If you want a better world, then work for it.
I’m a philosopher by nature, and by practice. In college I enthusiastically showed up to each class ready to debate the metaphysical reality of nature or our moral obligation to each other in a society.
I always gravitated to the most probing of all questions — Why?
But it wasn’t until graduation came that I realized I hadn’t ruminate on the most important ‘why’ then facing me — Why work?
Why work?
If it seems like a question with an obvious answer, then you’re not paying close enough attention.
An entire new generation — determined to “retire” early — is questioning the value of titles, fancy offices, and climbing the corporate ladder.
Perhaps it was seeing their parents generation hit ‘retirement’ age only to be plunked back into work through the recession. Or being told to ‘follow your dreams’ from a young age. Or perhaps it’s the inevitable outcome of a decline in religiosity, associated with the Protestant Work Ethic.
Indeed, many who are chiding those seeking to drop-out of the traditional way of doing things point to the ‘spiritual value’ of work-for-works-sake.
Now I put “retire” in air quotes because we’re usually not talking about true retirement here. Often it simply means the freedom to pursue one’s true desires — the opportunity to do something that may yield less in pure cash but more in meaning.
More than ever, with the ability to travel freely and work remotely, people are asking this question of themselves: Why work?
Work is a trade off of two valuable resources — one’s time (and skills) for money.
Today you might even say time is the more valuable of the two resources. More and more we use the money to buy (efficiently spent) time: a TaskRabbit to hang your artwork or Amazon to do your grocery shopping. In the best case scenario, you use your money to fund a pursuit you’re truly passionate about
In this jumbled new world, the idea of ‘work-ethic’ — the principle that hard work, no matter the end game, is intrinsically virtuous — is facing a strong challenge.
But I want to propose a third-way:
Work is valuable because it builds a better society.
It’s an employee’s market out there. Companies are rushing to provide benefits that move on from the superficial (looking at you kombucha on tap) to the potent (remote work wink wink). It’s time for us to demand more of our employers.
Shortly before graduation, when all of my peers we already set for their soon-to-be consulting gigs, a Teacher’s Assistant said something to me I will never forget.
He asked me about what I planned to do after graduation and I gave about 5 different and meandering answers: I wanted to help the environment, I liked doing research, I was interested in maybe a psychology PhD, I thought about building a start-up in the food & beverage space. AKA. I wasn’t sure.
He said to me something that I think about to this day:
“You need to eventually find focus. One day, you will have to pick a path.”
And so I meandered. For 7 years.
And then I came to realize that ‘Why work?’ was only part of the dilemma I was facing. I required a deeper question: ‘Why be alive?’
You make it to retire early. You’re focusing on your passion. Now what?
The world is on fire. Literally.
Are we here just to grab some popcorn and watch it burn?
Is this ‘someone else’s problem?
We’re so accustomed to feeling that where we spend our dollar as a consumer has power, but we’ve yet to fully embrace the power of our dollar earned.
I went to one of the most prestigious colleges in the country. I don’t say this to boast, but to reflect on why so many of these people — that had a huge leg up to try and do anything they want — end up working for some of the companies most harmful to the world, and yet still buy $40 fair-trade coffee. Coffee may not even be around soon with the rising climate.
We need to accept the simple, and empowering, maxim:
Capital will flow where top talent goes.
Look, this clearly does not apply to everyone and every situation. But it is worth asking, for those who have high-value skills or a plethora of choices in employers: What is this company doing to further the issues you care about?
It’s not enough to spend your money on the right things if it was not earned in the right way.
When you look for a new job, look beyond the title to the company purpose. Support b-corps not just in where you buy from, but in where you work.
Work for a true mission and you may be surprised to find the urge to ‘retire early’ starts to dissipate. Half of the reason so many folks are trying to drop out of the corporate world is precisely because they’re disengaged without a true purpose. You may even find more fulfillment.
As employees we need to take back our power in this situation.
We need to look at ourselves as the ones with a choice to make. We can choose to spend our valuable time and mental energy selling software that uses shoppers data against them, or you can support companies that are creating technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, future-proof our food system, or make our healthcare more accessible and affordable.
I leave you with this, from a man diverting all his resources, time, and work to fix one of the gapping societal problems we are all already reckoning with:
“Why am I motivated? Because this is the biggest, most urgent problem that our planet and our species faces, and arguably the most urgent problem we’ve ever faced. Climate change and biodiversity meltdown is happening at such a quick pace, that the only thing that can move that fast is the free market. That’s the most subversive institution that I know of.”
