Here is an amusing essay on the labor market from Anthropologist David Graeber. It has caused a minor viral reaction on the web. See what you think, then read the follow up from The Economist. If the first link did not work, try this one.
Deepika K Period 7 This article simply pointed out the obvious facts that many people in the workforce do not want to think about. Many jobs in the United States are completely useless and if you think about it, there has to be a limit to how many lawyers you can have in the country; however, people still study to become lawyers simply for the money and status which is completely worthless if you are part of an unnecessary workforce. This article also made me feel like there is no point in working for some people and also somewhat contradictory because if people only had a 3 or 4 hour job, they would do something they liked and sometimes (hopefully) the job that you do is your hobby or something that you are really passionate about. This passionate job, however, may not seem "necessary" at all just like the anthropologist. As the writer of this article states, it is hard to see what is "necessary" and what "is not necessary". I feel that as long as you like what you do, it is necessary.
I thought this article was very interesting and served as an eye-opener to what many people think of their jobs. "Huge swathes of people in the Western world spend their entire working lives performing tasks they secretly believe do not really need to be performed." I think this is a sad realization and this article was meant to show people that doing a job they think is meaningful is very important because unhappiness when doing your work can lead to a lack of focus and care and this leads to producing a lower quality of products in our economy. For example, the fish frying job mentioned in the article.
Carly Period 7: I agree with the author completely. It is the sad truth that in America, no one really enjoys what they do in life, but do it for the purpose of making money. And in order to keep people out of unemployment, they develop these "b-s" jobs to give people busy work, again, not what they enjoy, but they do it to get paid, which is the only thing that people care about. Yes, it is important to make money, but it is just as important to be happy with your job. Doing something you don't like that you are not necessarily good at everyday sounds miserable, and the people of the labor industry need to realize that.
The article was funny because it was true. The jobs are necessary but more and more people seem to take up cliched jobs and not anything that makes no progress. Seems like busywork. AT Pd7
Fatemeh S per. 7 Honestly, my reaction through the entire esssay was dismay. I can't wrap my head around the fact that there are these "pointless jobs". Why are they a thing? Why wouldn't the government not implement a system where we always do what is needed. It would be a lot more productive and useful. People would be paid more, jobs would be more willing to pay people more due to the fact that the job MUST be done. We probably would solve poverty and world hunger in the long run. We wouldn't have people struggling everyday, people who hate their jobs, people working 12 hours a day or more. Everyone would be happier,healthier, richer (in more ways than just money) and more sane. It would honestly be a version of utopia.
I think the author has a good point about what he is saying. I think that all these "bs" jobs aren't keeping people happy. I always knew that when I grew up I wanted to be happy with my job. I didn't want to feel like my job wasn't really important or that I really didn't want to be there. It is sad that we as american's just accept this way of life now. We think more about money than we do about our selves now. I think that money can keep people happy but knowing that everyday you have to be up at 6am and going to work but absolutely hating what you do is worse. Who care's if you are a "fish fryer" all your life. If you are content and happy doing it then it shouldn't matter to anyone else. Of course it would be hard to stay stable in the economy but at least you wouldn't be hating what you are doing. -ER pd.7
They say "money cant buy you happiness" yet the more money you have or make, the happier you seem to be. It's interesting how we would come so far and be advanced when really, economically, we're not. It's sad how people know their jobs are pointless and not making an impact on the world to the point where they cant even talk about what they do to make a living. It'd be smarter and helpful to make jobs that are needed and productive just so people can be more confident with their skills and what they do. Everyone would be happier, less stressed and feel good about helping in a way.
I believe in the fact that school keeps us busy to keep our minds off the fact that we don't need most of the information learned throughout high school in today's workplace. Instead of a creative approach to new jobs over the last century, we went in a very boring direction of people just doing work to survive, not have fun. CC per 7
JJ (period 7): Graeber is right in saying that we do in fact waste so much time doing meaningless jobs and pointless paperwork when a 2 minute phone call would have sufficed. Unfortunately, if everyone worked 3-4 hour days, we wouldn't be able to pay the bills and people would become lazy. The constant work load (although often a waste of time in itself), prevents us from getting greedy with our free time to the point where we don't want to work at all, thereby completely eliminating productivity. There are also problems that still need to be fixed and no one is working to solve them. Why are we not putting people to work to fix a legitimate problem like helping feed the starving masses?
