Here’s my question on this Monday morning: why do so many of us hate our jobs? Is it an element of discontentment inherent to humanity? Or is it that the jobs are truly miserable—in which case, why aren’t we more inclined to pursue a career we really want?
Which is it: are humans disposed towards misery, or disposed towards willful slavery? So many people drag themselves out of bed every morning to go sit behind a desk, or cater to rude customers, or in some other way undermine their own dignity.
We seem to be choosing jobs on the basis of necessity and obligation. But could it be possible to rewire the way we approach our day-jobs, so that rather than a miserable chore we had to complete every day, it was an honorable responsibility through which we find inherent satisfaction? What kind of world would it be where people wanted to be tax lawyers? Or wanted to be custodians? Or wanted to be waitresses? I’m not sure whether a world like that would look socialist, Buddhist, or like a Borg collective. Or none of the above. But the point is, what if each of us really loved our careers—and, by some miracle, the world still turned?
“Don’t confuse your career with your life”.
I read that quote earlier this week. Although it’s an important mantra in a world where we are struggling to retain a sense of dignity in undignified jobs, I wish it weren’t necessary. If we could feel as though we had, fully conscious and purposefully, entered our line of work, and we did it because we wanted to—would we feel fulfilled by the same careers that are now making us miserable?
Just some random thoughts. This is a prelude to my (hopefully) upcoming blog posts on the subjects of depression and efficacy… could we escape chronic sadness and discontentment if we felt more powerful in our lives? I say yes.
In the meantime, if you have any insight to share, I'd be interested to get some of these questions answered!
I think our society have a definite culture of discontent. We are primed from the time we are young to make meaning of things, and the culture around us trains us that "Work" means "hate". If you can let go of old training, it is very possible to love your job, even waitressing, even in sales.
ReplyDeleteI have a better quote, that I will post when I hear back from my friend, about the satisfied person unable to tell work from play or vice versa.
I love your blog, keep going strong!!
I absolutely agree. I think the culture of discontent that you describe is a direct product of the American sense of entitlement we have all inherited. We believe that we deserve the absolute best. It's really no wonder people are so depressed!
ReplyDeleteA sign in my English class when I was in high school said something to the effect of "If you learn to enjoy work you have won the biggest battle and you will enjoy life." It didn't make sense to me at the time (partly because of the awkward wording) but now it does. In fact, if you are enjoying what you are doing, are you really "working"? I disagree with the part of "learning" to enjoy work though. Though that is possible to learn to love your work, it's also possible to choose what you love as your work. But how about the custodians, you ask, and the waitresses? Who wants to do that? Not me, granted, but only because that is not where my talents and interests lie. Some custodians hate their jobs while others take pride in keeping the system working and beautiful. Consider Daniel Garcia, may he rest in peace. He worked harder than almost anyone I know, but I don't know if he ever "worked" a day in his life. He was just living.
ReplyDeleteI think that people work jobs that they don't like for a far more simpler reason then all that. I think they work jobs they don't like because their parents did. They do it so that when their children are working jobs they don't like they can say "Yes, I used to have a job like that too, but look at me now."
ReplyDeleteWorking a job you don't like for a lot of people is a stepping stone. Unless their jobs have worn them down and out, most of them still have dreams of working their dream job. The average amount of jobs a person will go through in their lifetime (not in the same field or repeating fields) is seven. SEVEN. If you had to do seven different jobs before ending up in the last one, then quite obviously there are going to be some you don't like.
Plus, when you work a job you don't like, you can tell your future children when they're working jobs you don't like "Oh yeah, well I used to shovel elephant crap 5 times a day 8 days a week for five dollars an hour!"
Okay, so maybe people don't consciously take on crappy jobs /because/ of that, but I think it's why people put up with it. They can do this crappy job now until they finally have the resources to do the job of their dreams.
Plus, sometimes you have to work your way up from the bottom. Let's face it, there are very few people out there that /want/ to work in middle management. Most of these people would rather be upper management, but you don't just go from the middle to the top over night, so they put up with their jobs until they have the experience and connections to get there.
Another thing is I don't think that people have anything against Mondays as a rule. I think the issue is that, even when working jobs you love, the end of the weekend can be hard. Most careers and jobs get Saturday and Sunday off, not all, but a good portion do. Especially with older people, who have been working at one particular job for most of their lives, no matter how much they love their job, they probably enjoy time off more. You could love your job fully and completely, but if you have a family at home whom you love, you're probably going to enjoy time with them more then time at your chosen career.
I'm not a hundred percent sure that there's a problem with society telling us that we shouldn't enjoy our jobs. There are lots of people out there that really do enjoy the work that they do, and I think that the people who don't enjoy what they do, are usually putting up with it because they know it's a stepping stone to their chosen profession.
You make some good points; however, the situations I'm referring to are more those people who are willing to permanently settle in jobs they don't enjoy. I think your comment about patiently putting up with lousy jobs while ON THE WAY up is a good one, and I would guess that often that is people's justification in the beginning, but then they get stuck. One day they find they are no longer on their way up, and after years of telling themselves that they're on their way to something better, they suddenly find that they are not. What then? Why aren't people more committed to happiness, enough to leave the job they hate to pursue one they will be fulfilled by?
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