tik tok – Michmutters
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Australia

Loving your job is a capitalist trap, say some Gen Zs and millennials. They’re rejecting the 9-to-5, but how are they coping financially?

Wake up, eat, go to work, come home, eat, sleep, repeat.

Living the dream, huh?

“Personally, I believe I’m not meant to work. I’m meant to do this all day,” says an audio track on TikTok that went viral for its candid message: working a 9-to-5 job is no longer the ideal lifestyle for many.

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One video that uses this audio shows a woman sitting at a cafe, enjoying a coffee and croissant. Ella’s phone camera pans around, revealing a dozen others leisurely doing the same.

It has over three million views.

The video-based app has become a hub for Gen Zs and Millennials to create apathetic and pessimistic commentary about their disillusionment towards work.

What’s fueling this? Toxic workplace culture, minimal flexibility, no work life balance and of course, the pandemic.

Deloitte’s Global 2022 Gen Z & Millennial Survey revealed four in 10 Gen Zs and nearly a quarter of Millennials would like to leave their jobs in two years.

Roughly a third would do so without another job lined upthe report found.

However, if you love what you do, is it true that you’ll never work a day in your life?

Engineer-turned-career-development practitioner Naishadh Gadani said the dream job is “an overly simplistic and misused term”.

“Rather than thinking of it as a dream job, we should be questioning whether it’s a fulfilling job,” Mr Gadani told ABC News.

“Questions like: What fulfills me? What brings me happiness? What kind of workplace or organization do I like? – [these] can help us.”

Juliette had ‘golden ticket’ job but quit and now works casually in hospitality

Juliette, 22, from Victoria, landed her first white-collar job from her sister’s roommate at the time, who worked in the public service.

After hearing that she was looking for trainees who required no qualifications, Juliette applied and was offered the job.

“It was a golden ticket because I was 20, had no qualifications past a mediocre ATAR, and was now working full-time and getting paid a decent wage.

“I received a lot of praise from friends and family. It was a job that my family could gloat about,” she said.

After nine months into the job, Juliette quit. She said she felt like a failure.

A young, brown-haired woman in a black suit and white shirt with a lanyard over it stands in front of a house
Juliette on her first day of her public service job. (Supplied: Juliette Melody Grace)

“I had spent months toying with the idea of ​​whether money or my mental health was more important,” she said.

Four months after she quit, Juliette traded full-time work for a casual job in hospitality and she has never been happier.

“My job isn’t who I am. I don’t base my worth on my productivity within capitalism.”

Despite her reduced working hours, coupled with a rising cost of living, Juliette remains “optimistic” about the future.

“As bad as things are economically, it’s just a cycle. There are bigger problems than my wallet.”

Alex’s dream was to play in a band. I realized it was not as glamorous as it sounded

Alex, 32, was in his first year of university when a friend asked what he wanted to do for a career.

“She said to ignore the money and say the first thing that came to mind. I blurted out: ‘I want to play in a band.’

“That’s the moment I decided playing in a band was my ‘dream job’,” he said.

A black and white photo of Alex Carrette performing on stage with his guitar
While it’s not his “dream job”, Alex’s day job is in the aerospace industry.(Supplied: Alex Carrette)

However, as Alex became more involved in Brisbane’s music scene, he saw how the life of a band member wasn’t as glamorous as their fans might suspect.

“Playing shows to hundreds of fans sounds incredible, but this is only a small part of a touring musician’s life,” he said.

Over the years, Alex decided he wouldn’t let a job consume his identity, so he allowed himself to simply “have a job.”

His current “day job” is working in the aerospace sector. But he hasn’t given up on ditching the 9-to-5 routine.

“I’ve recently gotten into making my own YouTube videos as well as editing them for clients. So, that’s another possibility,” he explained.

Alex said his ideal situation would be to play local shows in small venues, as opposed to touring nationally or internationally.

“I don’t see that as a failure. So long as I’m enjoying playing music, that’s a success in my mind,” he said.

Owning a home is ‘unachievable’ for Ishara, but she believes this is no longer the dream for young people

During primary school, Ishara Sahama, 23, dreamed of becoming a vet.

It wasn’t until her final years of high school — when she gravitated towards the humanities and social sciences field.

After graduating university with a major in geography in 2019, Ms Sahama spent a few years volunteering and gaining work experience.

She now works part-time in the social enterprise and entrepreneurship space.

“Ever since I started working, I’ve seen people who are either in their mid-20s-30s, or in their 40-50s, resign from the public sector and move to private, or vice-versa,” Ms Sahama said.

A photo of Ishara Sahama smiling
Ishara Sahama says “the Australian dream” is a luxury that doesn’t reflect the realities of young people. (Supplied: Ishara Sahama)

“Pushing young people to pick a dream job — or will it into existence — can be detrimental to their personal growth.”

“The past two years have changed the way work is conducted. A 9-to-5 job, five days a week can be condensed to four days,” she said.

“And, yet, people who do or don’t have this work structure may still struggle to keep up with Australia’s rising cost of living.”

Ms Sahama saves on certain costs by living with her family, paying for petrol and groceries, costs that have only increased over time.

While these costs are manageable for her, Ishara feels indifferent when it comes to buying a home.

