> most people don't borrow a strong sense of identity from their jobs Part of middle-class striver religion is that recognition for your labor is the only way

> most people don't borrow a strong sense of identity from their jobs Part of middle-class striver religion is that recognition for your labor is the only way to have an identity (or a "worth," both metaphorically and literally.) What you are in that worldview is exactly what the people who can pay think you are.