Monday, March 9, 2020

The Virtues of Work

The role of work in our lives transcends a simple means to an end

I was once chastised at a dinner party by someone I had just met. My crime? Early in the conversation, I had asked, “So, what do you do for a living?” Chances are you’ve been there and done that. It’s not usually my first question, but it’s certainly a tool in my small-talk toolbox, and it typically leads to a nice chat. Well, on this day the question didn’t land well. The aggressive response went something like, “I hate when people ask me that! Don’t you know that I’m more than what I do? My work is not my identity!”

The experience rattled me. I was sorry for the offence in the moment, of course. But the feeling that lingered far longer was questioning my own assumptions about the link between the work we do and who we are.

I’ve always been interested in what others do for work. This curiosity certainly isn’t rooted in some dissatisfaction with my own job—I absolutely love what I do. There are just so many different things that people are busy doing, and I find it fascinating to learn about them.

And I have always intuitively felt that the work someone does—not just paid employment, but all forms of work—offers some glimpse into that person’s interests, gifts, and purpose. I readily agree that one’s work doesn’t and shouldn’t fully constitute one’s identity. But notwithstanding my fellow dinner party guest’s objections, the role of work in our lives transcends a simple means to an end.

These have been my intuitive and experienced thoughts on work for a long time. A paper published by the think-tank Cardus last fall titled “Work Is about More Than Money” as incredibly helpful in adding some science and data to this understanding. The paper, which is well worth a read, suggests that work, in addition to serving as an essential source of money and other resources needed for living, plays a vital role in providing people with community, structure, purpose, health, and, yes, identity.

The paper refers to a wealth of data that shows people who work generally experience better psychological well-being and lower death rates. They are happier and contribute more positively to civic society.

In contrast, those who lack work generally experience lower self-esteem and higher rates of divorce and conflict. They are more lonely, more likely to resort to criminal activity, more susceptible to substance use, and even more likely to be in a traffic accident.

When unemployment rates are high, such as they are currently in some parts of the country, we are quick to worry about the economic consequences of so many people without work. This is understandable because, as mentioned, work is an essential source of money for people and governments and economies.

But the true cost of unemployment clearly extends way beyond the simple economics of measuring it. The human cost of being denied access to meaningful work is what drives the real need for a better understanding of the role of work in our lives.

The fact that work is about more than money is a driving force behind CLAC’s tireless commitment to fair and just work communities for workers in Canada. It is also why the CLAC Foundation is passionate about using work as a means to address poverty and despair here in Canada and around the world.

Work is inherently good, and every worker, in performing his or her job, is achieving so much more than the task at hand. Here’s to honouring the many virtues of a good day’s work.

The Virtues of Work

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