A dad was left shocked, horrified, and even outraged after his daughter was given a “cruel list” of “rules to live by.” Expressing his disgust, he posted the list to social media, but not everyone had the same perception of the list as the furious father.
A horrified father took to Twitter, using the handle Essjax, to share what he felt was a shocking list of 11 life rules for teens to live by, which was described as “cruel.” The list was reportedly given to his teenage daughter by her boss on the first day of her job at a retail store, allegedly so the young woman would “understand” her place while she was employed by the retailer. The dad found it “disgusting,” according to the Daily Mail.
After waiting until his daughter had resigned, the New Zealand dad tweeted, “Kid recently left her job at a local retailer (which employs mostly 16 year-olds to pay well under min wage),” referring to New Zealand having no minimum wage requirement for employees under the age of 16. Then, he got to the real reason for his post, writing, “This is a letter she received from the boss when she arrived on her first day on that job,” as he shared the “disgusting” letter online.
The list begins with what Daily Mail described as a “demotivating quote” that reads, “Life isn’t fair — get used to it.” The guidelines also included a warning, saying, “The world won’t care about your self-esteem.” Another rule states, “If you mess up, it is not your parents’ fault,” and says, rather than “whine about your mistakes,” you should “learn from them.”
The list also gave teens a reality check, telling them, “Television is not real life,” and pointing out that in real life, people can’t spend all day at a coffee shop. They actually have to leave and go to work. It also explains that a teen’s parents weren’t always as boring as they may seem to their child now. Instead, the rule alleges that paying bills, cleaning, and being parents made them that way.
The list also included some “less offensive” rules, such as “Be nice to nerds,” explaining that everyone will “probably end up working for one.” Even so, Essjax was furious. He kept the note to himself, however, until his daughter left the job in question. He refused to publicly name the workplace since he had promised his daughter that he wouldn’t.
Although the rules are far from original and have actually circulated on social media time and again for years, that didn’t stop hundreds of social media users from slamming them as “cruel” and branding them as “sad and unnecessary.” Many also argued that positivity is a much better way to learn.
- “That’s pretty insulting. 99% of any teens we have had working for us have been brilliant. These bosses need to start valuing their staff if they want them to stick around,” one such person tweeted.
- “I have a teenager who is thinking about a part time job and really hope she doesn’t end up somewhere like this,” another added.
- “Unhappy, bitter people do s*** like that. I’ve worked for some and known others, and they all tend to have something in common: they die alone, even if there are people around them. Dude obviously learned things the hard way and wants everyone else to ‘suffer’ like he did,” another commented.
- “I worked for a fish and chip shop from 17, loved it, boss was awesome, taught me so much,” one such man wrote, reflecting on his first job. “I left a way more confident person than when I started. He told me ‘mistakes can be fixed,’ after I backed his ute into a bonfire and melted his brake light.”
However, many others claimed it was “sensible life advice,” alleging that the younger generation has become too entitled and these guidelines are just what they need to learn.
- “It’s spot on and exactly what needs explaining to the kids these days!!” one person wrote, expressing agreement with the rules.
- “Seems we’re all a bit worried about upsetting one another and God forbid setting out a few hard truths to the younger generations,” another commented.
- “Every one of those points is arguably a life lesson,” one person concluded.
Regardless of how you personally feel about the letter, there is a life lesson to be learned here by all. Not liking the employer’s guidelines, the teen “didn’t stay there long,” according to her dad. Perhaps, that’s the best takeaway from this. You don’t have to agree with the rules, but you also can’t force someone to change them because they conflict with your personal views. If your beliefs, values, and morals don’t align, sometimes the right thing to do is leave, not demand someone change their rules and boundaries to comply with your expectations.