I believe in the fact that school keeps us busy to keep our minds off the fact that we don't need most of the information learned throughout high school in today's workplace. Instead of a creative approach to new jobs over the last century, we went in a very boring direction of people just doing work to survive, not have fun. CC per 7
This article talked about all of the BS jobs today and if people really make a difference. This reminds me of the TV show the Office. During the show they rarely work mostly sit around on their computers. I thought that this was only TV but it seems that there are other jobs where people are not needed and just don't work as much as they are suppose to -BH
To be honest, after reading this article, there really are quite a few bullshit jobs out there in the workforce. These people go in and essentially do nothing in these jobs. Why create a certain job if there in absolutely nothing to do? Better question is why pay someone for a certain position when they are required to do nothing? People should think before they actually make jobs like that. Those types of jobs can be run by other people, not by certain individuals themselves.
Athur Syed After reading this article, i have to disagree with the writer. He explains that certain jobs such as scientic fiction writers and musicians are useless jobs and should not exist. I disagree completely because they look toward books and music to relieve stress.
VC Period 7 In the essay, David says " And these numbers do not even reflect on all those people whose job is to provide administrative, technical or security support for these industries, or for that matter the whole host of ancillary industries (dog-washers, all-night pizza-delivery drivers) that only exist because everyone else is spending so much of their time working in all the other ones." It is as if people do not follow what they want to do, they follow what everyone else does, aka the whole "Western World". If everyone did what they actually want to do in life David Graebar would not be complaining about people having "BS" jobs. People have no choice but to work as those BS jobs because it is their only way of keeping up with everyone else in the western world. They do not have a strong attitude to take the risk and do what they want to do.
Some of what this guy is saying seems a bit farfetched. Still if we technologically posses the capability to perform menial jobs, why not allow people to pursue more creative activities. It seems a waste of the imagination, and makes me question my current career coarse.
SK period 7: We live in a world where everything is always go, go, go. Technology has made us more advanced, but as everyone knows, has its drawbacks. Technology has replaced many of the traditional jobs that drive our economy leaving us with little to do, or in the case of this article, in some people’s opinions, leaving us to invent jobs that may or may not really be necessary. In the article the author criticized jobs such as the pizza delivery drivers, dog washers and more, calling them BS jobs. The author states that these jobs exist, “only because everyone else is spending so much of their time working in all the other ones.” Are these jobs ridiculous? I don’t think so. In many ways they are necessary. They offer convenience to consumers, are valuable and contribute to the company as a whole. In addition, I’m a sure job like pizza delivery or dog washer increases sales at these businesses, therefore, helping our economy. The author emphasizes the fact that people work at meaningless jobs and contribute nothing to the world. He wonders about the bright and innovative people who could help the world. I think it would be a perfect world if we could all work doing something we love, make a difference, and make money!
I don't think there's such thing as a useless job. It depends on he person and if they love what they're doing then it's not useless. The author talked about his friend who was a poet and a musician for a while before deciding that it was a "useless" job and becoming a lawyer. To me, that is ridiculous. You obviously did those two things because you found joy in them but as soon as you weren't making enough money you quit it. No one who makes it big in the entertainment industry got there after quitting the first few times they failed. And who's to say its a useless job? Just because you couldn't make money doesn't make it a stupid job. Money isn't the only thing in the world and the reason there is such a job threat is because everyone is preoccupied on the notion that jobs that make you more money are the ones worth doing.
SB - per. 7- I was slightly confused by this article, though I think I generally agree with David Graeber's ideas. He sees the problem within I think that another reason that David Graeber doesn't tough on is that our society's priorities have also shifted. We no longer value time more than money. Time spent with family or relaxing has decreased in value. This decrease in value causes people to use that time for something they deem more important which has become making money. As a society we prefer working, even at something we see no meaning in, to not working.
