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Liam Martin had a job to die for - and it was killing him
By adamg on Thu, 04/11/2024 - 6:19pm
Liam Martin, who had been the morning anchor at WBZ, explains why he quit: The job was keeping him from his family:
It was a spectacular, sunny day on Cape Cod. And yet I was devastatingly sad. While my kids and wife were happily getting ready for the beach, gathering our sandcastle tools and packing up peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches and juice boxes, I had quietly stepped outside as I had several times over the past few months - to cry privately. Secretly.
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Comments
Welcome to life a single
Welcome to life a single mother in the daily….. I can’t
Poor thing
So kept away from the regular family schedule, probably pulling minimum wage, schedule off from the fams like the cops, the fire department, EMTs, utility workers, MBTA operators, bakers, grocers, cabbies, etc, so forced to live like an actual worker at a good wage and benefits no less, boo hoo. Maybe a lobbying job is next.
I guess you didn’t actually read his essay…..
He mentions that others have tougher schedules. He could have said nothing, I suppose but here he lays himself out as vulnerable, I imagine to help other men find some solace.
If you actually read the article
he directly and specifically points out that other people work harder jobs with the same schedule. Maybe it's worth giving that a quick perusal first before you criticize him for telling his story.
Envy is not worth it.
Money, good looks, happy family and dream jobs do not guarantee immunity from depression and other disorders and diseases.
You are part of the problem
Toxic masculinity is a huge part of the problem. Making work and life into a suffering olympics so you can bully other people is a huge part of the problem.
Thanks for showing all of us what is wrong with you and people like you who use stigmatization as a means of feeling better about yourself at the expense of the mental health of the community.
That's pretty harsh
Liam took the big step of professing he had a problem with mental health, which happens in any profession, and he took an even bigger step of walking away from a profession he loved.
He didn't come to a website to be rude and dismissive of others for taking those steps.
Toxic Stigma Kills
Nobody cares that you are so tough and have a tough job. You might wear that like a badge of something, but pulling out the sufferfest garbage and bullying people who have the courage to seek help is really toxic and extremely damaging to everyone.
Lots of tough people have tough jobs, and you know what? THEY DIE FROM NOT BEING ABLE TO ASK FOR HELP because you and a lot of other ignorant and bullying idiots have this attitude of "I'm tougher than you so buck up" or "if you can't take it you shouldn't be here". There are reams of data on this, dear, and it isn't pretty.
This shit kills our soldiers, our cops, our firefighters and EMTs, our doctors and nurses, and a lot of other people with "not so hard jobs". So take your stigma and your antiquated bullying nonsense and put it where it belongs - in the toilet with the rest of your toxic bullshit.
Especially since that muppet
Didn't even read the article. What a turd.
Good for him!
Both for making that decision and for sharing his story. Thank you, Liam.
Ditto mj!
The stereotypes of men/husbands/dads are hilarious except when they aren't. Think about all the examples of men on TV, either bad guys, batterers, buffoons, stupid dads, inept cartoonish losers, OR young, healthy, super macho idealized manhood. We as a society should be holding people like Mr. Martin up as real examples of manhood. The Movember Foundation has been doing important work in this space for some time, telling men it's ok to get help when you're struggling to keep it all together. You owe it to yourself (and your family and friends) to get that prostate exam or colonoscopy, engage in self-care. I hope he lands in a good place and can live a fulfilled life without the regret, guilt and self-loathing that come from unrealistic standards.
Signed,
A Guy Who Makes a Mean Quiche
Local news reporters
Are a dying breed they have to work lousy shifts., holidays and are paid a lot less than MBTA police officers. Their pay scale is comparable to a Transit Ambassador with lousy benefits.
Yeah
And reporters in general have been demonized almost across the board. Everyone wants fast and accurate news but if the story doesn't conform to their biases, they criticize the reporter.
More navel gazing by an
More navel gazing by an entitled generation. No one thinks they have it harder than journalists.
Walk a mile in our shoes ...
OK, no, I have never faced the issues Martin has - even though back in the day, yes, my career sometimes meant long, often insane hours and business trips away from home and my wife and young daughter (nowadays, I mainly work at our dining-room table, a long business trip would be taking the T for a hearing downtown and our daughter is all grown up - and even writing some news stories of her own).
