Meanwhile in the world of work
The good news:
few workers think their jobs are meaningless, despite some claims the view is widespread;
the bad news:
workplace bullying & abuse are too high (if not at epidemic proportions that some fear);
and:
hybrid working is a much more longer term shift in working practice, and as such explains why people are resisting the recent call to 'return to the office'!
Interestingly, when I do my occasional career change counselling, the quest for a new 'meaningful' career is the main (indeed I'd say almost universal) motivation for seeking to change careers... but that's just a self selected anecdotal snap-shot of course
Yup, that's what I've observed; indeed the willingness to swap high pay for less pay but meaningfullness is certainly a theme
RTO Losers:-
Workers
Productivity
Environment
Rto winners:-
Property landlords
Petty managers with poor ability and high egos
Wfh is a major step for improving work life balance and is better for the environment.
'Few workers *will admit to thinking* that their jobs are meaningless...' would be closer to the truth because we undoubtedly live in the age of #bullshitjobs
The fact that we're no longer willing to admit it is much darker and likely a function of the workplace bullying epidemic.
yes, maybe....
I guess it depends on the perspective:
I'm grateful to have a job because I have bills to pay, and so my job has meaning
vs
A bigger workforce and automation mean that we no longer need everyone to work five days a week for forty years, so most of us are only working to maintain wealth hierarchies, artificial markets and unnecessary debt.
https://davidgraeber.org/articles/on-the-phenomenon-of-bullshit-jobs-a-work-rant/
In the year 1930, John Maynard Keynes predicted that, by century’s end, technology would have advanced sufficiently that countries like Great Britain or the United States would have achieved a 15-hour work week. There’s every reason to believe he was right. In technological terms, we are quite capable of this. And yet it didn’t happen. […]
Yes, while many of us would want to remain active & dedicate some tasks in hand, that's not the same as wanting to be at work (more narrowly defined)
Absolutely this.
There is still lots of useful work to be done, but bouncing around with post-it notes on corporate team-building days or thinking of new ways to butcher your competition in the lucrative 'Pointless Knick Knack' market isn't it.
Emeritus Prof Christopher May
Nini
A
Reg
zombiecide