Why I Find Bullshit Work Intolerable
shubhamjain.co
Why I Find Bullshit Work Intolerable
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Re: Why I Find Bullshit Work Intolerable
#2For older people, do you ever find what you are looking for, at least at a reasonable price?
I was once the way of OP but then decided that fixing that would involve mostly eliminating other people (and I am highly risk averse, so doing my own thing is not acceptable to me) and I decided that was not feasible.
So I embraced apathy and am now the time killing bureaucrat calling meetings about status codes that both OP and the old me used to hate and apathy and indifference seem comfortable enough.
Re: Why I Find Bullshit Work Intolerable
#3I have the exact same feeling as the author. I got a corporate tech job after leaving academia and quit five years later. It was a good job to save up enough money to do something else that I actually wanted to do. Money was literally the only benefit. As a person, I didn't grow at all and the only intellectual development I ever did was outside of work hours.
Re: Why I Find Bullshit Work Intolerable
#4Companies are creative until they have large, multi-million dollar contracts and engineers are more of a cost center to keep the lights on.
Most tech is bullshit no matter which way you spin it. I need to pay my bills, so I keep quiet in the meantime. However, 90% of what I feel like I do seems like a waste. Is it a waste for the company? Not sure.
Re: Why I Find Bullshit Work Intolerable
#5"Contrary to popular belief, burnout isn’t caused by a lack of work-life balance. It’s driven more by the lack of ability to do meaningful work."
Couldn't agree more. I wish I was more like my peers who don't seem to get as fully invested in their work (emotionally, mentally, etc)...but if I'm dedicating 40 hours a week to something, it's hard to continue if the work isn't aligned with what I define as meaningful.
Like the author, I've beat myself up over the idea that my remote job offers good enough W/L balance...but that doesn't fix the core problem that the vast majority of those 40 hours are spent frittering away at the structure of the corporation (and its motivations).
Re: Why I Find Bullshit Work Intolerable
#6"Contrary to popular belief, burnout isn’t caused by a lack of work-life balance. It’s driven more by the lack of ability to do meaningful work." Couldn't agree more. I wish I was more like my peers who don't seem to get as fully invested in their work (emotionally, mentally, etc)...but if I'm dedicating 40 hours a week to something, it's hard to continue if the work isn't aligned with what I define as meaningful. Li…
Then don't dedicate 40 hours. I read plenty of books on my phone in meetings or on my laptop. Do plenty of appointments and calls to the bank and other errands during company time.
Re: Why I Find Bullshit Work Intolerable
#7Couldn't have said it better myself.
David Graeber has also written a bit about bullshit jobs. His work was some of the first I read that steered me toward anti-capitalism.
- I had to guard an empty room [1]
- The more your job helps others the less you get paid [2]
- On the phenomenon of bullshit jobs [3]
- Are you in a BS job? [4]
- Bullshit Jobs [5]
- Punching the clock [6]
- Policy for the future of work [7]
Links:
- [1] https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/david-graeber-i-had-...
- [2] https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/david-graeber-and-th...
- [3] https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/david-graeber-on-the...
- [4] https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/david-graeber-are-yo...
- [5] https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/david-graeber-bullsh...
- [6] https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/david-graeber-punchi...
- [7] https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/david-graeber-policy...
Re: Why I Find Bullshit Work Intolerable
#8preach. it feels like it's only getting worse no matter the size of the company. people fundamentally don't understand creativity.
Re: Why I Find Bullshit Work Intolerable
#9I remember thinking the same thing in my twenties. Sadly, cynically, and statistically, I think this position usually works itself out over time. Bullshit work is the basis for the entire economy, efforts to eliminate it will result in predictably bad outcomes.
Re: Why I Find Bullshit Work Intolerable
#10Companies are creative until they have large, multi-million dollar contracts and engineers are more of a cost center to keep the lights on. Most tech is bullshit no matter which way you spin it. I need to pay my bills, so I keep quiet in the meantime. However, 90% of what I feel like I do seems like a waste. Is it a waste for the company? Not sure.
Yeah, I keep quiet too when I find myself in that position, and for the same reason, need the paycheck. It’s wonderful to do meaningful work and get paid good money for it but it doesn’t align too often that way
I find that most meaningful work or whatever is meaningful to me, is not very well paid