"Why We Work" - A Review

Physicist David Bohm in his 1977 Berkeley lecture observed that “reality is what we take to be true. What we take to be true is what we believe… What we believe determines what we take to be true."

"In a particularly palpable manifestation of this symbiotic dance, the rise of workaholism and the toxic mythology of work/life balance have warped our understanding of why we work, what meaningful labor means, and how we can avail ourselves of the true rewards of our vocation. That's what psychologist Barry Schwartz explores in Why We Work – an inquiry into the diverse sources of satisfaction in work, the demoralizing effect of incentives, and how we can reimagine work culture to enlarge the human spirit rather than contract it."

Schwartz, who has previously studied the paradox of choice and the moral machinery of practical wisdom – casts the issue against the staggering statistic that, according to a recent Gallup study of 230,000 full-time and part-time workers in 142 countries, only 13% of people feel engaged and fulfilled by their jobs. He writes:

"Work is more often a source of frustration than one of fulfillment for nearly 90 percent of the world’s workers. Think of the social, emotional, and perhaps even economic waste that this statistic represents. Ninety percent of adults spend half their waking lives doing things they would rather not be doing at places they would rather not be."

This, of course, is far from new – one need only look at that marvelous 1949 manifesto for avoiding work to appreciate that enduring frustration. But Schwartz's central point is that, far from a necessary sunk cost of making a living, this profound dissatisfaction with work is one of our own making – the product of how we've designed our institutions, how that design has shaped our core beliefs, and how those beliefs in turn shape who we become. 

From a review of Barry Schwartz' new book "Why We Work," which can be found here:  https://www.brainpickings.org/2015/10/05/barry-schwartz-why-we-work-ted-books/?mc_cid=91738e7dd6&mc_eid=04b03224f7