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When I was a kid, and play was my work, my father would sometimes mutter, “I wish I could goof off all day like you. But I gotta work.” He would spit that last word like the curse of a bitter indentured servant.
Dad would also sing the old Tennessee Ernie Ford lyrics, “You load sixteen tons, what do you get? Another day older and deeper in debt…”
Why do people, especially men, insist on seeing work as drudgery, brutal sacrifice, and near-slavery? Why is work a “four-letter word” to us?
No, it’s not because some people are “lazy.” The answer is more complex and potentially harmful.
First, there’s the latent Puritan (aka Protestant) work ethic that underpins our society. Yes, an honest day’s work has many merits, including the development of discipline, learning to honor your commitments to others, and providing for your loved ones.
Seeing work as suffering is a bad American cultural habit that gained significant traction in the 20th century. Besides the industrialization of war and genocide (not to mention the wonderful prospect of global nuclear annihilation), the last 100 years or so gave us a pretty grim outlook on having a job.
But there is a difference between mindless, repetitive toil and fulfilling employment. It’s been shown that human beings crave meaningful work, which allows us to be autonomous, creative, and has a clear connection between effort and reward. But, if followed mindlessly, the Puritan work ethic can devolve into the simplistic attitude of work as sacrifice.
Then, there’s the lie of the “rugged individual.” As men, we are often taught that we must “suffer in silence,” and that truly successful people are brilliant “lone wolves” who succeed in a vacuum.
Yes, you must be able to motivate yourself to strive for success. You need to take the initiative. But this doesn’t mean you don’t or won’t need help along the way. Everyone who has ever started a business has had help, in the form of mentors, bank loans, partnerships, etc.
The rugged individual mentality convinces men to cultivate the sort of hyper-competitiveness that breeds suspicion and cut-throat tactics, which stifles the beneficial cooperation integral to individual and group success. It also taps into the unspoken and insidious cultural norm that men are disposable.
Let’s be perfectly clear: competition is healthy. Slaving your life away, while insisting on self-imposed isolation as you seek to destroy all competition, is not.
Sacrifices to the Stress God
Despite the clear evidence regarding its minimal impact on productivity and negative health effects, the antiquated “stress means you’re serious about your job” mentality persists. Is it any wonder more and more employees are disengaged at work and healthcare costs continue to skyrocket as people seek treatment for stress-induced illness?
The Japanese have a single word for death from overwork: karoshi. Indeed, there is no lack of tragic casualties who have died due to work-induced stress (and before you mention that the following examples are not from the U.S. note that the companies are American; clearly, we’re exporting our bad work habits):
- Li Yuan, a 24-year-old employee of the international ad agency Ogilvy & Mather, who died of a massive heart attack in the office, after working extremely long hours for an entire month.
- Mita Diran, a copywriter for Young & Rubicam Indonesia, collapsed and died shortly after tweeting about working for over 30 hours straight.
- Moritz Erhardt, a 21-year-old Bank of America Merrill Lynch intern, who collapsed and died after working for 72 hours straight.
Is clinging to outdated beliefs regarding “work as necessary suffering” really worth the lives sacrificed in its name?
Unfortunately, in some way, we’re all culpable in propping up overwork as “noble sacrifice.” Haven’t we all, at some point, helped to perpetuate the stereotype that work must suck in order to be considered “actual hard work”? Haven’t we, as men, all-too-often bragged about working copious overtime and not using our vacation time as some sort of badge of honor?
Yes, sometimes long hours are necessary and can be productive in the short-term. But overtime should be used strategically as situations demand. Research shows that working long hours doesn’t always lead to more productivity. In fact, the stress of excessive overtime can actually reduce work quality.
Overtime should not be a frequent expectation or the norm. It should not be treated as a “badge of honor” or used as proof you are more dedicated to the company than the other guy.
How and Why to Work Happy, Not Hard
Forget working “hard.” It’s time to refocus and dedicate ourselves to using better adjectives to describe our work. We should be working diligently, passionately, cooperatively, meaningfully.
Ultimately, we should be working happy (or happily, for you grammar snobs). You will work hard as a byproduct of working happy, not the other way around. You will naturally put in more effort when you are doing something you are passionate about or find something worthwhile in your work.
If you don’t like your job, there are alternatives to just suffering or trying to find new employment. Be creative, take the initiative and talk to your company about things you can offer beyond the narrow confines of your job description. Many employers today encourage entrepreneurialism among their personnel. Don’t be afraid to take advantage of that trend.
Your boss may be more amenable than you think if you devise new ideas for how you can contribute to the company. Make your job truly yours. This doesn’t have to mean just taking on more workload, though. It means brainstorming how you can incorporate your interests into your current job, rather than endlessly pining for “greener grass” and frequent job-hopping.
Don’t resist your job. Reshape it. The best way out of a situation is through, not back the way you came. That’s the hero mindset.
We need to cultivate a healthy attitude toward work in this still-new century. Instead of giving young men entering the workforce the old “get ready to work your life away” speech, we should focus on making sure they seek out vocations that incorporate their passions. This will encourage them to put in more time and effort (or in other words, hard work) as a byproduct.
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Addendum to the article: Yes, it’s not JUST about changing the adjectives you use to describe your work that will “make it all better.” We’re not talking about magical thinking or empty wish fulfillment. It’s about taking action as well. It’s about changing one’s perspective/viewpoint, and also taking real-world steps to shape the career you want. It’s about taking the fate of your career into your own hands. You have to start with the thoughts, beliefs, and attitudes you’re bringing to the table. If you keep yourself in a place of “all work sucks” then things aren’t going to improve… Read more »