Arrrrrrbeit macht Frei!

TorgoX on 2002-03-03T04:37:23

This is why I gave up working

jjohn on 2002-03-03T18:32:07

Balance: it's an easy thing to lose. Do you work to live or live to work? Pursuit of material things enslaves us to jobs we could do without, but liberation from the rat race comes at a steep social price. Best evidence suggests that we only get one shot at life. The question is: are you living the way you want to, the way you have to or the way you're told to? Perhaps, there is some overlap there.

From my perspective, most of the Americans I know are working too hard for no good reason -- I blame Madison Avenue and an increasingly expensive cost of living (remember in the 1950's when newly weds could buy a home or the 1980's when college grads could rent their own apartments?). I shudder to extrapolate this trend into the future.

Cheers.

Re:This is why I gave up working

TorgoX on 2002-03-03T20:30:38
Yeah, I'm no economist, but something seems quite wrong with that-all.
My favorite part of the article is deeply reminiscent of tech companies:
"They discovered that the company operated in continual crisis mode (not something particular to private companies) and that the politics of time created inequities. When, for example, a client presentation loomed, the team would work for 24 hours, sustained by adrenaline and peer acclaim (the personal life-cost was seen as proof of their commitment). Yet after an all-nighter they'd go out for a celebratory lunch, then go home and come in late the next day. This delayed the work of other team members, but until the project began, no one had noticed. "

Re:This is why I gave up working

pudge on 2002-03-03T21:29:39
I am so glad I work at home. I tend toward workaholism for several reasons (not the least of which is that I really enjoy what I do; similarly, I strive for excellence and love to do things the right way, in a somewhat compulsive manner), and if I worked in an office full-time I have no idea what would become of me.

So working at home at least means I am with my family, and additionally I am very fortunate that my wife doesn't have to work outside of the home, so we get to live the life we want. Yay!