5 ms·

Well, the purpose has always been one: to make money. From the article: > I was recently able to charge around twelve thousand pounds to write a two-page repor

Well, the purpose has always been one: to make money. From the article: > I was recently able to charge around twelve thousand pounds to write a two-page report for a pharmaceutical client to present during a global strategy meeting. The report wasn’t used in the end because they didn’t manage to get to that agenda point. Many people would dream about such an opportunity. Yes, the usefulness of the final product for the humanity is negligible. However, it allows you to live, to develop, maybe also take care of your family, give your friends some happiness - I definitely wouldn't call it "no purpose". If you did that and received no remuneration - that would be another question.

TeMPOraL 8y ago
That's a given. But the "pointless/bullshit job" label is applied from the point of view of people who care about more than just getting money - people who also want to feel like they're actually contributing something to society, and people who like to take a more global and less selfish view of the world.
- dvfjsdhgfv 8y ago
  They need to find a specific job, then. It's hard to expect that you come to just any corporation and will make the world a better place. Moreover, I'd say that these days the opposite is more probable. We always hear the mantra that the main purpose of corporations is to increase the shareholder value, and we reap what we sow.
  - TeMPOraL 8y ago
    It's more than that. A lot of those bullshit jobs don't really even help increase shareholder values. They're mini zero-sum games within companies, or between companies. Jobs that exist to cancel each other out. Zero-sum games have this magic feature that if you unilaterally opt out of them, you lose. So they persist, even though if all players simultaneously opted out, everyone would be better off.

5 ms·

Well, the purpose has always been one: to make money. From the article: > I was recently able to charge around twelve thousand pounds to write a two-page repor

by dvfjsdhgfv 8y ago

TeMPOraL 8y ago
That's a given. But the "pointless/bullshit job" label is applied from the point of view of people who care about more than just getting money - people who also want to feel like they're actually contributing something to society, and people who like to take a more global and less selfish view of the world.
- dvfjsdhgfv 8y ago
  They need to find a specific job, then. It's hard to expect that you come to just any corporation and will make the world a better place. Moreover, I'd say that these days the opposite is more probable. We always hear the mantra that the main purpose of corporations is to increase the shareholder value, and we reap what we sow.
  - TeMPOraL 8y ago
    It's more than that. A lot of those bullshit jobs don't really even help increase shareholder values. They're mini zero-sum games within companies, or between companies. Jobs that exist to cancel each other out. Zero-sum games have this magic feature that if you unilaterally opt out of them, you lose. So they persist, even though if all players simultaneously opted out, everyone would be better off.