What is Work?

I commented on an inspirational Post about working hard recently. If that weren't enough, I also added a comment to a poignant Reply to the same Post. Both times, I asked myself later what I was thinking? (Only fools play with matches around a powder keg.) I tossed and I turned. Such is how this article was born.

“Work and you’ll get what you need
work harder and you’ll get what you want.”
        

Above is the message that originally resonated with me. Below is my humble contribution with its own Reply.

"What about working smart?"

"You'll get there with less effort! ??"
        

Then I added to a comment thread that felt like playing with fire. Did I have a death wish?

Out of the generosity of this Community, I may have lived to blog another day. I confess that I was embarrassed about participating in this discussion topic. It was very tempting to delete one or both of my replies to be assured of containing any damage. Then it occurred to me that I might possibly have had a point, if only a small one. Was it a defensible stance?

Sisyphus

One of the favorite activities at concentration camps as far as I know, was ordering captives to carry a heavy load from one end of the open compound to the other, and then back again. (Today I guess that would be called Crossfit.) The rationale was for a task to be so pointless as to be demoralizing. The guards wanted to break the will of the prisoners, and fast.

After some thought, thankfully before my brain started to hurt, it occurred to me how I was looking at the idea of work. To me, work has value or benefit when you learn something or you improve yourself in some aspect along the way. Otherwise, it quickly degenerates into a simple game if you're lucky, or utter labor/toil if you are not.

Making work easier is a great idea too, don't get me wrong. However, if the goal is banal, it doesn't matter how easy you make it, the end result is still emasculating. Surveys of workers reveal that the majority of workers do not think highly of what they are paid to do. Almost 48 million employees quit their jobs in the US last year, or about a third of the labor force.

Roadmap

I don't know any manager who can afford to lead a team without having a return for investment in mind. Also, that return cannot be to merely stay competitive with a rival in your industry. Just ask Boeing after Airbus started fitting taller, more efficient engines under their planes. Nobody wins and consumers wind up paying with their lives.

As a leader, your purpose should be clearly defined and actionable. Try justifying the desired result of your combined efforts as 'being in a roughly better shape tomorrow' than you are in today, and see how far that gets you. Now, if employees were footing the bill and carrying the financial burden, no one would bat an eyelash.

In Summary

Where are all of these aforewritten remarks headed, you're thinking? The Post that attracted my attention originally may have been narrowly focused at job candidates as the audience. That was the flag that I recklessly missed. It was a trap that I coulda-shoulda avoided. Since I already dipped my toe into the debate though, I decided that there might be adequate value in sacrificing the rest of myself for the sake of a worthwhile argument.

The reason that nobody cares and why I need to keep my nose out, is the answer to 'who pays for the open-job market?' The candidates do. Sure, employers pay part of the bill, but it's always been just part of the cost of doing business. A line item. Seriously, that's not even where they go to fill MOST of their staffing needs anyway. The candidates pay with their time and their savings. Thankfully, there's a bottomless pit!

If candidates want to call applying for 250 jobs on average, 'work' then who is going to argue with them? What part of the application process is there to learn from? Is it smart? I have my doubts. It's like taking a different SAT for every college you want to go to. In fact, it might be the opposite of smart. (After the first job offer, flush goes the learning.)

Who can stop the insanity? You guessed it. Candidates can. At some point, they have to all stand up and say, I want to work, but this is getting ridiculous. And, it's getting more ridiculous. I get it. There is nobody telling you any differently. You have a built-in bias to coddle and defend the existing system. It's the finger that is feeding you, right? Come on.