Sometimes it is very hard to separate out work and money. It’s an unfortunate connection, but one that’s hard to break in this current economy where keeping your head above water is increasingly difficult.
But work, making something, accomplishing something, doesn’t have to be connected to commerce. It’s sometimes best when it is not. Don’t get me wrong: I love getting paid. But those things I do on my own are often the things that I’m proudest of, like digging out a little flowerbed or writing for this blog. You can take pride in what you make and what you create and it doesn’t matter if you’re paid for it or not.
The reason we have a holiday for labor here in the United States is confusing for many people. They have no idea about the struggles that the common worker went through a hundred years ago, have no concept of how wretched the lives of people working in the fields and factories were before they fought and died for the most basic of rights. For a livable wage. For safe conditions. For a 40 hour workweek, the 8 hour day and the five day week. The weekend. Protection for children and child labor. And countless other things that we take for granted. For those who grumble about unions, do a little research and reading and see what those who came before us fought and died for, including the right of collective bargaining. And they were labeled “Reds” and “Bolsheviks” and worse. None of the things we think of in our mostly comfortable work environments were given willingly by the owners of the factories and businesses.
The struggle goes on. Millions of people with jobs fear that they’ll lose them and the numbers of unemployed and underemployed are approaching crisis levels.
So on this Labor Day, celebrate the work you do, no matter if you are paid for it or not.
For more information, see this brief but telling Wikipedia article on Labor Day.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
The bean counters have destroyed the major factor of employee/employer relationships - loyalty. I’m old enough to remember when workers were proud of the company they worked for. And the company (in my case AT&T) created a sense of security that no longer exists.
Seth Godin’s message today addresses what labor day is about; he blames both companies and workers for the less than stellar innovative environment in the workplace. I disagree - workers did not simply agree to “do what they were told.” With the loss of loyalty, workers have no choice if they want to keep their jobs.
When a company sees only the bottom line, the MBAs are clueless about technical work, everyone suffers.
Excellent post Randy.
I agree with you, Hal. I enjoyed and recommend Godin’s “Linchpin” http://www.amazon.com/dp/1591843162/?tag=w3clubs-20, but I think he puts too much blame on the worker. It’s been the relentless pursuit of profits and profit growth that’s driven businesses to disaster. Too few businesses say, “that’s enough profit, we’re quite happy just as we are.”