Is Texting Your Employees At 9 p.m. Really That Bad?

So Barstool Sports is under fire this summer, yet again, and this time it's because they treat their workers like underpaid, overworked slaves. 

How do we know this? CEO Erika Nardini said in an interview that while she hates the grueling process of interviewing potential candidates, she will sometimes text a potential employee on the weekends at a weird hour to see how fast they will respond. 

Cue the echochamber of bitching and moaning from anyone with social media. Because apparently there's nothing more inundating than responding to a goddamn text message. 

I say this as someone who works in media and has worked in other fields, this is so not a big deal. In fact, when you're waiting with bated breath to hear back from a potential job, a lot of people keep their phones on them at all times and are refreshing their emails and texts like, every 30 seconds. If you hear from a potential employer checking in, isn't that a good thing? Obviously, it can be a nuisance when you're out there living your life. Say you're out at a bar and you're intoxicated while being on your worst behavior. The last text you wanna see is from you boss or a potential employer. So I get that, I really do. But that's honestly just the tip of life's dick, my friend. If you think that's bad, wait 'til I tell you about jobs like being a sweatshop employee working in inhumane conditions, a janitor at a sperm bank, or being Jonathan Cheban's assistant. 

Even jobs that aren't half as bad as those jobs are still infinitely harder than responding to a text message at a weird hour. Consider waitressing, where you're on your feet for at least 8 hours a day dealing with unruly customers and you don't even get 30 seconds of time to spare to go to the bathroom. It's one of the most stressful jobs in the country and you get shitty pay. I remember after I quit my job it took 2 months until my feet stopped hurting because it was such a physically draining endeavor. I still have nightmares about it because it was mentally draining as well - I even had one last night! Consider neurosurgery, where there's a 50% mortality rate, so you have to deal with life or death situations every day. Or consider working in finance. Most of my friends and family work in finance and that field takes over your life! 

And do you know why texting is the optimal medium of communication? Because it makes it easier to MULTI TASK. I've been preoccupied with day drinking, hanging out with friends, or at a doctor's appointment, and have still managed to communicate with my boss when she reaches out to me. One time I was about to go under for surgery and wasn't bothered by a text message from her. It's really not a big deal. 

Media is a 24/7 job. If a story comes out, you have an hour tops to get pageviews. If you don't catch onto the story, that's money out the window along with your credibility. But just because it's a 24/7 job doesn't mean it's exactly grueling. A lot of writers write because they love what they do - I know I do! It's exciting to have a byline and an article that's being clicked on by thousands of people. Like, buck up bitches, taking 30 seconds to respond to a text or 10 minutes to write an article that has your name on it is a privilege. It's better than where I was last year, when I was berated by coworkers for giving customers a soup spoon instead of dessert spoon or for making eye contact with the bartender.

So this is a friendly reminder to maybe stop finding a new witch to burn at the stake every week because it's a freakin' text message, not a life sentence. Get a grip, people.