“The idea of ​​owning, or leasing, a property in the future is now unachievable for me, considering current economic circumstances,” she said.

“The ‘Australian Dream’ is a luxury and a privilege. It doesn’t reflect everyday realities of young people who must change and adapt to the workforce in a post-COVID world.”

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Categories
Business

‘Can’t find them anywhere’: Why Starburst lollies have disappeared from Aussie shelves

There’s a reason Australians haven’t been able to spot Starburst on supermarket shelves and it might leave a bitter taste in lolly lovers’ mouths.

Confectionery giant Mars Wrigley has confirmed it has discontinued the Starburst brand in Australia.

The move means the brand’s iconic chews, snakes and babies will no longer be stocked across the country.

The news came after TikTok creator Nariman Dein uploaded a video expressing her frustrations at being unable to find the lollies in Sydney, having scoured several supermarkets.

“These were the best and I can’t find them anywhere,” Dein said.

“And I’m having some conspiracy theory — did they just stop selling them and no-one noticed?

“Is this another Mandela effect?”

Mars Wrigley responded to the video, which attracted about 276,000 views, by releasing a statement confirming the absence of Starburst lines wasn’t a conspiracy.

A woman appears sad in front of a Starburst lollies packet.
Dein said she had scouted supermarkets across Sydney, including Big W and Woolworths. (Tik Tok: Nariman Dein)

“Our Starburst products are imported from Europe and, like many businesses that are importing products from overseas, the brand has been exposed to supply chain difficulties and rising cost pressures over the last two years,” a spokesperson for the company said.

“After reviewing all options, we’ve made the difficult decision to discontinue the brand in Australia from June 2022.”

Mars Wrigley is a major American multinational manufacturer of chocolate, chewing gum, mints and fruity sweets.

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Categories
Australia

TikTok crystal cracker releases ‘magic’ and helps educate millions of viewers

Michael Boon releases ancient “magic” each time he strikes his hammer against a rock for his TikTok followers.

He splits the Moroccan geodes open, cracking through the shell to expose an individual wonder of science that has never been seen before.

The social media platform is popular for sharing short videos of dance trends and comedy skits, but for Mr Boon it is about education and sharing his passion for minerals, gemstones and crystals.

“Sometimes these rocks and minerals can form hundreds of millions of years ago,” Mr Boon said.

“By cracking them open I’m the first person to have ever seen the inside of it.

“That’s pretty magical.”

A man hitting a rock with a hammer.
Michael Boon just cracks the geodes open with a hammer.(ABC Wide Bay: Brad Marsellos)

Throughout history, crystals and geodes have been used for religious, folklore and decorative reasons.

And it seems Mr Boon is not the only person who likes to witness the moment he breaks apart the rocks to reveal the internal crystal formations.

His most popular video has received nearly seven million views.

While Mr Boon is unsure exactly why the videos have proven so popular, he is excited that more people are learning about science and geology, as he shares his 13 years of knowledge around rocks and minerals.

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“I think it’s because it’s not something everyone can do,” Mr Boon said.

“I mean in most places you can’t just crack open a rock and see beautiful crystals inside, as well as it’s a bit of an entertaining thing, you never know what’s going to be inside of them.

“Sometimes it shatters into a million pieces, other times you get a perfect pair.”

What is a Moroccan geode?

From the outside geodes appear to be regular rocks, but they are hollow and lined with crystals or other minerals.

There is a variety of geodes that range in size and location with the Moroccan geode originating in the Sidi Rahal region of Morocco.

A basket of rocks cracked open to reveals the crystals.
Chemical gas bubbles transform over thousands of years into crystals inside the geode.(ABC Wide Bay: Brad Marsellos)

The age and science behind how volcanic gas bubbles transform to hidden crystals is part of the appeal of cracking geodes for Mr Boon.

“The geodes from Morocco are a limestone geode, to the best of my understanding,” Mr Boon said.

The minerals that create quartz, silica dioxide, fill a cavity in the stone.

“And over millions of years, through heating, cooling and heaps of geological processes they slowly grow into crystals.”

Geode rocks cut open to reveal minerals.
Geodes came in a variety of mineral composition and size.(Supplied: Michael Boon)

Childhood gem passion turns to business

Developing a love for lapidary as an 11-year-old, Mr Boon began learning the craft of gem cutting and polishing by joining the Bundaberg Gem and Mineral Club.

As his collection grew, Mr Boon began transforming his cut and polished work into jewelery which he sold at local markets and even from the front verandah of his Queenslander-style home.

Mr Boon decided to do the “grown-up thing” and get a steady job as he got older but eventually decided to follow his crystal love and open his own business.

TikTok’s platform has helped the regional Queenslander reach a global customer base.

A man holds a geode cracked open revealing crystals.
Michael Boon loves to share experience of geode cracking.(ABC Wide Bay: Brad Marsellos)

“TikTok is a good way to expand my business and show it off to an audience that’s much bigger than Bundy,” Mr Boon said.

“Some videos might not get many views but lead to more sales — I had one video like that that led to 400 sales in two weeks.

“But for me, I just like opening them up and letting people see it for the first time as well.”

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume.
Crystal CrackerMichael Boon(ABC Wide Bay: Brad Marsellos)

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