jobs

Reminder: Take Your Vacation Days, Idiots

Hamilton Nolan · 08/20/14 09:06AM

A survey from the U.S. Travel Association finds that 41% of you who are lucky enough to have jobs that offer vacation days "do not plan to use" all your paid time off this year. Time for a new plan.

A Rich Treasury of Reality TV Worker Stories

Hamilton Nolan · 07/29/14 02:58PM

Over the past few weeks, we've brought you several installments of true stories from the overworked, underpaid, and ill-treated employees who work at all levels in reality TV. We now offer you an absolute slew of new emails about the dark side of the "nonfiction" TV industry.

Hamilton Nolan · 07/10/14 03:23PM

From California to Arizona to Texas to New York, the restaurant industry is booming, and restaurants are desperately seeking to hire new employees. At an average annual wage of $16,446.

"A Twisted Industry": Reality TV Workers Are Really Fed Up

Hamilton Nolan · 07/07/14 11:59AM

Reality television can seem exciting and glamorous. Working on reality television, much less so. As the following stories from "professionally abused" insiders show, reality TV workers will continue to be beaten down as long as they have no union to defend them.

Hamilton Nolan · 07/03/14 02:15PM

Strong new employment figures for June have pushed the rate of long-term unemployment—those out of work more than six months—down to 33% of all unemployed Americans, its lowest rate in five years. (It is still much too high.)

Reality TV Work: Thankless and Dangerous

Hamilton Nolan · 07/01/14 03:05PM

Yesterday, we brought you true stories of people who work behind the scenes in reality (or "nonfiction") television. Since then, we've been flooded with more emails from industry insiders, detailing poor working conditions. We bring you some of them below.

The Grim Realities of Reality TV: Workers Speak

Hamilton Nolan · 06/30/14 03:30PM

The rise of reality TV programming over the past two decades has been driven in large part by the fact that reality shows are cheap to produce. Labor costs are a big reason why. What does that mean for the people who work on these shows? Allow some of them to tell you.

Working at Vice Media Is Not As Cool As It Seems

Hamilton Nolan · 05/30/14 09:33AM

Vice Media is one of the hottest media properties in America. It's the counterculture empire that even Rupert Murdoch could love. Vice's founder, Shane Smith, has speculated his company could raise tens of billions of dollars. So why are its employees so broke and pissed off?

Why Was Target Canada Such a Disaster?

Hamilton Nolan · 05/21/14 11:20AM

Beleaguered retail empire Target announced weak-ass first quarter earnings today, thanks in large part to its disastrous Target Canada division, which lost $211 million just this quarter. How did Target Canada become the laughingstock of the retail industry? A Target Canada veteran explains in detail, below.

Target's Unofficial Slogan: "Expect More (Work), (Get) Paid Less"

Hamilton Nolan · 05/20/14 03:17PM

Target, the slightly less popular and cleaner version of Walmart, is having a terrible year. Today it fired one executive, and clawed back compensation from another. What's the atmosphere like inside Target now? Allow another employee to explain.

We Are Lucky

Hamilton Nolan · 05/19/14 03:25PM

A broad issue that's arisen as an offshoot of the whole Jill Abramson-getting-fired discussion: Do successful people (in the media and elsewhere) get there mainly by luck, or by skill/ virtue/ drive/ other endearing quality? It is luck, of course. Never forget that it is mostly luck.