This will blow some people’s minds on here: some people actually derive pleasure from work. I actually like working. I like researching, building and producing stuff. I would rather work than spend my time doing some stupid hobby. My only requirement is that I need to believe in what I am doing. I won’t work just for money or out of necessity and I won’t work just to make some rich asshole, richer. I also won’t work out of some competitive drive like some people do. I don’t even work for myself. I don’t care about material riches. I only work so that I can later marvel at my creations.
But, I still like working.
I used to love my job. I ran movie theaters. Not only was I good at it, I felt a great deal of personal satisfaction. I had fun going in to work. Then I got something I love more: a wife and kids. Movie theaters didn’t pay the bills, and it required too many nights, weekends and holidays. If I wanted to make more money and spend more time with my family, I needed to find a respectable 9-5. It took me another 5 years of bouncing around jobs to find one that, while I don’t love it it’s not a job that makes me want to drive off a cliff.
My kids are getting old enough that, if theaters started offering respectable living wages for adults with families, I’d go back to the industry in a heartbeat.
It’s great that you have found a way to make your work fulfilling but unfortunately for a lot of people the daily grind is a matter of survival and isn’t optional. If your only material riches are cheap food and a roof over your head are in jeopardy, you’ll begin to care about them real quick.
You’re absolutely entitled to enjoy work, particularly when it has outcomes that you value. That strikes me more as human nature than anything capitalism-specific, and something that more people should have the freedom to seek.
I work for a university as a software developer. My income is considerably lower than the private sector, but it feels so much better knowing that I am working towards something that betters the world.
This will blow some people’s minds on here: some people actually derive pleasure from work. I actually like working. I like researching, building and producing stuff. I would rather work than spend my time doing some stupid hobby. My only requirement is that I need to believe in what I am doing. I won’t work just for money or out of necessity and I won’t work just to make some rich asshole, richer. I also won’t work out of some competitive drive like some people do. I don’t even work for myself. I don’t care about material riches. I only work so that I can later marvel at my creations. But, I still like working.
People like work. We hate jobs.
I used to love my job. I ran movie theaters. Not only was I good at it, I felt a great deal of personal satisfaction. I had fun going in to work. Then I got something I love more: a wife and kids. Movie theaters didn’t pay the bills, and it required too many nights, weekends and holidays. If I wanted to make more money and spend more time with my family, I needed to find a respectable 9-5. It took me another 5 years of bouncing around jobs to find one that, while I don’t love it it’s not a job that makes me want to drive off a cliff.
My kids are getting old enough that, if theaters started offering respectable living wages for adults with families, I’d go back to the industry in a heartbeat.
It’s great that you have found a way to make your work fulfilling but unfortunately for a lot of people the daily grind is a matter of survival and isn’t optional. If your only material riches are cheap food and a roof over your head are in jeopardy, you’ll begin to care about them real quick.
You’re absolutely entitled to enjoy work, particularly when it has outcomes that you value. That strikes me more as human nature than anything capitalism-specific, and something that more people should have the freedom to seek.
I work for a university as a software developer. My income is considerably lower than the private sector, but it feels so much better knowing that I am working towards something that betters the world.