Society tells us that if we want to survive, we must work. As a result, work is not just something we do but base our identity upon. It is something that we need and fear losing. I always see it when I read a colleague’s announcement that they’ve been laid off. I read the status update, and it was a personal failure. The funny thing is that we’ve yet to realize that even when we are fired from jobs, it’s not personal. We’ve been taught to be codependent in our jobs, which has become a feature, not a flaw, in what we call work. We want to think that work is all about productivity, but there are these hidden features of survival and control.

The Industrial Revolution

Let’s take a step back and have a bit of a history lesson. Before the Industrial Age, most “businesses” were based in the community. You’d work on a farm, in a family trade, or a community-based economy. It was hard work, but it was done on our terms and based on our needs—Fast-forward to the Industrial Revolution, where time became God. Factories were owned by a single entity, not the community. To allow for maximum productivity, factory owners needed maximum compliance. The utilization of a clock did this.

At this time, not everyone has a watch or a clock on their phone, as we do now. Many town centers had centralized clocks, which the locals used. You can picture Big Ben in London as the only clock people used to tell the exact time. As a result, you would expect the exact time not to be as important as it is now. However, factory owners installed clocks to reach their desired productivity levels. Factories also provided wages on an hourly basis. The Industrial Revolution gave us the advent of the 8-hour workday. I repeat, not everyone owned a watch, so for a person to know that they’ve worked their essential 8 hours, they were dependent on the time provided to them by the factory. This gave the owner all the power. It’s no wonder why we were never taught this in school.

Modern Employment

Fast forward to today, we live in a world where it’s easier to work independently. Most of our jobs can be done from anywhere. We all should have autonomy in the amount of hours we work because we all have watches, and with the gig economy, there isn’t a need to attach ourselves to any company at any time. Yet, we are still sold the story of the industrial age. The gig economy comes with uncertainty that none of us can afford. So we go to an office, sit under fluorescent lights, and are forced to emerge in a culture that we may or may not agree with.

Work Culture

The dependency on the workplace doesn’t end there. Work is tied to one’s survival and must also be tied to one’s cultural identity. We’ve made it easy to say who we are is what we do. When someone asks us at a mixer or on a date, we first say our job title. What do you do? Oh, I’m a digital marketing manager. I didn’t even answer the question. I just provided an identity. Why is this? It’s because society reinforces that to be worthy, respected, and valuable, you must work. Most dates won’t give you the time of day if you don’t have a respectable job.

What we do for work, how we work, and where we work create a dependency on how we live. We want to think they pay for luxuries. We wouldn’t be entirely correct when we realize that health insurance comes from our jobs or that mortgages or apartment rentals require income verification. Our basic needs, like food and shelter, come with the prerequisite of needing a job. This creates a loop of codependency that doesn’t allow us to opt out because opting out essentially means death. It doesn’t matter if the job itself is toxic or unfulfilling. If we want to eat, we’ll have to deal. The dependency on work makes it much easier for those in control to manipulate this need.

Sameness

Beyond the need for control, many occupations require conformity. Every detail, down to the office layout, can be intended to surveil its employees. Is starting each year with productivity metrics a benefit for the employee or the employer? We are consistently being watched and measured, from performance reviews to peer evaluations. Sometimes, it has nothing to do with productivity but how someone fits the “work culture.” In other words, it shows how well you can conform to what the higher power wants. In this way, the workplace provides dependency through money, approval, self-worth, and validation.

The Myth of Productivity

In our society, productivity has become a moral standard. If you aren’t doing great work, it’s a character flaw for which you are solely responsible. The more you produce, the more you are worth, even if what gets produced has no valuable impact. We are then constantly barraged by the story that hard work creates success. So we idolize the self-made millionaires of the world like Elon Musk and Kylie Jenner, ignoring any scaffolding of privilege, inherited wealth, and systemic exploitation that drives their success. And so we live in a culture where resting is a luxury and hustling is a noble way to build something of value.

Breaking the Cycle

This article wasn’t created to be a downer but to open our eyes to what’s in front of us. I don’t believe work has to be this way. I believe we deal with the negativity of work because we aren’t given a suitable alternative. Why would we be given an alternative when it benefits those in power while keeping those who are not ignorant? If work was created as a codependent system, the way to break this feedback loop is to build a system prioritizing interdependence. Work should be a place of shared values, mutual benefit, and voluntary cooperation. In most cases, work is imbalanced, emotionally draining, and mentally (and physically) abusive.

What if we could imagine a world where people would work not because they have to but because they want to? What if our productivity wasn’t tied to survival? Can we build a system of work where community, creativity, and care are just as important? I can already see those who thrive off control hating this idea. They would like us to believe this already happens, but it does not. They’d hate it because we’d start to break free from the illusion that we are a “family.” The powers that be couldn’t extract as much productivity from people for their benefit. It also creates the equality that I thought we intended.

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