Stop Saying \u201cDo what you love. Love what you do.\u201d It devalues actual work.<\/a><\/p>\nThat\u2019s not actually the title of the Slate article, but it\u2019s how they label it in the \u201cshare\u201d facebook link. And the author has a good point: the pitch to people that they should pursue, at significant sacrifice, a job that they find enriching, can be harmful. It privileges those occupations which are \u201clovable\u201d at the expense of respect for those occupations which are just plain work, and it drives down wages for those \u201clovable\u201d occupations (college teaching being the prime example but presumably also such things as a freelance writing career) because too many people are trying to do them for the \u201creward\u201d of \u201cloving\u201d the job. <\/p>\n
Now, granted, many of the commenters observed that even what seem like tedious occupations can provide these intangible rewards, like a home care aide feeling the satisfaction of having made someone\u2019s day a bit brighter. But that\u2019s not the author\u2019s point. Part of her issue is it makes these low-status occupations even more low-status than ever.<\/p>\n
The bigger issue for the middle-class is one of decision-making: choose the \u201clovable\u201d but low-paid, low-stability job or the practical but boring one? Or take the practical job and find your personal fulfillment outside your work life (say, by blogging), or by trying to find ways to make your job more interesting? When I decided to leave my dreams of studying history for the practical world, after all, I told myself, \u201cI can always read as much history as I want in my off-time.\u201d (Though I\u2019d be lying if I didn\u2019t admit that I\u2019d be pleased as punch if I could change careers and work in public policy.)<\/p>\n
And in the end, work, in itself, is honorable. There is dignity in performing an honest day\u2019s work, even if it\u2019s flipping burgers. Every spring, as college graduation rolls around and I read of the speeches to the new graduates, I cringe at the exhortations to do something fulfilling, as if putting in an honest day\u2019s work, and saving for the future or supporting a family is unworthy if the work isn\u2019t meaningful. <\/p>\n
What about you? Are you Doing What You Love, or putting in an honest day\u2019s work and finding meaning in the rest of your waking hours?<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Stop Saying \u201cDo what you love. Love what you do.\u201d It devalues actual work. That\u2019s not actually the title of the Slate article, but it\u2019s how they label it in the \u201cshare\u201d facebook link. And the author has a good point: the pitch to people that they should pursue, at significant sacrifice, a job that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2209,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-658","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n
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