I think it's interesting to see how much technology has advanced us as a society but also how much it has hindered are progression. I can compare the BS jobs that have been created to busy work. If we're all just doing busy work, we're not really going anywhere. However, I don't think all the jobs that have been created are holding us back. For example, musicians are not necessarily useless but instead provide something for people that they don't always have. I think that overall yes, technology has not advanced us as much as it could but it has also not held us back as much as the author suggests.
David Graebar talks about bullshit jobs in the American economy but the truth of the matter is he is wrong. With inflation and an unstable economy do you really think that the employer of these so called "bullshit jobs" is willing to dish out a salary that he doesn't have to. That is a chunk of money that can contribute in many other ways to a business why spend it on someone you don't need. From a financial point of view it makes absolutely no sense. If there is a demand for something people will pay for it weather its a musician at a concert, an author releasing a book, or even the need to a janitor to clean the school at night.
Tristen Pd 3 I think there are a lot of "BS" jobs people only go into because they want to make money, but some of theses jobs might make people happy. I know that if I was given the choice between a high paying lawyer job or some other "useless" else I would choose the other job, because I know I wouldn't be happy being a lawyer. I also know that we an cut the amount of time we and others work down. If we did only the work we had to do and we did it with out sending it off for other people to do for us we could get more done. We would also save others time as well. If we stayed focused we can get more done.
This article opened my eyes to the fact that you have to have money to survive in this modern world and that a lot of people slave away their hours and free time to earn money that they're just going to quickly lose to bills and other charges. There are useless jobs because the majority of the country needs the money to survive.. While high class corporate workers work a short day that requires no effort at all the lower class citizen works all day and doesn't get the time to enjoy themselves. I find that sad.
Deepika K Period 7
ReplyDeleteThis article simply pointed out the obvious facts that many people in the workforce do not want to think about. Many jobs in the United States are completely useless and if you think about it, there has to be a limit to how many lawyers you can have in the country; however, people still study to become lawyers simply for the money and status which is completely worthless if you are part of an unnecessary workforce. This article also made me feel like there is no point in working for some people and also somewhat contradictory because if people only had a 3 or 4 hour job, they would do something they liked and sometimes (hopefully) the job that you do is your hobby or something that you are really passionate about. This passionate job, however, may not seem "necessary" at all just like the anthropologist. As the writer of this article states, it is hard to see what is "necessary" and what "is not necessary". I feel that as long as you like what you do, it is necessary.
I thought this article was very interesting and served as an eye-opener to what many people think of their jobs. "Huge swathes of people in the Western world spend their entire working lives performing tasks they secretly believe do not really need to be performed." I think this is a sad realization and this article was meant to show people that doing a job they think is meaningful is very important because unhappiness when doing your work can lead to a lack of focus and care and this leads to producing a lower quality of products in our economy. For example, the fish frying job mentioned in the article.
ReplyDeleteCarly Period 7: I agree with the author completely. It is the sad truth that in America, no one really enjoys what they do in life, but do it for the purpose of making money. And in order to keep people out of unemployment, they develop these "b-s" jobs to give people busy work, again, not what they enjoy, but they do it to get paid, which is the only thing that people care about. Yes, it is important to make money, but it is just as important to be happy with your job. Doing something you don't like that you are not necessarily good at everyday sounds miserable, and the people of the labor industry need to realize that.
ReplyDeleteThe article was funny because it was true. The jobs are necessary but more and more people seem to take up cliched jobs and not anything that makes no progress. Seems like busywork. AT Pd7
ReplyDeleteFatemeh S per. 7
ReplyDeleteHonestly, my reaction through the entire esssay was dismay. I can't wrap my head around the fact that there are these "pointless jobs". Why are they a thing? Why wouldn't the government not implement a system where we always do what is needed. It would be a lot more productive and useful. People would be paid more, jobs would be more willing to pay people more due to the fact that the job MUST be done. We probably would solve poverty and world hunger in the long run. We wouldn't have people struggling everyday, people who hate their jobs, people working 12 hours a day or more. Everyone would be happier,healthier, richer (in more ways than just money) and more sane. It would honestly be a version of utopia.
