Mom shares why she's 'really proud' of her 19-year-old daughter who wouldn't take $9 an hour
A teen watches as an employer looks at her resume.
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a massive shake-up in the American labor market and for many, the change has been positive. Many Americans quit their job this year because they feel optimistic that after enduring some of the harshest working conditions during the pandemic, they can find better work that pays more elsewhere.
This sea change in the labor market comes on the heels of the nation’s collective dedication to the idea that people should be paid a living wage and it should be somewhere around $15 an hour.
The change in attitudes toward work has many younger people feeling empowered to ask for better compensation and treatment in their young careers. This was perfectly evidenced by a mother on Reddit who praised her 19-year-old daughter for refusing to accept $9 an hour.
In the post's title, the mother wrote: "I’m really proud of my 19 year old daughter. She was offered $9/hr at a second interview today and declined telling them she couldn’t feed herself with that.”
"She told me she was polite about it, which she always is, but I was still a bit taken back initially that she would say this directly to the shop owner. It was somewhere she really wanted to work and has been going to since she was a kid," the mom continued.
The employer admitted that they weren’t paying “a living wage” and apologized for not being able to offer more. The daughter also had some leverage because she was making $10.50 an hour at another job.
The 41-year-old mother was impressed because when she was in her teens, younger workers were forced to accept any deal they were offered and had little leverage or confidence to ask for anything more than substandard.
"I'm 41 and when I was her age I would've taken any s*** pay they offered me just for the experience and so I could work at my favorite shop. And I would've been grateful for the opportunity for them to take full advantage of me," she explained. "I would've never had the confidence to stand up to an older adult in a position of power like that,” she added. “I told her I was so proud of her for knowing her worth and not accepting anything less."
Reddit user jakeyeah111 had the best response to the post. "Yup. The amount of older people who are mad that the younger generation isn't letting themselves get stepped all over anymore is... off-putting,” they wrote.
The mother’s post mirrors trends that people are seeing across income levels in America. The average reservation wage, or the minimum annual wage consumers said they needed before they would even consider accepting a job offer, has risen more than $14,000 over the past six years to $68,954.
On ZipRecruiter, the number of jobs offering $15 an hour has more than doubled over the past two years.
The changes in the labor market and public opinion are a wonderful development for the U.S. economy. Instead of cultivating a market where people are forced to accept less than they believe they're worth, employers and employees are working to create mutually beneficial relationships that uplift everyone.
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There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."