To me, one of the sad truths about the world today is that most people look upon work as something to escape from. To them, this major part of life is a necessary evil, even an obstacle to the life they dream about.
Want proof?
- 67% of Americans are disengaged at their work.
- The 4-Hour Workweek is one of the top-selling books of the last decade.
- People are beginning to define early retirement as their dream.
- Given the option between “work a long time at a fulfilling job” or “retire early,” only 34% of Americans would choose to work a long time at a fulfilling job.
- At least half of the U.S. workforce is quiet quitting.
I could add, from plenty of personal conversations, that there are some people who choose simplicity as a means to escape work. I don’t think that’s what the simple life is for.
There’s not a doubt in my mind that some of the discontent we feel about work comes from our faulty thinking on the reason for it. In our desire to get out of work, we are missing the point of it.
Dorothy Sayers, in her famous essay Why Work? begs us to see work anew. She seeks nothing less than “a thoroughgoing revolution in our whole attitude to work.”
Sayers believes we should look upon work, “not as a necessary drudgery to be undergone for the purpose of making money, but as a way of life in which the nature of man should find its proper exercise and delight and so fulfill itself.”
Work, in this regard, is not something to be avoided. It is something to be pursued and enjoyed.
Your work contributes to the good of society and moves us ahead. We need your talents and abilities. We need you to work hard and do it well. It makes us better as people and it enriches our lives.
I enjoy hard work. I work 50 hours most weeks because I find happiness and joy in it. And I believe that those who feel the most fulfilled at the end of their lives are those who have chosen to work hard on the right things during it.
Now, just to be clear, I am not advocating to be busy just to be busy. And I am not advocating working hard for wrong, selfish reasons (i.e., getting rich). I am advocating for the importance of doing your work (whether paid or unpaid) in a focused and deliberate way and putting your whole self into it.
I am advocating for doing the best you can, to accomplish the most you can, with the one life you have to live.
Reasons for Work in the Simple Life
If one has chosen simplicity as a lifestyle, where do we find the motivation to learn how to work hard? If we are content to own less (even prefer it), what is the point of hard work and striving for success?
Let me offer a few reasons:
1. Work forces personal development.
Work, by its very nature, presents challenges and growth opportunities. It requires us to improve and develop and become better versions of ourselves. The more we grow, the better at work we get… and the greater the challenges become.
We learn important life lessons when we give ourselves over to hard work: determination, attentiveness, responsibility, problem solving, and self-control. These lessons, in turn, serve us in other areas (health, relationships, hobbies, etc.).
2. Our work brings benefit to society.
Like I mentioned earlier, our work contributes to the good of society. It serves others, it enriches people’s lives, and it moves everyone forward. Whether we are bagging groceries, delivering mail, analyzing stocks, curing cancer, or managing other workers, we can view our work as an act of love to the people we serve.
3. Hard work is an example to our kids.
When we strive to do our best work each day, our kids take notice. And among the greatest lessons I hope to pass on to my children is the importance of working hard on things that matter.
4. The hours will pass anyway. It makes sense to try to make the most of them.
Each new day brings with it an important choice: either we fill it with our best or we allow it to slip away. There is no other option—the hours are going to pass anyway. Choosing to work hard makes the most of them. (Please note: I am not discounting the importance of rest or balance. I have written about both extensively.)
5. Work is fulfilling in and of itself.
In my opinion, there are few joys in life more satisfying than lying down at night with tired legs attached to a tired body. To know I gave my full energy to something important is an amazing feeling and fulfilling in itself.
6. Working hard keeps our lives occupied with important matters.
Living an unoccupied life is a recipe for disaster. Choosing to fill our time and energy with things that bring value to others helps keep us from selfish and foolish decisions with idle time.
There is value in hard work—both for ourselves and others.
How to Enjoy Work More
I have known countless people who are happy with their work. They find meaning, significance, and joy in it. Additionally, I have met many people who are unhappy with their work and choose to spend an additional percentage of their life complaining about it.
Changing our attitude toward work isn’t always easy, but it’s possible. And I would argue, important. As I’ve stated above, there is joy and fulfillment to be found in it.
Sometimes, learning to love work can come from a simple change in our thinking—rather than the much more drastic change in jobs, which doesn’t usually solve the problem anyway.
So let me end with a few thoughts on how to think differently about work and find more fulfillment in it:
1. Realize that you were designed to work.
Whether by creation or evolution, humans are designed to work. This is an important part of our nature. It explains our drive to grow as individuals and as a society. It explains the internal satisfaction we experience when completing a task. It makes sense of the positive emotions we experience when resting after a hard day of work.