I think the author has a good point about what he is saying. I think that all these "bs" jobs aren't keeping people happy. I always knew that when I grew up I wanted to be happy with my job. I didn't want to feel like my job wasn't really important or that I really didn't want to be there. It is sad that we as american's just accept this way of life now. We think more about money than we do about our selves now. I think that money can keep people happy but knowing that everyday you have to be up at 6am and going to work but absolutely hating what you do is worse. Who care's if you are a "fish fryer" all your life. If you are content and happy doing it then it shouldn't matter to anyone else. Of course it would be hard to stay stable in the economy but at least you wouldn't be hating what you are doing.
ReplyDelete-ER pd.7
Radhika Gafur Period 7
ReplyDeleteThey say "money cant buy you happiness" yet the more money you have or make, the happier you seem to be. It's interesting how we would come so far and be advanced when really, economically, we're not. It's sad how people know their jobs are pointless and not making an impact on the world to the point where they cant even talk about what they do to make a living. It'd be smarter and helpful to make jobs that are needed and productive just so people can be more confident with their skills and what they do. Everyone would be happier, less stressed and feel good about helping in a way.
I believe in the fact that school keeps us busy to keep our minds off the fact that we don't need most of the information learned throughout high school in today's workplace. Instead of a creative approach to new jobs over the last century, we went in a very boring direction of people just doing work to survive, not have fun.
ReplyDeleteCC per 7
JJ (period 7): Graeber is right in saying that we do in fact waste so much time doing meaningless jobs and pointless paperwork when a 2 minute phone call would have sufficed. Unfortunately, if everyone worked 3-4 hour days, we wouldn't be able to pay the bills and people would become lazy. The constant work load (although often a waste of time in itself), prevents us from getting greedy with our free time to the point where we don't want to work at all, thereby completely eliminating productivity. There are also problems that still need to be fixed and no one is working to solve them. Why are we not putting people to work to fix a legitimate problem like helping feed the starving masses?
ReplyDeleteI believe in the fact that school keeps us busy to keep our minds off the fact that we don't need most of the information learned throughout high school in today's workplace. Instead of a creative approach to new jobs over the last century, we went in a very boring direction of people just doing work to survive, not have fun.
ReplyDeleteCC per 7
This article talked about all of the BS jobs today and if people really make a difference. This reminds me of the TV show the Office. During the show they rarely work mostly sit around on their computers. I thought that this was only TV but it seems that there are other jobs where people are not needed and just don't work as much as they are suppose to -BH
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, after reading this article, there really are quite a few bullshit jobs out there in the workforce. These people go in and essentially do nothing in these jobs. Why create a certain job if there in absolutely nothing to do? Better question is why pay someone for a certain position when they are required to do nothing? People should think before they actually make jobs like that. Those types of jobs can be run by other people, not by certain individuals themselves.
ReplyDeleteAthur Syed
ReplyDeleteAfter reading this article, i have to disagree with the writer. He explains that certain jobs such as scientic fiction writers and musicians are useless jobs and should not exist. I disagree completely because they look toward books and music to relieve stress.
VC
ReplyDeletePeriod 7
In the essay, David says " And these numbers do not even reflect on all those people whose job is to provide administrative, technical or security support for these industries, or for that matter the whole host of ancillary industries (dog-washers, all-night pizza-delivery drivers) that only exist because everyone else is spending so much of their time working in all the other ones." It is as if people do not follow what they want to do, they follow what everyone else does, aka the whole "Western World". If everyone did what they actually want to do in life David Graebar would not be complaining about people having "BS" jobs. People have no choice but to work as those BS jobs because it is their only way of keeping up with everyone else in the western world. They do not have a strong attitude to take the risk and do what they want to do.
