What stood out for me in this book was the constant reference to doing work for its own sake. The value in the detail of the work and its contribution towards happiness seemed immeasurable, and in fact, imperative in the achievement of success. Success appeared to be a by product for the people he interviewed. The never set out to be successful, they just enjoyed the challenge of the work.
The Anti-Business Model
I lay in bed last night, and as per usual, I was thinking about work. I had been watching a Noam Chomsky lecture on capitalism and the social order earlier in the evening. I wondered how each of us can go about creating work that matters, something that brings value to ourselves and others without the overbearing and often manipulative motivation to meet market need. I thought, how about…
The Making of Machines
This survival of the fittest, throw-away capitalist consumerist culture of ours insists our work must have commercial value. It’s killing the creative spirit and makes machines of people. Don’t sacrifice your humanity. Don’t become a machine.
A Time To Fight
It seems to me, that when others require your compliance, be it for what they consider the greater good or indeed their own good, they are prepared to forgo their humanity. The rules, bureaucracy take precedence.
To Be A Mule
Once we accept the concept of work is something meaningful, not just the source of a buck, you don’t have to worry about finding enough jobs. There’s no excuse for mules any more. Society doesn’t need them.
The Pursuit of The Eternally Elusive
What is it you want to say? How do you want to say it? Why bother? I don’t know. It’s a compulsion, a curiosity. I want to know what’s under the surface. It’s a means of expression, an exploration of self, although I understand I can never find whatever it is I am looking for.
Hyper-Positivity And The Flourishing of Naivety
From this observers perspective, this gushing all over each other is unsubstantial insofar as it is unsustainable. It is a flourishing of naivety. It is an over-the-top response typical of a global population incapable of holding the middle ground in the event of dramatic change.
What’s The Future of Work?
COVID-19 has brought the global economy to almost a complete standstill. Where I live, the authorities allow nobody to work, unless you’re part of the emergency response. Any commercial activity can be pretty much attributed to vital services and communications. We’re in a kind of no-man’s-land regarding work.
There Are No Shortcuts
Now, with all this discussion on my part recently about the nature and value of work, and our relationship with it, it may have brought about a particular question. How can I find work that makes me happy?
A Monday to Friday Sort of Dying
How many of these people had a 5:30 or earlier rise just to get their kids to creche or some other form of child-minding? How many of these parents wouldn’t collect their kids until 6:00pm or 7:00pm and endure the slog every single day?