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Work doesn't have any sort of inherent moral or character building quality. You could imagine an 18th century slave traders who, on the surface, had a very good work ethic and good character. They did their job well and were fair and honest with their customers. But that is sort of ruined by how they treated their "product". There are so many examples of work, as defined in the OP as a job with a paycheck, that violates so many morals that you can only say work is moral under certain conditions. Same goes for any sort of character building, as their are many jobs that will reinforce bad attitudes, like lying to make a sale, or ignoring quality control to the point that it causes injuries to the consumers. So if work is moral, provided one does this, that, and the other thing, then work is not really moral. It is this, that, and the other thing that are moral. And those qualities can be applied to work that is for charity or just household chores done only for yourself. With all that in mind, society does not need work-for-a-paycheck to produce or sustain moral people with good character. I would go so far to argue that the idea that one must work-for-a-paycheck is immoral on a couple levels. First, their just isn't enough work to go around, especially with all the labor saving devices and techniques being used, and with more just around the corner. People like to say that our economic system is not zero-sum, and is capable of infinite growth. But right here and right now, there are a finite number of jobs that need workers. Same thing tomorrow. And 5 years from now, there may be a need for more more workers, but never enough jobs for everyone. So this notion just causes needless suffering. And this notion has spread to the point where people who do have jobs are still brow beaten for not have a good enough job. If work is inherently moral, then why is trash talking fast food workers so universal? Secondly, if everyone on Earth were to work a modern 40 hour/week job, the Earth would be burnt to a cinder. Unless we found jobs that didn't require any energy or raw materials, we would have to plow over all the forests, strip mine all the mountains, burn all the oil, to keep everyone busy being as productive as possible by our modern standards for 8 hours a day. One only has to look to China to see what working just for the sake of work and economic growth has done. Sure, smart phones and TVs are cheaper, but the air isn't breathable and people are still miserable.
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Oct 22, 2014 21:32
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Paradoxish posted:Most people never really learn how to pursue self-directed activities or projects because it's not something we really value or teach. Secondary and post-secondary education is extremely job oriented, and there's an expectation that you'll move into the working world either before you complete your education or as soon as you do. Anyone who's unemployed for an extended period of time is expected to put most of their effort into finding a job and vacations are generally viewed as recuperation time. To add to this, there are also a lot of activities that people are sort of discouraged from pursuing. Sewing and cooking aren't manly enough for men. Car and home repair projects are too manly for women. And tons of things are considered too childish for adults.
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Oct 23, 2014 19:58
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computer parts posted:And often you lose interest because the final product is not worth all of the work. There is nothing really wrong with this. Especially if it is a hobby people are new to. They may have started off thinking the reward was worth the effort, and then came to a different conclusion once they started doing it. But it isn't like the world will come to an end if one lets their tomato plant die because they found it wasn't worth the effort. Especially when you consider how finicky the consumer market can be, and how many workers can be put out on the street because a CEO decided it wasn't worth making some product any more. On one hand, we can see this as some sort of individual flaw. On the other, if a CEO does it and has a bunch of accountants with charts saying it isn't worth the effort, they are kind of praised for being rational about giving up on a project.
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Oct 23, 2014 23:34
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on the left posted:What do the people seeking self-fulfillment have to offer to the portion of humanity who is doing all the work that is not fulfilling? Fulfillment is a state of mind, and people can find fulfillment in anything given the right circumstances. And, any job can be made miserable if you feel you must do it in order to avoid the suffering of starvation and homelessness. And you have bosses who are cruel and arbitrary. And society puts you down for down that particular work.
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Oct 27, 2014 19:52
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There was a time when my wife actually found fulfillment scrubbing toilets, even though that is used as the gold standard for terrible work. The context was, it was just extra work for extra money. I made enough to pay all the bills, so it was like she already had a mincome. The place she worked at was a retirement home that was a short bike commute from where we lived, so no stress of traffic and parking. With only a couple exceptions, the residents were kind and thankful for the housekeeping work she did. Even though she didn't have to, she left the house 5 days a week to get on her knees and scrub toilets, and more often than not came home happy. In the end, she quit because management decided to be assholes. It started off with them bugging her to wear "work shoes" with 3 inch heels, then doing extra non-housekeeping work, then firing others and dumping the extra work on her. But since she didn't really need the job, she ultimately didn't have to put up with that crap and quit. ---- murphyslaw posted:This probably belongs in the game dev chat, but to offer a few points to wateroverfire: And from my perspective of some one who is working towards something similar (make and sell art); The inconsistency of income with this sort of work can't be stressed enough. When it comes to things that customers have to connect with on a personal level, as opposed to stuff that fills some basic need, people can be very finicky. One year you may produce something incredibly popular, and the next be criticized for being behind the times. You may put a lot of effort into something that could be called technically good but too niche for broad appeal. And at the other extreme, it may to so broad that it doesn't stand out enough to get many sales. The ramen eating indie programming is the modern "starving artist". It is cliche for good reason.
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Oct 28, 2014 21:22
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