Society lied to us. It promised us that if we worked hard, got educated, and played the game, we’d be gifted a “good job.” It lied. There are no good jobs.
What is a Good Job?
Our good jobs would allow us to work for meaningful causes. Although the work would be challenging enough to keep us engaged, it wouldn’t be stressful enough to cause us harm.
We’d use the skills we developed through years of education, diving headfirst into our work with minimal training. What we didn’t know, we’d learn with the help of a trusted mentor or trainer who wanted us to succeed.
These good jobs would pay us a thriving wage, making us want to come in and take great care in our work. We’d produce high-quality products, earning esteem from our colleagues. Our bosses would give us enough time to complete the assignments while offering guidance throughout the project and assistance if we get stuck.
Our colleagues would become our second family. We’d enjoy chatting around the water cooler and attending the annual company picnic. Maybe we’d make friends with some colleagues and invite them over for summer BBQs.
It was all a lie.
There are No Good Jobs
Though some people claim they work their dream job, the vast majority of Americans only work for one reason: to get paid.
The idealistic image of a cozy office filled with passionate people driven to help each other (and the company) succeed is a fantasy that only exists in our imaginations.
Office Jobs: The Dream or Nightmare?
Millennials’ life goals included nabbing a great office job. We all knew factory, retail, and manual labor jobs sounded awful, but we thought office jobs would be different.
They’re not.
Granted, office jobs aren’t physically demanding. People working in offices don’t have to worry about breaking their backs toiling under harsh weather conditions or standing for hours on end, repeatedly completing the same menial task.
But they aren’t the dream we’ve been sold.
The Downsides of Office Jobs
Part of what makes office jobs so miserable is the fact that they are better than most other types of jobs – a fact that toxic bosses love lording over their workers’ heads.
How dare you complain about anything when you work a 9 to 5 in an air-conditioned office? Why not go flip burgers or dig ditches if you don’t like being forced to work overtime, micromanaged, or screamed at by a horrible boss?
Office jobs also come with increasingly absurd expectations. Managers who refuse to hire more staff expect more and more from existing employees. They track employees’ time to the second, even installing tracking software to ensure no one enjoys even a second of downtime.
Not only that, but often the work itself destroys the soul. People in offices spend their hours trying to siphon every last dollar away from their fellow citizens, whether through upsells, creating new products no one ever asked for, or inventing ever more ridiculous reasons to deny claims.
No One Dreams of Work
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Society pulled a massive whammy on Millennials, convincing an entire generation that dream jobs are real.
They’re not. No one dreams of work.
People dream of enjoying life, spending time with families, creating art, learning new things, and exploring the world. Sure, some folks luck into a career offering them these opportunities, but that’s not the reality for most people.
Office jobs may be good jobs in the sense that they’re not physically demanding, but they’re not good jobs in the sense that they add value, pay well, provide meaning, or offer esteem.
Time To Change the Way We Think About Work
Workers who only exist to fatten the pockets of the already insanely wealthy may get paid, but do they really add value to society?
I don’t blame any worker who takes these jobs. We need to make money to survive.
Instead, we need to change the way we think about it. Work is anything that adds value to society. Parents who raise their children work. Artists work. Caregivers providing end-of-life care to their ailing parents work. We don’t value it because we don’t pay for it.
Maybe we should.
In a society of plenty, not everyone should need to work a miserable, meaningless job to survive and thrive. We should earn money through caretaking, crafting, entertaining, and creating – those are the things that make us human, elevating us above the beasts.
Why don’t we cherish it?
Everyone will be happier once we stop fighting for good jobs that don’t exist and allow people to thrive with meaningful work.