Does A Job Have To Be Useful?
David Shindler
Writer. Mainly. Coach. Often. Volunteer. Sometimes. Learning to Leap. Always.
The rising automation of jobs is prompting much debate about the meaning of work. The emphasis seems to be on the skills needed for this changing work environment. Why? Because business is hardwired to look through one end of the telescope at a narrow view of the means of production. Isn't there a more fundamental paradigm shift occurring? The fundamental purpose of why we get up in the morning and go to work is up for grabs. What's the point of work if people think their jobs are useless? Developing skills alone will not lead to nirvana. So what's needed?
Alain de Botton, philosopher and founder of the School of Life, suggested at a recent conference that our quest for professionalism is disconnecting us from our humanity. He said:
We don’t have the emotional skills to deal with the workplace today. When we go into work we put a mask on and become a caricature of ourselves. But we are, in fact, cutting ourselves off from humanity by trying to appear professional, rational and intelligent.
He went on to say:
Instead of focusing on the hard skills we need right now, employees will increasingly need to develop emotional skills such as empathy, resilience and persuasion. Our challenge today is how we can evolve as individuals and organisations.
If you agree with de Botton, then relating to people at an emotional level will be like a Darwinian job sort with the fittest surviving. The rest will be on a Universal Basic Income. But this doesn't answer my question about the utilitarian nature of work. It's possible that those people who are more empathetic, resilient and persuasive may be more imbued with a sense of meaning in their work, but it doesn't necessarily follow.
I see the lack of purpose within individuals as consequences of the following changes in the work landscape:
- The breaking down of trust between individuals and institutions, particularly since the financial crash in 2008.
- The changing relationship between employer and employee, away from cultures of parental support and entitlement to fuzzy boundaries and self-reliance.
- Global interconnectivity driving communication through technology leading to a paradox of weaker engagement through relationships.
- Alternative ways of working as exemplified by the Gig Economy and the Sharing Economy.
- And perhaps more controversially, the clashing of deep-rooted worldviews (Trump, Brexit etc) that challenge what their respective proponents hold fundamentally dear.
All the above have heated VUCA fires. It's compounded by the stark contrast between the developed and developing worlds in an era of mass people movement. No surprise it sparks profound existential questions and people start wondering if their job is useful or useless.
Whatever the speed and extent of the automation of jobs, we can't leave meaning out of the solution to the skills gap. Demanding new skills for a new era from a workforce who increasingly can't see the point of their jobs is a self-defeating exercise. We could start by preparing our children at school, equipping them with emotional intelligence and engaging them on the meaning of work as it is and will be. As Tom Watson, Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, said at the same conference as Alain do Botton
We have a 19th century education, equipping children for the 21st century.
Where does the meaning of work sit in today's school curriculum? I wonder what today's young people would say in answer to my question.
What's your view?
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David (@David_Shindler) is an independent coach, blogger, speaker, associate with several consultancies. He has an online school, Career Navigating for Young Professionals. He is the author of Learning to Leap: a guide to being more employable, and co-author with Mark Babbitt of 21st Century Internships (over 200,000 downloads worldwide). His commitment and energy are in promoting lifelong personal and professional development and in tackling youth unemployment. He works with young people and professionals in education and business.
Visit the Learning to Leap blog to read more of his work and check out his other published articles on LinkedIn:
Character: Be the Hero of Your Story
How to Be a Vulcan in a VUCA World
Early Career Dilemma: How to Manage Expectations
Let's Ditch the 'What do you want to do?' Career Advice
Father's Day: Learning From The Pleasure And The Pain
Employability: Do You Know How To Dance In The Digital Age?
New Career Opportunities In The Sharing And Gig Economies
New Graduate Hires: Why Managing Up Is Important
Work Readiness: Are You Lost in Translation?
Job Seekers: Test And Learn To Be A Game Changer
Career Adventures: Take A Walk On The Wild Side
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Being Human In The Artificial Age
The Unwritten Rules Of Graduate Employment
Healthy Job And Career Transitions
Solutions For Closing The Gap From Classroom To Career
The Multiplier Opportunity In The Generation Game
Culture: The Quantified Self And The Qualitative Self
Purposeful Leadership To Create The Life Of Meaning
The Uber Effect: Opportunities For Job Seekers And Employers
Hierarchies are tumbling as Social soars
The Emergence of the Holistic Student
New Graduates: Following Is A Rehearsal For Leading
How Redefining Success Helps You Succeed
Why Developing Yourself Is A Matter Of Life And Death
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Business Development at Complete Skills Solutions
7 年If you want to retain a happy & focussed work force, then yes, the job has to be useful. How long are you going to keep an employee engaged if you are asking them to do a job that serves no real purpose? What is the point? Who does it benefit? Being given a task akin to shovelling a pile of dirt from one side of a room to the other, then shovelling it all back to where it was in the first place may keep somebody busy for a few hours, but it's a completely pointless task and pretty demoralising for the poor sap that gets landed with it. The task needs to serve a greater purpose than just keeping someone busy for a bit, and the person tasked needs to understand what the purpose is. Without that understanding, they're hardly going to feel valued and are therefore not going to put their heart & soul into it.
The Styliscian: A Fashion & Textiles whose job is to design, arrange & coordinate clothes, etc. with a STYLISh magiCIAN's spell and attractive ways to bring out the best style enhancements in average women's appearance!
7 年I wish someone would believe in my potential https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvqj_Tk_kuM
Writer. Mainly. Coach. Often. Volunteer. Sometimes. Learning to Leap. Always.
7 年Thanks Rikk, I agree about changing expectations and your diagnosis of what's needed. Unfortunately, I see organisations still hanging on to 20th century cultures that bring into sharper focus those changing expectations. The psychological contract between employer and employee needs redefining.
"America's Calling Coach," Executive Career and Leadership Coach, Talent Development Professional
7 年Interesting article David - thanks! The issue of meaning and purpose at work is a big one. But is this really an area where there's been a decline within the workforce? I don't look back and see a past time when a high sense of purpose and meaning at work was the norm. Instead, I sense that our expectations are increasing. That people as a whole are seeking more meaning from work. While I think that's a very positive change, it does impact engagement when that's missing in the workplace. Don't these changes demand both that people do the work of clarifying the personal purpose that fires them to work, and that companies support this in their selection and culture?
Writer/Essayist/Blogger/Technologist/Electronics/Software
7 年I wrote a short 1750+ word essay, on my profile page, with most of the original essay quoted within. But Universal Basic Income may be needed as the number of jobs worldwide are waning. Artificial Intelligence should exacerbate this trend.