Work As A Cultural Concept

Philip Levine’s poem “What Work Is” is about two blue collar brothers standing in line, getting drenched by the rain, as they wait to see if the auto plant has any work available. It’s a dreary picture where work is simply about survival and the lack of work injures the soul.

It’s an interesting perspective when considering work as a construct. Work has depth of meaning for our personal identity and fulfillment, but also because it is connected to survival, both on an individual level and at a societal level.

In May of 2020, the number of employed adults in the US fell sharply to just 52.8% as nearly half the nation became jobless during the early days of the Coronavirus pandemic. So at first it seems strange we then saw “The Great Resignation” happen during the recovery period that followed. When so many people had experienced joblessness, why weren’t they staying put? Shouldn’t they just be grateful to even have work?

But there’s a whole other story here. The pandemic and high unemployment rate made people reassess the very meaning of work for them — and the role it should be playing in their lives. The “Great Resignation” wasn’t a sign people weren’t grateful for work — it’s a sign they wanted to restructure how it fit into their lives.

Furthermore, the siloed view of work-life balance is a modern construct. In the scope of human history, the concept of work has been highly integrated into life. When our hunter-gatherer ancestors went out to hunt, it wasn’t because it was their “job” — and it wasn’t just because it was necessary for survival — it was part of the fabric of their culture itself.

Likewise with our agrarian ancestors. Raising crops and livestock was just another part of daily life and culture, intertwined with religion, childrearing, and education. There was a work-life harmony that has come rushing back in the form of both the WFH movement and in the increasing availability of wellness initiatives.

A NEW SHIFT TO AN OLD IDEA

With the first Industrial Revolution, the concept of work moved to something happening outside of the home — it became tied to a place and disconnected from the rest of life, leading to a siloed view that has been normalized over the past few centuries. We’re now in the Fourth Industrial Revolution and our team at WorldAtWork is seeing a shift back the other way, to the old construct.

In other words, the cultural reassessment of work happening is really a new shift to an old idea, — which is why it feels more natural and appealing for so many. The Great Resignation is just one signal people want work to integrate into their lives more naturally and bring them fulfillment in what they do. Now we are seeing a domino effect where these individual desires for work-life harmony is shifting the view of work across the entire culture.

This shift is also impacting the culture of the workplace. In our research, we’ve seen a jump in DEI initiatives in organizations, going from 53% in 2016 to 80% in 2021. Another 63% are implementing learning specifically geared to DEI topics, something that would have been unthinkable even ten years ago. People want to see themselves reflected in their workplace, and they are looking for companies who celebrate diversity.

Philip Levine’s poem reflects a construct of work where the individuals need the company more than the company needs the individuals. We’re seeing a reversal to where companies need individuals more than the individuals need the company.

There will never be a time in human history where work won’t be an important part of our lives and bring some sense of meaning to who we are as individuals and as a culture. So, in looking at “what work is” today in our culture compared to the last era, leaders should be asking, “How can we ensure work adds value to individuals.