The Work Revolution Is Long Overdue
It has become a platitude to say that “nobody wants to work anymore”.
In American life, we’ve been led to believe that hard work is a pre-eminent virtue. After all, our Protestant culture of individualism and grit helped a nation of disgruntled rebels become a global superpower.
But as America evolved into a more efficient society over time, the attitude around work failed to adapt. Labor productivity has quintupled since 1950, but the average number of hours worked per week has stayed the same.
In a society of unprecedented abundance, it seems strange that we work roughly the same amount as we did right after World War II. Economist John Maynard Keynes predicted we would only be working 15 hours per week by now simply due to productivity gains.
After the pandemic, we entered what some have called a “work revolution”. People are leaving their former employers at unprecedented rates.
For those who cling to traditional American values, this feels like an uncomfortable break from the past. For others, the re-definition of work in our society is long overdue.
