I've only just now read the paper (link below), so this is from the hip: Graeber floated an explanation (bullshit jobs) for the data gathered (grumpy workers).

I've only just now read the paper (link below), so this is from the hip: Graeber floated an explanation (bullshit jobs) for the data gathered (grumpy workers). It was not a study, nor ever presented as such. This is follow up research, a proper study. IIRC, as Graeber had encouraged. The researchers propose the Marxist notion of alienation as an alternate theory for the phenomenon Graeber originally daylighted. While the researchers reduce the likely scope of alienation, they emphasize that millions of people are impacted, which should not be ignored. Graeber has no particular animus towards finance, as The Economist suggested. He's grumpy about corporatism and bureaucracy. If The Economist is offended by Graeber's work, that's on them. -- Research cited by Economist: "Alienation Is Not ‘Bullshit’: An Empirical Critique of Graeber’s Theory of BS Jobs" https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/09500170211015067 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/09500170211015... Buried lede: "But part of Mr Graeber’s thesis turns out to be correct. Employees who think their work is useless tend to feel anxious and depressed. The reason, the academics suggest, is linked to the Marxist idea of “alienation”, which described what artisans felt in the 19th century when they stopped working for themselves and were dragooned into factories." Bonus link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marx's_theory_of_alienation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marx's_theory_of_alienation