Musing about Work

I am on the job market and it is a tough one for historians. Just too many Ph.D.'s out there and it is hard to stand out. So, I often wonder if I will do more than teach adjunct.

Makes me think about the nature and meanging of work in our culture. Growing up, it seemed that a hard worker was valued above other virtues. That is a direct result, I think, of the Depression. People remembered the struggles of that time, and learned the lesson that work was vital. If you had a job, that was great. If you were a hard worker, that was even better.

That mentality proved deadly in the 50s. People took that work ethic and threw it into that great economic expansion. New cars, new homes, new boats. Company loyalty was everything and work was identity. Being a "hard worker" seemed to cover a myriad of sins.

But that has costs too. Costs on family, friendship, health, etc. Perhaps the tragedy of the 60s was that conservatives could dismiss the movements of the time because of the drugs and sex. Much of that 60s angst, after all, came out of a frustration with aquisitiveness, obsession with work, and the seemingly unended desire for wealth. People who are frustrated at the greed of today should remember that it was really America's Greatest Generation who helped spawn that.

Work is complicated. Necessary for all the cliches, "putting food on the table, " and the "roof over your head." Some are fortunate enough to do something they love and receive a check. I am jealous of that right now. I wonder if I will ever have a job that I love.

But I am also mindful that searching for that can be a bit of a trap. An excuse. A way to avoid embracing the other aspects of life that I cherish so much. My spouse. My dogs. My friends.

Anyway.....