About ten years ago, I watched in stupor a commercial for Cadillac about the American Dream. I think it ran for a brief period of time, and I have no idea how successful it was for selling cars. However, it was memorable for me, and not in a positive way. At that time, I was experiencing the worst burnout I have ever gone through in my career. This commercial hit me in an unpleasant way, and you can find it here if you are curious and not familiar with it.
The commercial starts with an interesting question: “Why do we work so hard?” and immediately takes a much less interesting turn from there, at least for me. In fact, the six words contained in that question are the only part I appreciated about it. Keep in mind that the commercial is about a then-state-of-the-art luxury car, parked outside a swanky, spotless home where the owner gets dressed in an immaculate suit. Everything about it is perfectly manicured, including the model-looking wife and busy kids. You can go ahead and use this to draw the connection between “working” and “having” according to this commercialized version of the American Dream. The script talks about Americans going to the moon, the success of the Wright brothers, Bill Gates, and Ali. It also scoffs about Europeans taking strolls back home from work and the entire month of August off as a way of contrast. According to the man in the suit, there’s no time for that in the equation of success. After showing us the material gains the man and others like him have obtained by being “crazy driven, hardworking believers,” it concludes with the statement that “all the stuff is the upside of only taking two weeks off in August.” I was perplexed then and still am today. I can’t imagine that commercial being circulated in present times, but I believe the sentiment still remains for many.
For years, I have been interested in the nature of work, why humans perform this activity, and how it fits into our lives. I have repeatedly heard that working is the only way we can become contributors to our society, and I have been curious about how this premise may not be equally important or even available to every human on earth. Recently, there have been ever more insistent articles, books, and media posts about purpose and meaning, relevance, and mission linked to working. I grew up in a society that prepared me to work all my life – from day one of my education to completing graduate school, and then on to the cultural battles in the US about being a working mother. Typically, the conversation about work spans from how we get the most out of preschool all the way to having enough money for retirement. In between those two milestones, we talk about not losing ourselves in that realized dream of finally having time and – if we worked hard enough – money for ourselves. In other words, working equals deserving in this context.
Taking a step back from this cultural backdrop, let’s take a look at the definition of work. Interestingly, the word “work” in the English language is a verb, a noun, and an adjective. Not surprisingly, the word “work” is applied in many forms and settings, always present in our lives in some shape or form. Examining work as a noun, the Merriam-Webster Dictionary includes at least twelve definitions that include activities to earn a livelihood, sustained physical or mental effort, place of employment, something produced or accomplished. The sidebar in this post lists the most common definitions of work I found.
Most of the dictionary definitions of work involve human action, but some of them don’t (for example, the impact of natural phenomena or mechanical things is also referenced). I’m curious whether new technologies and currencies created to “work for us” will bring changes to the work definitions in the dictionary, and if these will change verbs, nouns, or adjectives. Time will tell.
As I reviewed the definitions of work, I was able to inform what I had been reflecting on for a while: work is not inherently tied to money. Some of the work described does not get financially remunerated, but that doesn’t mean that it’s less important. I’m also interested in this type of work, especially if we want to maintain its connection to purpose, mission, and meaning. In fact, it’s well known that caring occupations tend to receive low pay compared to other service jobs, which is unfortunate. We also know that some inescapable duties like caring for our children, elders, and disadvantaged populations go behind the scenes, unseen and undervalued. Is this work less important? If we attach any monetary value to it, we would say it is; but I would argue to the contrary, that our society actually depends on it.
Work (noun)
Personally, I have been fortunate to travel to Europe more than a dozen times, both for work and vacation, and have observed ordinary snapshots of those who “take the entire month of August off. Off!” as the Cadillac commercial mockingly exclaimed almost a decade ago. Whether visiting Europe for work or leisure, I marvel each time I observe the baker who smiles behind the counter and then closes off shop to “stroll” back home. I’m curious about their relaxed pace and semblance of accomplishment for having provided bread to their community that day. Or the driver delivering fresh produce to a local cafe in the streets of Paris. The metro attendant helping travelers reach their destinations. I often wonder: How do they view life? What’s most important to them? What does work mean to them? They may not drive Cadillacs or have luxurious homes, but I see many of them taking pride in what they do. I believe their work is valuable because they provide something that sustains our society on a daily basis, even if they’re paid less. The debate about working and having goes way back in time. Philosophy professor William James, born in 1842 and described as an American pragmatist, asserted that “lives based on having are less free than lives based either on doing or on being.” Beyond the profound meaning this quote can provide us, it also helps us see how far back this tension has existed in our lives.
The purpose of work can also change as we grow and mature. In my twenties and thirties, it was the vehicle to an ambition I had to forge a life that would meet all the conditions I needed to live: to sustain myself and attain a stable life. In my early forties, it was about supporting my family, buying a bigger house, a car, and all the things therein contained. It was also about paying for the resources I needed to continue working: clothes, gas, training, etc. At that time, I was more likely to believe what the man in the Cadillac was telling me, and I was willing to run myself into the ground if that’s what it took to be successful. However, something happened along the way; the burnout and sense of futility set in, and I was on a quest to ensure that the hours I invested in a day were worthwhile. While unfamiliar with William James then, his words resonate intensely with me now.
In their album “We” the band Arcade Fire addresses much of the angst we experience in contemporary society, and I find it reassuring that I’m not alone when I feel at times puzzled by the world around me. Songs like “Age of Anxiety” and “End of the Empire” seem to describe, through my lens, the symptoms of our pained humanity. In “The Lightning II” they poignantly declare…
“a day, a week, a month, a year
every second brings me here”
When I hear this song I can’t help but reflect on the trail I have walked and all the things I worked on to “bring me here.” I take time to consider how I’ve written my life story so far, including my work, and then think about what other dreams and aspirations I have. Yes, I have worked intentionally to attain things, but more importantly to grow as a person – even though this was less tangible for me for a while. I would not change a thing about how hard I have worked; I learned skills that continue to serve me well for thriving in life. But I will have to continue reconciling the pain that I allowed burnout, toxic work cultures, and comparison to permeate my life in the past. In the meantime, the man in the suit can keep his luxury car. As for me? I will continue to dream of a future life stage where I don’t even need to drive as I stroll back from the bakery and take the entire month of August off. My home will be small, and I will lock it down and wander off to new places I have yet to know exist. I will work to create my own future, and live my dream on my terms. That’s what I call luxury!