Some of what this guy is saying seems a bit farfetched. Still if we technologically posses the capability to perform menial jobs, why not allow people to pursue more creative activities. It seems a waste of the imagination, and makes me question my current career coarse.
ReplyDeleteSK period 7: We live in a world where everything is always go, go, go. Technology has made us more advanced, but as everyone knows, has its drawbacks. Technology has replaced many of the traditional jobs that drive our economy leaving us with little to do, or in the case of this article, in some people’s opinions, leaving us to invent jobs that may or may not really be necessary. In the article the author criticized jobs such as the pizza delivery drivers, dog washers and more, calling them BS jobs. The author states that these jobs exist, “only because everyone else is spending so much of their time working in all the other ones.” Are these jobs ridiculous? I don’t think so. In many ways they are necessary. They offer convenience to consumers, are valuable and contribute to the company as a whole. In addition, I’m a sure job like pizza delivery or dog washer increases sales at these businesses, therefore, helping our economy. The author emphasizes the fact that people work at meaningless jobs and contribute nothing to the world. He wonders about the bright and innovative people who could help the world. I think it would be a perfect world if we could all work doing something we love, make a difference, and make money!
ReplyDeleteI don't think there's such thing as a useless job. It depends on he person and if they love what they're doing then it's not useless. The author talked about his friend who was a poet and a musician for a while before deciding that it was a "useless" job and becoming a lawyer. To me, that is ridiculous. You obviously did those two things because you found joy in them but as soon as you weren't making enough money you quit it. No one who makes it big in the entertainment industry got there after quitting the first few times they failed. And who's to say its a useless job? Just because you couldn't make money doesn't make it a stupid job. Money isn't the only thing in the world and the reason there is such a job threat is because everyone is preoccupied on the notion that jobs that make you more money are the ones worth doing.
ReplyDeleteSB - per. 7- I was slightly confused by this article, though I think I generally agree with David Graeber's ideas. He sees the problem within I think that another reason that David Graeber doesn't tough on is that our society's priorities have also shifted. We no longer value time more than money. Time spent with family or relaxing has decreased in value. This decrease in value causes people to use that time for something they deem more important which has become making money. As a society we prefer working, even at something we see no meaning in, to not working.
ReplyDeleteI think it's interesting to see how much technology has advanced us as a society but also how much it has hindered are progression. I can compare the BS jobs that have been created to busy work. If we're all just doing busy work, we're not really going anywhere. However, I don't think all the jobs that have been created are holding us back. For example, musicians are not necessarily useless but instead provide something for people that they don't always have. I think that overall yes, technology has not advanced us as much as it could but it has also not held us back as much as the author suggests.
ReplyDeleteDavid Graebar talks about bullshit jobs in the American economy but the truth of the matter is he is wrong. With inflation and an unstable economy do you really think that the employer of these so called "bullshit jobs" is willing to dish out a salary that he doesn't have to. That is a chunk of money that can contribute in many other ways to a business why spend it on someone you don't need. From a financial point of view it makes absolutely no sense. If there is a demand for something people will pay for it weather its a musician at a concert, an author releasing a book, or even the need to a janitor to clean the school at night.
ReplyDeleteDP pd 3
Tristen Pd 3
ReplyDeleteI think there are a lot of "BS" jobs people only go into because they want to make money, but some of theses jobs might make people happy. I know that if I was given the choice between a high paying lawyer job or some other "useless" else I would choose the other job, because I know I wouldn't be happy being a lawyer.
I also know that we an cut the amount of time we and others work down. If we did only the work we had to do and we did it with out sending it off for other people to do for us we could get more done. We would also save others time as well. If we stayed focused we can get more done.
This article opened my eyes to the fact that you have to have money to survive in this modern world and that a lot of people slave away their hours and free time to earn money that they're just going to quickly lose to bills and other charges. There are useless jobs because the majority of the country needs the money to survive.. While high class corporate workers work a short day that requires no effort at all the lower class citizen works all day and doesn't get the time to enjoy themselves. I find that sad.
ReplyDelete