Man Sparks Debate After Saying He's Been Out of Work for Over a Month — and His Mom Thinks He's 'Being Lazy'

The Redditor, who claims he got laid off due to department cuts, said it's "not easy to get a decent job anymore," which he doesn't feel like his mom gets

One Redditor is seeking advice to determine whether the recent spat he had with his mother over his employment status was warranted.

In a Tuesday, Aug. 27 post on the "AITA" subreddit, which translates to “Am I the a------,” a Reddit user going by the name EasternMaintenance74 shared that he "got into it" with his mom, who is in her 60s, about his efforts to find a new job .

The Redditor, who described himself as a 27-year-old man, claimed he got laid off around a month and a half ago when his "department cut its funding," and since then, he’s “probably applied to 30 different places."

“8 years ago, you could just walk in anywhere, hand a resume and get an interview same day," he wrote, adding that "the only place that called me back was an entry level stocking position and they called and told me that they had other more qualified candidates."

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Although he wrote that his mom sends him "links of places hiring in the area," he said that his mother is "old fashioned" and “just thinks that I'll get hired anywhere because I have a bachelor's degree.”

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"She gets upset when I say that I'm not gonna even apply because I'm wasting my time," he added. "She feels that I'm being lazy.”

“We got into it and I thanked for the help but told her that times are changing and it's just not easy to get a decent job anymore,” he continued. “I can appreciate my mother's help, but don't like being put down for being lazy, when it doesn't make sense to even waste my time.”

The response to the Redditor was mixed. Some defended the user — "I understand your frustration," read one comment — while others wrote that they sided with his mother.

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"15 applications in over a month is nothing!" read another reply. "Yes things changed but she isn't completely wrong.”

Another reply was more sympathetic, although the commenter felt like that the Redditor "should be applying to 15 jobs a day, not 15 jobs over 6 weeks."

"Having said that, it's frustrating when people far removed from the job market offer tips and advice," the response continued.

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Others declined to even get into who was right or wrong, sharing their own helpful tips on finding employment instead.

"Wen applying for jobs you need to treat that as if it’s your job. So spend hours every single day applying. You should apply to like 5 minimum a day, honestly probably more for a minimum even. 15 apps for a month and a half is nothing," read the comment. "It’s so competitive out there. Everyone’s needing to get paid and as you said, it’s just a big impersonal pool of resumes coming online. Anyways, good luck!"

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