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> For the individual, work is at best an accommodation to the pressing need to provide for ourselves, and that can provide the wherewithal to pursue happiness.
by swombat 9y ago
> For the individual, work is at best an accommodation to the pressing need to provide for ourselves, and that can provide the wherewithal to pursue happiness. At the worst, it is a global system that requires the majority of adults worldwide to dedicate a large chunk of their waking hours to demanding bosses, harrowing commutes, stressful and dangerous work places, and often tedious, repetitive and unrelenting labor.
Well that's a cheerful perspective...
How about this for the "at best" scenario?
Work is how we give meaning to our lives. It is our way of contributing to each other's existence, and to challenge ourselves and thereby grow as human beings. Without work, with only leisure, our lives become superficial and less meaningful.
Now let's talk about the future of work.
- aisofteng 9y agoIndeed. The article is based on a false premise, and that quote gives a very good idea of the framing of the entire piece.
- bittercynic 9y agoWhich of those descriptions of work resonates best with you will differ from person to person, and I would imagine that the description from the article resonates very well with a substantial fraction of all people.
- nickthemagicman 9y agoThis is the post-ww2 perspective when work was an enriching collective activity and 40 hours a week, stability, and a career path were the norm. Now for most of America work has become an exploitative, unstable, zero sum game, with employers paying well under livable wages and employees being required to work long hours to make ends meet.
- TeMPOraL 9y agoIn my experience, your description applies to a fraction of lucky people today; for the rest, the OP's description applies, and some (many?) people manage to Stockholm-syndrome themselves into feeling it the way you described.