2. Understand that work always takes place in an imperfect world.
Our world is imperfect because we exist in a universe full of people who often fall short. Though we each have an ingrained desire to accomplish good for the sake of others, in reality, we often function with selfish desires and intentions. These imperfections always lead to less-than-ideal working conditions.
As a result, work includes overbearing bosses, deadlines, stress, under-resourced projects, tasks we do not enjoy, and often anxiety.
The realization that these imperfections are always going to be present in our workplace allows us to accept them and move forward.
3. Notice how your work contributes to the common good.
If the goal of our work is to contribute good to society in exchange for provision, then our work ought to benefit society. We should spend 40 or more hours per week producing a benefit for others—notice how your specific work accomplishes that.
Whether you grow healthy food, produce quality clothing, intentionally parent children, create beautiful art, build strong shelter, develop new life-enhancing technology, do taxes, research medicine to prolong life, educate others, govern society honestly, or operate in any other of countless opportunities, you contribute to the common good of our neighbors and our society.
4. Do your work ethically.
Work done ethically and honestly with proper balance will always result in more enjoyment than the alternative. Your motivation for work is also a part of your ethic.
These same principles of life hold true to every aspect, including the 20% we spent working.
5. Stop trying to get rich.
While fair compensation is always appropriate, the pursuit of riches and wealth as an end goal is a losing battle. Riches will never fully satisfy. We will always be left searching for more.
People who view their work as a means to get rich often fall into temptation, harmful behavior, and foolish desires.
When we replace the desire to get rich with a more life-fulfilling desire to receive honest compensation, we open our hearts to find peace in our paychecks and greater value in our work.
The Value of Work
Please don’t view your work as something only to be endured or avoided. Rethink the value of it—whether you are 18 or 80.
Regain focus and motivation to use your passions and abilities to contribute good to a society in need of them. Utilize your strengths. Develop your talents. Study your craft. And encourage others.
Work hard. Enjoy it. And at the end of the day, we will all be better because of it.
This post really resonates with me! It’s so important to remind ourselves of the deeper reasons behind our work beyond just earning a paycheck. I loved the perspective on how work can lead to personal growth and community contribution. Thank you for sharing these insights!
It’s because there’s more to life than just working. And riches give you that life. Riches buys you time. Time is the most valuable commodity on this earth. More than any work could satisfy. More people are coming to an understanding these days and trying to move past the nonsense of people telling you that you’re foolish for chasing riches. What a mundane life you’re telling us to live. No wonder people are burnt out
This is another form of brainwashing and manipulation. If you aware that everyone forms their own perception about work then whose perception is truly correct? The world is very much divided on work, way of life and principles. This is a good thing actually as each individual can learn from a different perspective and way of life. Working all the time is not the answer for everyone just like not working isn’t the answer for everyone. Get in where you fit in. Be with those that share your same values and ideas. There is no one perfect society and way of life. Our Way of life will always need to be tweaked and adjusted.
I loved this post! It really made me reflect on the deeper meaning of work beyond just earning a paycheck. The balance between purpose and livelihood is so important, and I appreciate how you highlighted different perspectives on why we choose to work. Thank you for sharing these insights!
People tend to be shortsighted and ungrateful. Not too many generations ago, EVERYONE had to work very hard just to remain alive. Ever wonder why they prayed over their meals? Because they were so thankful to have one! Everyone who works at something, even if they NEVER GET PAID has done something important with their time and efforts. Stay at home moms give the world excellent children and a man shoveling hot pavement to fill pot holes keeps us all safe on the roads we use. Choose a job that makes your heart sing and you will never regret doing it. I thank God for all the people who can do the jobs I cannot. Let’s start with thanking the garbage man!
Hi JOSHUA BECKER and the Minimalist team, thank you for putting together this beautifully written, simple and balanced view of work.
I chanced on this while doing some little research on the meaning of work and again thank you for putting this out here.
It’s almost unbelievable that we can miss the whole point of this piece.
I dont think this idea is linked to the deep philosophy of minimalism. By continue the illusion that you must be fuilfilled by work, you put productivity, achivements and material reality in a pedestal.
It should be about Being not about Achieving.
Work is great. However, for a family as a unit – one parent needs to take a backseat work wise because the way work is structured nowadays – its either being available 24/7 or nothing at all. That leaves nothing for the parent who wants to be home when their child comes back from school.
