Why Do We Work So Hard? (1843magazine.com)

An anonymous reader points us to a fascinating piece at The Economist that tries to explain the elements that drive people to work so hard: Working effectively at a good job builds up our identity and esteem in the eyes of others. We cheer each other on, we share in (and quietly regret) the successes of our friends, we lose touch with people beyond our network. Spending our leisure time with other professional strivers buttresses the notion that hard work is part of the good life and that the sacrifices it entails are those that a decent person makes. This is what a class with a strong sense of identity does: it effortlessly recasts the group's distinguishing vices as virtues. This reminds me of an article by Om Malik, veteran reporter and founder of the GigaOm news outlet, who wrote this when announcing his retirement. From his piece: "I relate to Jeter's desire to find life outside of work. Living a 24-hour news life has come at a personal cost. I still wake in middle of the night to check the stream to see if something is breaking, worrying whether I missed some news. It is a unique type of addiction that only a few can understand, and it is time for me to opt out of this non-stop news life."

Comments

because

[phantomfive]

Because money improves your quality of life more than extra time does. When most people have extra time, they spend it watching TV or other similar things. When they have extra money, they can buy a bigger TV.

Re:because

[ultranova]

Because money improves your quality of life more than extra time does.

When you have very little money and lots of free time, yes. As your income increases and free time decreases, time becomes more valuable at some point. One of the goals of our economic system is removing the choice of working only to the tipping point, and only leaving the options of not working at all (and being destitute) or working nearly all of your waking hours.

We work so hard because it's in the best interests of our rulers that we do, because they get to gather the fruits of our labour. That's all there is to it.

Re:because

[phantomfive]

We work so hard because it's in the best interests of our rulers that we do, because they get to gather the fruits of our labour. That's all there is to it.

That's the worst reasoning I've seen on the internet all day long, and that's really saying something.

Re:because

[Anonymous Coward]

Because those older than us and those with better access to credit, have driven asset prices to the highs of human history. No longer are housing prices a normal 2.5x annual salary -- they are 5-7x and in some areas even higher. Access to government credit for educational costs has led to the highest education prices in world history. And a wholly sinister cartel of pharmaceutical manufacturers, medical equipment manufacturers, insurance companies and their Washington DC puppets, has led America to the highest healthcare costs in the history of mankind.

Prior generations would have called the current state of economic serfdom which Americans find themselves living under, "Tyranny". We just call it "things are getting really expensive".

In other countries, when the native inhabitants of a city could no longer afford to live in their home towns, they burned the houses of the rich to the ground and sent them packing.

Today, it is the ousted natives that go packing. But everywhere the same game is being played: Those with access to credit are quickly driving up asset values and creating a two tiered society. The "landed aristocracy" and the "you dummies should have bought real estate" camps. For millennials that distinction is compounded by whether or not mommy and daddy paid for education, or if the shackles of student debt are binding you to your workstation.

Why do we work so hard?

What kind of a privileged, ivory tower question is that anyway?

Re:because

[Aighearach]

We work so hard because it's in the best interests of our rulers that we do, because they get to gather the fruits of our labour. That's all there is to it.

Just quit and get a better job. Go back to school or something if you need it.

And own your statements. Use first-person. None of that is universal.

Re:because

[dgatwood]

You can. Arrange a 32 hour work week. Take a sabbatical. Become a contractor and set your own schedule. These are all things that can be done.

In theory. In practice, most employers want full-time employees who are there five days a week. Most companies don't offer sabbaticals. If those were realistic options, there wouldn't be so many people complaining.

As for contracting, that's nice in theory, and it might pay the bills if you can manage to keep a continuous stream of contracts, but that often requires a huge amount of time that you aren't getting paid for. And if you don't keep the stream full, you'll end up struggling to pay the bills. Also, when you do have contracts, there's a deadline associated with them, so you can't always plan vacations as far ahead as you would when working for a normal employer.

