#on work

[cyber-corp]

All it takes is one 8-hour shift

[quotingmyjourneys]

"The more my thoughts wander the harder it gets — everything feels so disconnected. Me and my work, me and the factory, me and society. There’s always something in the way. It’s like we’re touching, but we’re not. What am I doing here?"

— The Factory (Hiroko Oyamada 小山田浩子, David Boyd (Engl. translator), first pub. 2010, Japan

[woodsandhearth]

I am so grateful for my job. It’s amazing, such a great fit for me with how it’s structured, and I love my bosses. For those who’ve followed me a while, you know my journey with leaving my previous career, at times turning down positions I didn’t have peace about, and then the timing of this one could not have been more perfect. Truly, the Lord. Mind the checks. Mind the having peace/no peace about decisions as you prayerfully consider them. And it won’t necessarily be easy, it was a lot of learning in uncharted territory for me at first and I felt overwhelmed. Hard, consistent work is a part of anything in life (career, relationships, health). Put in the work, you’ll see the dividends eventually.

[village-skeptic]

When Work and Meaning Part Ways

The fact is, work as we know it isn’t worth saving anyway.

“The very meaning of work is in jeopardy right now, and a big reason is that we expect too much meaning from work. We believe the false promise that work confers dignity, character, and purpose, and we inculcate that belief in our children and students. But in the present stage of American capitalism, working means having a job. It means having an employer who puts our time, sweat, and (one hopes) talent to use in accordance with current managerial doctrines and for the sake of profit. So what we say about work—at the dinner table, at graduations, in opinion columns, in sermons, on the floor of the Senate—doesn’t match the reality of the work we do. This mismatch leads us to a sad, profound irony: Our commitment to the work ethic, meant to help us live the good life, is actually keeping us from doing so.”

[dudeinthestacks]

The Work You Do, the Person You Are

The pleasure of being necessary to my parents was profound. I was not like the children in folktales: burdensome mouths to feed.

The Work You Do, the Person You Are

The pleasure of being necessary to my parents was profound. I was not like the children in folktales: burdensome mouths to feed.

By Toni Morrison

I have been turning this over in my mind as I have begun to approach this school year. On the two-year anniversary of Toni Morrison’s death, it is only fitting to share. 

[evilsapphyre]

I think I’m going to have to block posts about the Suez Canal. Seriously.

Where to most people, I’m sure the memes are funny. It’s a huge clusterfuck for my actual day job, and it’s going to be the root cause of my anxiety and work stress for a few months.

[sensationalsegue]

The story of Homo sapiens' ability to master skills from microsurgery to masonry is written into our hands, arms, eyes, mouths, bodies and brains. It tells us not only that we are physically and neurologically the product of the work our ancestors did, but also that, as individuals we have evolved to be progressively remoulded over the course of our lives by the kinds of work we do.

~ James Suzman, Work: A History of How We Spend Our Time