The working class is no longer what it was, nor what it seems

The line that separated a blue-collar worker from an office worker has become blurred. Today, an electrician can earn more than a social media manager, and a programmer can live with the same precariousness as a waiter. The problem is that the working-class label no longer says anything about your income, job security, or social status, leaving many unsure whether they are exploited or privileged.

Two hands meeting at a blurred diagonal line, one holding a multimeter and voltage tester, the other holding a smartphone displaying a social media analytics dashboard, both hands equally calloused and grease-stained, a laptop with code editor open on a cluttered desk beside a soldering iron and coffee cup, a uniform shirt sleeve torn at the cuff merging into a blazer with frayed lining, background showing a split workshop and open-plan office with identical fluorescent lights, cinematic photorealistic composition, dramatic chiaroscuro lighting from overhead lamps, dust particles and digital glitch particles floating in the air, shallow depth of field focusing on the hands and tools, ultra-detailed textures of fabric, metal, and plastic, technical documentary style

The algorithm that doesn't know what you are 🤖

Technology has accelerated this confusion. Platforms like Uber or Amazon Mechanical Turk classify their workers as self-employed, even though they control every hour of their workday. Meanwhile, an industrial maintenance technician with a permanent contract can have more stability than a freelance graphic designer. Business management software labels some as collaborators and others as resources, but it doesn't solve the key question: who has the right to unionize and who only has the right to complain on Twitter.

Sir, are you a proletarian or just having a bad day? 😅

Now it turns out that anyone can be working class if their boss sends them an email at 10:00 PM. The plumber who charges 60 euros an hour looks tenderly at the community manager crying over an internship contract. And the Glovo delivery person, getting soaked in the rain, listens to the YouTuber complain that their algorithm doesn't pay them well. Everyone wants the label, but no one wants the salary.