I’ve worked for myself, on and off, for over 15 years. I’ve often berated myself for being my worst boss ever, but I’ve usually made light of that by saying:

“Work is a four letter word for a reason.”

What I say to lighten my mood when work becomes promblematic.

But lately I don’t really know what that means. Play is a four letter word. Love is a four letter word. There are plenty of positive four letter words that aren’t forbidden, and in fact, are encouraging and hopeful. The euphemism of four letter words being dirty isn’t always true. But what is always true?

I learned a new word the other day: Fishwife. I came across it because it is a new Tuna Brand that is carried by Target, and it shows the definition on the beautifully illustrated packaging: at its most basic, a fishwife (HA! two four letter words combined) is simply a woman who sells fish. But on their website, they explain – “The term “Fishwife” dates back to the 16th century, and originally referred to the daughters or wives of fishermen who sold fish at the market. The term gradually evolved into gendered insult for women who were brash, foul-mouthed, and brassy. We relate.”

I love being a foul-mouthed woman, most of the time. Dropping an occasional and well-placed F-bomb in a corporate meeting would always get me the attention I needed, deliver the punch of impact I was intending. But there have also been times when my potty-mouth has embarrassed me, or made me feel less refined than the company I was keeping at the time. Both realities have been true for me.

With the recent layoffs of government workers in America, (the chainsaw approach taken by DOGE) and the ongoing tech layoffs that are ever-present in Silicon Valley, this “fuck work” sentiment must be top of mind for many people. I’ve learned the hard way (as usual) that when I take a job only for the lucrative pay and ridiculous benefits, that it will most likely turn into a nightmare of a workplace. Rife with terrible bosses, poor communication, lack of strategy and a rotating door of executive leadership. These are commonplace in tech work here in The SF Bay Area, and I should know, having survived 8 layoffs in 25 years. But for government workers, I’ve got to imagine this is a whole new sentiment. They’re supposed to be unfireable. They’d get a government job, and keep it, for life. At least historically speaking, isn’t that kind of why we called them Civil Servants?

In any case, hats off to the newly unemployed. I hope your severance packages float you for many months, and that your job prospects are promising. If not, maybe you can do some soul searching and reinvent yourself, starting over doing something you truly love. Because hey, Fuck Work.

Jimmy O. Yang – the first minute of this clip does a great job of highlighting the American Capitalist way of working. But since you have time, the whole 13 minutes is funny!

Many thanks to Photo by Dmytriy Kravchenko on Unsplash for the free cover photo.