We use the word world in a couple ways. We all know what it means to say, “the whole world is watching,” or “every corner of the world is affected.” But saying, “We are worlds apart,” or “He lives in a different world,” is more complicated. Just like the word world, the term world of work is both simple and complex.
The world of work is made up of things most of us recognize, like occupations, jobs, employers, employees, paychecks, promotions, etc. We often give these things different labels, like workers and organizations, for example. Although we all recognize these things, we each experience them differently.
Imagine that you and I have the same parents and have the same education. Then imagine that we have the same job, at the same company, working under the same boss and making the same wage. It is possible that one of us is satisfied, secure and optimistic about work, and the other is miserable. Do we have the same world of work, but just experience it differently? Or, are we living in our own, unique worlds because of how we experience our work?
There is no right answer to these questions. But, understanding the influence and power that work can have in our lives and why we should reclaim our world of work, will help us define our own, unique world of work.
So, how much influence and power does this world of work have?
The influence and power of work
Almost everyone on the planet survives by working or because of someone else’s work. This work that enables us to survive is characterized by something called the division of labor. Our satisfaction with our working lives depends on how we experience the division of labor.
Division of labor
When we divide labor, we separate the individual tasks in a system. For example, if I wanted to build a house (a system of tasks), I would need to hire carpenters, electricians, plumbers and other trades to construct the house. The labor to build my house is divided among these different tradespeople. Even if we lived in the deepest, darkest jungle, thousands of years ago, we would still have a division of labor. Some people in our tribe would be the hunters, some would care for the children, and some would supply spiritual guidance.
All the tasks necessary to complete a system, whether the system is a house or a functioning tribe, are divided up and assigned. And, the only jobs made available to us are the ones defined by the division of labor. What do we do if we don’t like any of those jobs? We could try to live outside of a system of divided labor.
Living on the outside
There are a few people in the world, often the wealthiest ones, who never have to take part in a system of divided labor. If they wanted to, they could completely avoid taking part because their survival is assured by someone else. Imagine, for example, that you were given enough money to buy whatever you need to survive. Now, you can walk into that jungle with all the tools, food and knowledge you need to survive, alone, until you die. Your existence in the jungle is made possible by other people: your benefactor who worked to make the money given to you, and the people who created the stuff they traded with you for your benefactor’s money. I call this a proxied existence.
A proxy is a person authorized to act for another. But a proxied existence means never taking part in a system of divided labor and surviving only off someone else’s participation in that system. I created the concept of a proxied existence to describe a person who has never worked and will never work, yet still survives in society. I needed to do this because there is no other term that describes people whose only actions or behavior is the trade of their unearned money for the goods and services they need to survive. Almost no one lives a proxied existence. This means that almost everyone works in an occupation or job defined by the division of labor, even the wealthiest among us. Why?
Why we work
Although there are many perfectly good theories and opinions about why we work, our motivation for work can usually be organized into two broad categories: survival and meaning.
Work as means of survival
Work as means of survival {Blustein reference} is the primary motivation for work. Almost everyone in the world will tell you that they work because they must. They need to buy food, pay for shelter, educate their children and accumulate enough money for a time when they may be unable to work. Those who are unable to work or unable to secure enough work are often the most vulnerable and marginalized in our society.
Work as meaning
But why would a person who has enough money to survive until they die still work? And, why are people dissatisfied with a job that already assures their survival? Shouldn’t already having enough money, or always being able to make enough money, automatically make someone satisfied with their working life? The simple answer is meaning, but meaning is not simple.