Working isn’t the issue as he pointed out. All work executed is work. Different forms of play wether it be cleaning, playing video games, or playing outside. This blog post seems to focus on working a job that you get paid to do. Correct me if I’m wrong but I’m pretty sure Joshua stop working a traditional job. We live in a time were people don’t like work and there is a disconnect with work force, family life, and finding meaning in the work your doing. I believe this topic should be explore I just think there is so much more to this. How are we still operating as if we are in industrial times? Why is there a need to work 40 hours? Living in US why isn’t their universal care? Why do we alienate one another? Why do we work? Is it really to help others? Why are people more and more disconnected?
To me, who struggled with doing anything or just drifting off to death, because nothing felt appealing enough, this line did it – “Utilize your strengths. Develop your talents. Study your craft.” … It means, select what’s most valuable in yourself and develop it so it can be valuable for others. I know doing so will lead me on to greater self-esteem and a feeling of overall happiness and content, and Heaven knows how long I’ve craved such a thing…
Thank you for sharing some insight with us.
Your post sounds real great but isn’t for me. I hate working. I won’t lie but I don’t care to grow or contribute or any of that BS. The American capitalist system has burnt me out. If work were so great then why don’t kings and queens and people like that work ? Because work sucks. I’m done .
Baahhaahhaahaa. I love it!
Kings, queens, princes and princesses – there’s actual work there too. Somewhat close to a politician or an actor’s work, with regards to nature of the physical effort being performed. Kings served the crown, which in turn is representative of a whole nation – something which goes beyond it’s people and the land it encompasses… It’s not only a burden; being trained in diplomacy, fine arts, there’s so much… And when these classes of people didn’t do their work right, the nation crumbled or it’s people rebelled and beheaded them :)
WFB – Work from bed!
An important thing, what author missed – do what you want :)
Personally I understood, but there is a feel what I have to be slave for grate of society
Work is important to society but most jobs are just “busy” work or doing mindless work for years without much growth. I believe it is up to the individual of course to make the best use of their work and pursue avenues that really inspire them. I also think people use work as a crutch to escape feelings of inadequacy or to keep up with the “Johnses.” Work should be for the betterment of society rather than just production accompanied by long hours on the job.
In reality, it’s all in how you view your effort and what actions you choose to follow your views with. The post’s writer is simple and to the point, just keeps it clear, which for me was enough but some people are too emotionally packed from frustration to be able to reason more detachedly, so as to grasp all the implications from the post…
My knee jerk reaction to this is dismissal, but on second thought, I feel it’s extremely idealistic.
I wanted to have a life of meaningful and fulfilling work, a career, but that is not the reality in our world anymore. Unless you are lucky to work for a small business or forward thinking organization that values its employees, most of the work out there is contract, or subject to the whims of the market. I struggled in the civilian workforce for 15 years before I joined the military. Granted, the military has its own challenges (a large faceless organization that struggles to care for its people), but I have found meaning and joy here as much as stress and disappointment. There needs to be a balance between the two, and the compensation – actual pay but also other benefits – must support what you want out of life outside of work. While I don’t love what I do every single day, there isn’t a day that goes by I am not grateful I made this decision and committed to the arduous process of joining the military.
I agree with your article! I feel a lot of fulfillment in working when I feel like my work makes a positive difference to others and helps me grow and evolve as a human :)
When would you have time for your dental and other appointment? And it will take you five days a week and more than 8 hours a day.
40/50 hours per week ? Absolutely not . I am in Canada and work 4 days a week. Hybrid schedule save on many stuffs that we should spend if we go to the office everyday . Businesses would not have to micro manage nor run everyday … more time with family and
Kids
I agree whole-heartedly with every case that you make.
More differentiation is needed, though, between employment and work. Retiring early doesn’t mean the end of work. I hope to retire early so that I can pursue meaningful work that is limited to my free time right now, which I know could not do in place of my current career to support my young family and provide health insurance, without tapping into a nest egg.
“Quiet quitting” doesn’t mean not working hard. I don’t do my employment duties outside of work hours, but I am working non-stop when home with my three daughters and rescue dog. That’s actually a good thing to focus on them and not do try to be an employee during family time.
Sure, there are people who quick employment and go sit in the recliner for the rest of their (much shorter) life, but they are probably not reading this blog. :)
Dear Ariane,
I really enjoyed reading what you wrote on Joshua’s post. It’s true that being retired really becomes a huge choice for health reasons. I’m 65 and I don’t think I’ll stop working anytime soon. Volunteering I understand how much having three children can be a heavy burden. I think that when they are independent and earn their living, we can also rely on their help. This is the case for me.
Joshua, thank you for this excellent post! I agree completely.