Working for ‘The Man’: A Call for Submissions

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“What do you do?” It may be one of the first questions you hear at a social function after the basic introductions. It has always seemed to me to be a question of judgment, to check a person’s social status. As is often true of people who are chronically under-employed, I was often over-sensitive about my job title or role anytime someone would ask. I remember going to a high school reunion aware of how I felt when asked this questions, so I came up with a question to ask of others, instead. I said, “I’m interested in what’s going on with you. Tell me whatever you’re comfortable sharing!” One person noticed and thanked me for avoiding the awkward, typical question.

Andy Grant’s essay “Men and Work: More Than Just an Income — Do you define your work by payment, fulfillment, or something else?” confirmed some of what I have always felt and opened my eyes to how men feel about this topic. As Andy discusses in his post, he always considered the word “work” to be related to the activity that produces income. Period. With his efforts on his podcast “Real Men Feel,” which we syndicate here on GMP, and his weekly column I often thank him for his “important work.”

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How do you define work as it relates to your life? Do you feel your income generating activities define you as a man?

What about working for others—“The Man”—versus self-employment? Have you felt as though you were working to make someone else rich and that you’ll never get ahead? How did you overcome that feeling or mindset? Have you found a way to not work for the man and support yourself? Are you entrepreneurial by nature or did you have to learn a certain mindset?

Are you in a career that is not traditional for men? Is this even an issue anymore?

How do you feel and what do you think when someone asks you, “What do you do?” How do you respond and why?

When you’re ready to submit, click the red box, below.

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The Good Men Project is different from most media companies. We are a “participatory media company”—which means we don’t just have content you read and share and comment on but it means we have multiple ways you can actively be a part of the conversation. As you become a deeper part of the conversation—The Conversation No One Else is Having (TM)—, you will learn all of the ways we support our Writers’ Community—community FB groups, weekly conference calls, classes in writing, editing platform building and How to Create Social Change.

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Photo credit: Getty Images