#FutureOfWork Skills: Boundary Setting

“My retirement plan is simple: four days ago, I started trading exactly one stock.”

— Twitter user @netw3rk

I have scarcely seen a more phenomenal reminder of the power of the people than this week’s GameStop shorting fiasco.

If you haven’t heard:

GameStop stock was being shorted by a hedge fund. It’s a flailing brick-and-mortar business. Makes sense.

Then a bunch of Reddit users intervened and started buying GameStop options en masse.

Poof. The stock price skyrocketed, and professional investors have now lost over $5 billion on it.

Grassroots efforts matter. This lesson applies to burnout, too.

A friend recently told me that her boss in big corporate sheepishly hands her more assignments with the apology:

“Sorry, capitalism.”

We feel powerless to the endless demands of the corporate gods.

But we’re not lemmings, are we? I mean, we use Apple, right?

I asked her about their priorities, and she said, “Most of it is unimportant, and so it all gets inflated to be equally important.”

Listen, I try not to be “anti” much of anything—life is too nuanced.

But what I learned from reading How to Be an Antiracist is that it’s not enough to be dissatisfied with something.

To be “anti” in Ibram X. Kendi’s lexicon is actually to work actively and constructively toward a new position.

So I guess I am anti-capitalism.

(Not pro-communism, dad.)

But pro-efficient markets that grow opportunity and productivity in equal measure.

Pro-people working and treating each other like people, not robots.

Pro-mindful application of time and focus.

Super successful capitalist Ray Dalio explains better than I can how capitalism reform is possible and beneficial to us all.

I have a lot more research to dissect on the effects of capitalism on our psyche, the history of work, human productivity, etc.

But for now I want to remind you: you have power.

(Perhaps you’re even in a leadership position. Then you have both power and responsibility.)

Start by saying no to something. Just. one. thing. I challenge you.

Boundary-setting is undoubtedly an essential skill in this modern workforce. Flexing that “no” muscle is where it begins.