Work: Will there come a day when submitting to the daily grind requires an unprecedented degree of neurosis?

[Seguine]

It strikes me that the vast majority of work available to most people
in the US (and elsewhere?) is fundamentally unsatisfying, regardless of
whether it pays the bills--which for the lesser educated it often does
not. Meanwhile, work that does pay the bills tends to require a degree
of social conformity that those of us who grew up valuing individualism
find insidious.

Has it alwys been this way? Will changing economic conditions make it
impossible for people in the first world to survive any more as small
farmers or local entrepreneurs, writers, or artisans? What about
teachers, nurses, etc.?

[Tom Reingold]

It could be argued that job satisfaction has been on the rise for the
last 100 years. I believe the concept of job satisfaction arose during
that period. I don't think anyone felt entitled to it before that. The
fact that there is a small percentage of people who enjoy their work
could be a sign of progress. Sure, we wish it could be higher, but is
it any lower than it has been?

Tom

[Seguine]

I dunno, Tom. You're right, of course, that job staisfaction is an
entirely modern expectation and, most likely, a modern *phenomenon* to
the extent that it exists at all. But a) that expectation has in fact
developed, and I would argue that it's a good that should perhaps not
be casally discarded; and b) doesn't it seem to you that some kinds of
work or work structures tend to sap human dignity more than others?
It's as though certain, oh, medieval class-status behaviors are
preserved in certain kinds of work structures.

I don't mean to say that these have ever been avoidable by a majority
of people, or that most people can't conform to them without suffering
unduly. But in any society there are those who don't conform well, who
need to be out from under-heel in order to be productive. What happens
to that (often creative) margin when it simply isn't possible to earn a
living as, say, a small farmer or potter or whatever?

I've noticed Americans outside the labor movement (i.e., elites) don't
much worry when lower-paid or manufacturing jobs get exported abroad.
We do worry when analytical work leaves the country. Maybe when that
happens we're seeing not only a source of higher income work decamp for
cheaper zones, we're also seeing another semi-autonomous, creative
outlet (something that satisfies people's urge to contribute
meaningfully to the world on their own terms) go the way of cottage
industries.

[Tom Reingold]

I'm not dismissing the concept at all. One of my middle-of-the-night
"world peace, prosperity for all" dreams is that everyone has job
satisfaction. I think we should work towards it but also be happy about
the progress we've made thus far.

And I do wonder if we're slipping lately. Business has always worked to
increase profits at the cost of everything else, and the latest trends
are especially troubling because a rising tide no longer lifts all
boats.

I don't think I'm any smarter than the average person. By luck, I am in
a job type that hasn't been outsourced yet, because it requires my
physical presence. I'm a system administrator. I work mostly at my
desk, but throughout the day I have to get up and hit power switches
and plug cables in. This means I can't work from home, but that's not
so bad. However, the expectations of how much time we spend at work
does seem to be on the increase.

Also, my company offers 20 paid days off per year. This includes
vacation, sick days, personal errand days, and holidays. 20 days is not
a heck of a lot. I hope things change once the company becomes
profitable, but more likely, the company will see it has a thousand
workers who have proven to be willing to work that hard, so it will not
feel compelled to change. So I guess I won't be here for all that long.
I can't keep working for 20 days off per year.

My boss seems like she's doing the work of three people. She keeps on
top of everything, but she doesn't have time to breathe or smile. It's
work, work, work, all the time.

Tom

[rem...@gmail.com]

It's been a rough week.

[Seguine]

Yeah, Rem, I read about your rough day in the paper.

Quite a bummer: six-foot-two client. Blood everywhere. Weeping jurors.

Now, I know you to be a peaceable guy, but this kind of thing just has
to rankle. Once the swelling subsides, I suggest you join the Krav Maga
class my husband and I attend in Montclair.

It's taught by an Israeli podiatry resident (who is, coincidentally,
about six foot two). I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that he used to
be a police chief.

The last few weeks we have been learning how to block punches.

Not that learning Krav Maga or any other art of self-defense is likely
to do you (or me) any good in a crunch. I just like the tangential
psychological and physical benefits.

[Seguine]

I can't decide whether this is the apex or the nadir of something...

"Impossible is Nothing"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7pok0TKDU8

Lucy Kellaway, from her column in the Financial Times:

"Mr. Vayner should serve as a warning to employers. They should be
careful what they wish for. He is the logical consequence of an ever
more far-fetched recruitment process."

[Tom Reingold]

Wow, I just read the wikipedia article on that guy. What a sicko.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleksey_Vayner

Tom

[Seguine]

Oh ho ho, yes, but Tom:

"Advertising executive Donny Deutsch said on MSNBC that he "would hire
this guy sight unseen.""

Bottom-lineism reigns supreme.

[Tom Reingold]

Well, yeah, that video was inspiring. That was before I read about the
dude.