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I really have trouble understanding why ppl should dream about labor / fulfilment at work. There are so many ways to find a real meaning. Be a great person, h

by pojzon 4y ago

I really have trouble understanding why ppl should dream about labor / fulfilment at work. There are so many ways to find a real meaning. Be a great person, help others, read a book, do yoga, help kids with homework, plant a tree, build something with own hands, grow food, clean-up trash. So many things to keep you busy. Work is just a necessity to do something that actually matters in the longer run (for majority at least). Ppl that deeply care about the company and product are such a tiny minority.

shanusmagnus 4y ago
I assume because you literally spend most of your life there, and if it doesn't mean something, that is ... awful? I mean, there have been times / places in history where you work so that you have enough money to not die; and you enjoy your life with whatever pittance is left afterward. I doubt anyone reading this website is in such a time or place.
- krageon 4y ago
  Basically every corporation you can work for will have you doing something meaningless (and is dedicated to a meaningless pursuit besides). As the world population shrinks in the deep future, perhaps that will change - but right now it definitely will not. As such, I have trouble seeing why you'd think any work you do means anything. Most likely it doesn't and that's okay. It is not within your control to have meaningful work available. It is within your control to have a healthier attitude towards your workplace and your work.
  - shanusmagnus 4y ago
    If you find your work to be meaningless, who am I to argue. But I've had a number of jobs at different companies at various places along the 'meaning' gradient. It's not all the same. Though I also agree that meaning is, to large degree, yours to make, at least as much as it is a property of the situation.
netheril96 4y ago
Well, I care about raises. I can coast along in my current role, but I want more money, so I need to do impactful work. If I can earn more on some side work or investment and those earnings are stable enough, then I too will not care about work.
YZF 4y ago
You sound like my wife ;) I don't know how to not care. I've been writing software since I was a teenager and it's always been a central part of my life. I've always cared and that care is partly what made me successful (or so I believe). But it definitely is also what's stressing me out... I've always seen work as basically being able to be paid to practice my hobby though as well all know(?) your fun hobby becomes less fun when it's work. I remember having lunch with a co-worker who was saying something along the lines that he's never really wanted to code and the only reason he's doing it (got a degree and a career) is for the money and I didn't understand how that was even possible ;)

by pojzon 4y ago

shanusmagnus 4y ago

I assume because you literally spend most of your life there, and if it doesn't mean something, that is ... awful? I mean, there have been times / places in history where you work so that you have enough money to not die; and you enjoy your life with whatever pittance is left afterward. I doubt anyone reading this website is in such a time or place.

krageon 4y ago
Basically every corporation you can work for will have you doing something meaningless (and is dedicated to a meaningless pursuit besides). As the world population shrinks in the deep future, perhaps that will change - but right now it definitely will not. As such, I have trouble seeing why you'd think any work you do means anything. Most likely it doesn't and that's okay. It is not within your control to have meaningful work available. It is within your control to have a healthier attitude towards your workplace and your work.
- shanusmagnus 4y ago
  If you find your work to be meaningless, who am I to argue. But I've had a number of jobs at different companies at various places along the 'meaning' gradient. It's not all the same. Though I also agree that meaning is, to large degree, yours to make, at least as much as it is a property of the situation.

netheril96 4y ago

Well, I care about raises. I can coast along in my current role, but I want more money, so I need to do impactful work. If I can earn more on some side work or investment and those earnings are stable enough, then I too will not care about work.

YZF 4y ago

You sound like my wife ;) I don't know how to not care. I've been writing software since I was a teenager and it's always been a central part of my life. I've always cared and that care is partly what made me successful (or so I believe). But it definitely is also what's stressing me out... I've always seen work as basically being able to be paid to practice my hobby though as well all know(?) your fun hobby becomes less fun when it's work. I remember having lunch with a co-worker who was saying something along the lines that he's never really wanted to code and the only reason he's doing it (got a degree and a career) is for the money and I didn't understand how that was even possible ;)