The only practice I can think of where people work for free that is socially acceptable are internships(which I fundamentally disagree with).

One of my younger coworkers was required to do an internship, for free, for a set amount of hours so she could graduate and earn her degree. That internship took valuable hours away from her paying job, which she needs to afford to go to school full-time come fall.

Wealthy people, or kids from wealthy families can afford to do that. People who have to work can’t really afford that, which filters out poor people trying to better themselves, or runs people into the ground trying to do both.

It’s honestly disgusting that schools still do this and that it’s an accepted practice. I don’t know why anyone is okay with it to be honest. Maybe it’s just that normalized or something.