There's a Joke Here Somewhere

[Salvo]

Hi Folks,

Read this this morning.

Dear Jane,

I've been faced with a major dilemma this week as my son received some shocking news.

He is a 26-year-old who works at a major tech company. He scored the job in the middle of the pandemic when he was fresh out of college and lived at home.

For the past four years, he has been working remotely and using our basement as an office.
It's worked really well for him.

The problem is, the company has now demanded that all of their employees return to the office - five days a week!

My son has gotten used to working from home. He logs in for the workday five minutes after waking up and wears his pajamas all day.

I fear he's getting extremely lazy. He used to be very into his fitness and was always extremely social, but nowadays he barely leaves the house and is gaining weight.

He has never even met his colleagues and often after he's done with work he just stays in the basement and plays video games.

Not only am I worried about his social skills and his motivation, I'm also sick of having him around the house, to be honest.

I still do his laundry, clean his room and cook for him. He never buys his own groceries or toiletries and doesn't contribute any money to household costs or bills - despite making a six-figure-salary.
Since graduating college, he has completely regressed to childhood and I don't even think he's capable of taking care of himself. He probably couldn't even make himself a sandwich at this point.

Now he wants to quit this amazing job and find another remote role at a different company, and I'm convinced that if he does this he will ruin his life (and mine.)

What do I do? How can I convince him to stick with this career and commit to the in-office lifestyle?

From,
Work from Home


Dear Work from Home,
Oh mama, I want you to hear me loud and clear: You do not have to do his laundry, clean, or cook for him! You do not have to buy his toiletries!

As much as you are blaming your son, you are enabling him to live a life of luxury.
A life which leaves you scurrying around and treating him like a little prince.
Of course he's not going to go into the office for work. Why would he? He's got his cake and is eating it in front of his video games.

As a 26-year-old working at a major tech company with a six-figure salary, he is plenty old enough to stand on his own two feet. However, he's never going to rise to the occasion if you're allowing him to do whatever he wants.

It's time for him to leave home. No more basement office, no more laundry, no more buying him stuff.

Give him two months' notice to leave the house and stick to it. By all means help him find an apartment to lease, but he needs to get out for his own good.

You are doing him no favors whatsoever by treating him like a baby. You're the one who created this situation. I'm afraid you now have to change it by turfing him out.

I know it may feel like a hard thing for you to do, but I promise you that forcing him to live an independent life is the greatest act of love.

Jane

[iddee]

No joke there. All too true.

[Terri Yaki]

I didn't work that way at my house. At age 18, I had to pay room and board. Even though board means food, my father bought food I didn't like so he didn't even have to feed me.

[Michael Bush]

I remember my dad telling me that when I was 18  was on my own.  I moved out three months after I turned 18.  He didn't kick me out, I just thought it was the normal thing to do.  Maybe I should be more specific.  I got married and moved out.

[BeeMaster2]

One month after I graduated from high school I moved out. I joined the Navy the previous November while in school on a delayed entry program. Never looked back.
Jim Altmiller

[iddee]

I turned 18 on July 7. I stuck my thumb out on July 17 in N.C. I stepped into the Pacific ocean 5 days later. I covered 44 plus states before joining the Army at 20. Requested transfer from Germany to Viet Nam at 21. Served a total of 5 years, 5 months, 11 days, plus 1 year active reserve, Dad died 6 months after I entered the Army, leaving me to provide for mom and 16 year old sister.

[Terri Yaki]

How did you support yourself for those two years on that national tour? If you don't mind me asking. Thank you for your service and particularly for requesting to go to Nam. That's not an experience I'd look forward to. It ended before I came of age and the thought of having to go was a big concern for me. Subsequently, I have worked fairly hard at getting the real story on that war and IMO, we were on the wrong side of it. I worked with a guy who served as a jumper, carrying an M60 and he talked with me about it a lot.

[iddee]

I would work truck stops for moving vans. They would pay me for loading and unloading. I would sleep in the trailer and the truck stops had free showers and 25 cent washers and 10 cent dryers. Then travel with the truck for a few weeks until I wanted to go a different diretion, or I might take a job for awhile in a furniture mover warehouse. I learned 2 trades. Moving furniture and truck driving.

[Terri Yaki]

That had to be interesting, congratulations on the experiences. Except that moving rates right about on par with painting in my book. There was probably very good money doing that, particularly for a young buck just out floating around.

[iddee]

Yep. Enough for me to stay clean, neat and money in my pocket. Also, taught me a lot about the ways of the world.