But all you got out of this piece is a journalist whining about his life? He's using his (former) platform to address a larger issue: Men, in any career, who get so wrapped up in their jobs that their families and their relationships with their families suffer. Switch "journalist" with "real-estate broker" or "mid-level manager" or, really, any professional job, and his essay would still ring as true. It just might not make the pages of Boston Magazine is the difference.
Journalists are a generation now?
And here I was thinking it was a profession that people of all ages did.
Did you read the article?
You didn't read the article.
Also, FYI: Journalists have unsurprisingly high occupational risks from violence and trauma, but you do you.
https://ethics.journalism.wisc.edu/2021/03/10/occupational-hazards-when-...
https://news.northeastern.edu/2022/06/01/journalist-danger-safety/
https://worldpressinstitute.org/journalism-one-of-the-most-dangerous-pro...
Would a 4 or even 6 hour work day have helped?
A 4 or 6 hour work day returns to Martin not only 2 to 4 hours per day. It also allows for breaking what is effectively a 24 hour work day for the business. For any business that operates on a 24 hour a day schedule this allows for breaking up the day into segments that will improve the quality of life for their employees.
But do that without reducing pay and benefits for the middle class employees.
This would require employing more people. That could reduce the number of people who are unemployed. The economic benefits would be numerous. Less people receiving unemployment payments can result in lower unemployment taxes. Less work stress can result in lower medical costs arising from high levels of stress.
This might require paying less to the folks who presently can afford vacation homes, fancy trips and private colleges for their kids. But given the benefits to everyone - including giving them more time with their families or pursuing less stressful activities, the less money can equal better quality of life.
For the issue of colleges the fewer people willing to pay higher college costs can force colleges to find ways to lower their costs (such as closing the gaps between highest paid and lowest paid).
An interesting aspect of maintaining an 8 hour work day is that this supports maintaining a poor class of citizens. The reasoning is that when there are too many people in a population it is necessary to maintain a class of people who are unemployable or qualified for only the lowest paid jobs because they would otherwise increase the competition for the limited number of higher paid jobs. That competition can result in a work force either willing to accept lower wages (supply of workers exceeding demand of jobs). But if the work day was lowered to 6 hours a day then that increases the demand for workers in higher paying jobs. That can reduce the number of people at lower incomes. But how many political, religious and social leaders actually want that?
Political leaders don't want a larger middle class because that means more pressure on them to perform their jobs of working for policies that support the middle class. Religious leaders want a poor class because, a case of circular logic, that provides them with theological justifications for maintaining a poor class. How many "pastors" of churches in poorer areas want their congregants to enjoy enough economic success that they don't need the cleric's churches? And of course business leaders don't want a larger middle class because that puts more pressure on them to pay more to their middle class employees (which can mean less for the pay of executives and owners).
There are reasons why we continue to have a poor class. A poor class benefits anyone who is able to enter into the middle class. But the larger the middle class the harder it is for those in the upper class, as well as those who benefit from a lowest class, to maintain their positions.
Problem with this theory
Is that it completely ignores the concept of productivity. Sure, you could shorten the workday to 6 hours or 4 hours to pump up demand for workers, but if you leave total pay the same, the labor component of the cost of goods or services goes up substantially. I know, I know, business owners should just keep prices the same and accept lower profits, right? But there are a bunch of businesses which aren't viable if labor costs go up 33% or 50%.
Having a poor class does come along with capitalism. Not all jobs get the same compensation because some jobs are more difficult or require a lot more training. A doctor has to invest a lot more time and money in education and training than a home health aide. An electrician needs years to learn his or her craft in order to be able to work safely and they face risk on the job every day. Do you want a good accountant or a so-so accountant if you're getting audited by the IRS?
America is great because being born poor (or coming as a poor immigrant) doesn't mean you're destined to be that way your entire life.
Have you seen the productivity vs. pay curve?
Who has been ignoring the concept of productivity?
Since the 1970s wages have not kept pace with worker productivity. If you want to make this argument, then you need to consider that such measures would result in a long overdue correction to the economics of the labor market.