Re:Simple: You are all cows

[Livius]

The fact that you mistake that treatment for respect proves how successful the propaganda has been.

Wrong.

[Qbertino]

Because money improves your quality of life more than extra time does.

Wrong. Beyond 'minimum' needs like food, shelter, health, security, and perhaps some good sex thrown in, income basically is disposable. What humans need beyond that is to feel loved, competent and a sense of enthusiasm for what they strive for. Which all has nothing to do with 'physical' wealth. Money in those latter areas is nothing but a shallow substitute, and mostly a bad one at that. That's why most people are quite unhappy with their lives, even though they're doing well by any outward metric. Depression is the first world disease that comes with that.

By any historic measure we live in times of infinite abundance. 80%+ of work done in first world societies are bullshit jobs and superfluos work. Most of which can be done by robots, better planing or, most of the time, simply left out all together.

I work part time for more spare-time, and while I sometimes moan that because of my compareatively lower income I have the feeling I am - to most women of my social herachy - not suitable for long-term relationship because of that (especially with the values our society to wrongly pursues), I repeatedly run into situations that can only be described as plain an utter envy over my freedom compared to my peers. By men and women alike. I'm only suitably as a dance partner and a lover to most. ... A situation I will probably have to learn to live with. ... And, yes, I'm going to cry you a river now. :-)

Conclusion:
You Sir need to get yourself a copy of the 4 Hour Workweek. Or, better yet, the original: Senecas Letters from a Stoic., read it and get a life (Hint: It is *not* about dependant income-work.) Stoicism: The optimised wester variant of zen-buddhism as you might call it. Get with the programm and start enjoying you life like never before. Welcome to the club.

Re:Wrong.

[tomhath]

Beyond 'minimum' needs like food, shelter, health, security, and perhaps some good sex thrown in, income basically is disposable.

Except there's not a clearly defined boundary line that a person crosses at a certain income level. There's a long transition zone, where more money means better food, a nicer home, a safer neighborhood, and more sex. Your Utopian society in which everyone is happy to share the wealth equally doesn't exist.

Because reward for job done well is more jobs.

[140Mandak262Jamuna]

People work so hard when they are young and naive because they think working hard will get them ahead, get them promotions etc etc. And the employers suck them in by giving them better pay, faster promotions etc in the early days to cement the idea they are right. Suckers!

After making from second lieutenant to lieutenant to captain and then may be major, the reward for job done well is more work. Meanwhile the same starting class are the slackers who don't work very hard, but also not very smart, they get stuck at lower level. But a few smart slackers manage to sneak through, getting help from hard workers, finding the hard workers and joining their team and wangling some reflected glory etc etc. These are the ones, who don't work very hard, but they have the eye for figuring out who are hard working but not so astute people. They are the ones, we want in management. We find them and promote them higher than major to lt-col, brigs level. They smartly direct lots of work to hard workers who are capable of working hard.

Of course the hard workers realize they have been had, but it would be too late. The retired majors sit in the officers club, drowning their sorrows over scotch on the rocks, will tell everyone within listening distance, "Brigadier Ramaseshan. class of 84, Rajasthan Rifles, heard of him? Let me tell you what a chump he is. Couple of years junior to me, we were..." They will be surrounded by others similar to them, "Come one, Ramaseshan is nothing. Rear Admiral Dahage, Class of 82, GOC-in-C Western Naval Command, he was once arrested by Delhi police for riding a bicycle in the Cannaught Circus into the fountain. In his pajamas! At 3 AM" "Really? I knew he was arrested, but I thought he stole a policeman's helmet or something".

Work

[fluffernutter]

All I ever wanted to do was work enough so that I can enrich and enjoy life with my family. It's that simple, yet hitting that target seems to be more and more difficult as time goes on.

Re:Do not work hard.

[penguinoid]

Your apocryphal story might have a little more insight if his job caused him to have the stroke.

You mean, like if stress were a major contributor to cardiovascular disease?