some hours for free while I was on maternity leave because the company needed something, and I thought it would be a way to show the CEO that I could work from home with a baby around. Do you think he thanked me for it?
Let’s not forget when I had a muscle tear in my leg, and my employer asked me to end my sick leave because “they had a promotion for me but would give it to someone else if I took the leave”. I had a 1h45min bus ride to work on crutches. The promotion was ridiculous in the end, and it took me many, many months to heal as I had to reject the rehab sessions, which were incompatible with my work schedule.
The only thing I took out of this experience is the unyielding will to never bow again for a job and to be true to my red lines. But it took me a lot of pain to get there, and I failed my first kid many times -sometimes for believing an empty promise, other times for not being in a position to stand for my rights. And, to no one’s surprise, my very own red lines are still insufficient. Because I still work while I’m sick sometimes, or push through panic attacks, or do some extra time when I want to finish something instead of telling myself, “hey, we are not working in the ER. Finishing this on Monday won’t make a significant difference”.
And this is only the “awareness” part of it, but let’s acknowledge not everyone has the actual means to say no. Not everyone can get another job next week. Not everyone has financial security, a partner’s income or a good network. And not everyone has had the living experiences, context or education that leads you to sanitize your relationship with your working contract. Especially in an industry that fools you into thinking you are your job title, that engineering is vocational or that your precious work is more significant than you.
So let’s take a breath and count to three before mocking someone for having pushed herself that way for a company, a boss, a deadline, a ladder, or a paycheck.
Take a minute to review your history before throwing the first stone.