SynecdocheMany people feel they work in pointless, meaningless jobs, research confirms
It's worth pointing out that feeling like you work in a pointless, meaningless job doesn't necessarily make it true. This paper is solely about people's perceptions, not facts.
The opposite of that is also true - feeling like you’re doing something useful doesn’t make it true.
Yes. I wonder why they chose the wording they did. It seems like it would be more useful to know if people think their jobs actually are bullshit. Even if office assistants feel like crap about their job I imagine a lot of them would be missed. Likewise, I imagine there’s plenty of teachers that would criticise the way they’re being utilised.
For referance:
He analyzed survey data on 1,811 respondents in the U.S. working in 21 types of jobs, who were asked if their work gave them “a feeling of making a positive impact on community and society” and “the feeling of doing useful work.”
Why does the purpose the data was collected for matter? Either the data is suitable or not. The motive of the pollsters who gathered it is irrelevant, isn’t it?
To be clear, that wasn’t a criticism, just an explanation. Collecting a bespoke survey would have been better but almost certainly was beyond the abilities of this researcher. This is the next best approach.