This: “I guess what I’m saying is that I am no longer that distressed by my own overwork because I find value in the work I do. Because I no longer feel alienated from the means of production, perhaps.”
I’ve been thinking a lot about this, too, as the quiet of summer (my summer are always sans-kids and often pretty ill-defined) evolves into the return to campus and a busy calendar. I’ve read Work Won’t Love You Back and The Good Enough Job (both great books), and like you say, the issue isn’t work per se, but exploitation. Building a culture that blames individuals for overwork is a convenient way to evade discussions about raising wages and building universal health care, etc. Certainly not everyone finds meaning in their work; for some, work is a way to build a life of meaning outside of work, for far too many work is about survival. But personally, I’ve found that avoiding work in order to avoid overwork isn’t serving me, since I do find my work to be particularly meaningful. So, I’m actually responding to my summer doldrums with a pretty packed Fall calendar and feeling darn good about it!
Yes this: “ Building a culture that blames individuals for overwork is a convenient way to evade discussions about raising wages and building universal health care, etc.”!
This: “I guess what I’m saying is that I am no longer that distressed by my own overwork because I find value in the work I do. Because I no longer feel alienated from the means of production, perhaps.”
I’ve been thinking a lot about this, too, as the quiet of summer (my summer are always sans-kids and often pretty ill-defined) evolves into the return to campus and a busy calendar. I’ve read Work Won’t Love You Back and The Good Enough Job (both great books), and like you say, the issue isn’t work per se, but exploitation. Building a culture that blames individuals for overwork is a convenient way to evade discussions about raising wages and building universal health care, etc. Certainly not everyone finds meaning in their work; for some, work is a way to build a life of meaning outside of work, for far too many work is about survival. But personally, I’ve found that avoiding work in order to avoid overwork isn’t serving me, since I do find my work to be particularly meaningful. So, I’m actually responding to my summer doldrums with a pretty packed Fall calendar and feeling darn good about it!
Yes this: “ Building a culture that blames individuals for overwork is a convenient way to evade discussions about raising wages and building universal health care, etc.”!