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Bullshit Jobs
Bullshit Jobs: A Theory is a 2018 book by the American anthropologist David Graeber that postulates the existence of meaningless jobs which cause psychological harm. He contends that over half of societal work is pointless and becomes psychologically destructive (when paired with a work ethic that associates work with self-worth) because workers are required to pretend their role is not as pointless or harmful as they know it to be. Graeber classifies a job as bullshit if society would be no worse off (or even notice) if such job(s) disappeared, and names five classes of meaningless jobs: flunkies, goons, duct tapers, box tickers, and taskmasters. He argues that the association of labor with virtuous suffering is recent in human history and proposes universal basic income as a potential solution which would allow individuals to choose how they would like to contribute to humanity.
The book is an extension of Graeber's popular 2013 essay, which was later translated into 12 languages and whose underlying premise became the subject of a YouGov poll. Graeber solicited hundreds of testimonials from workers with jobs they felt were meaningless and revised his essay's case into book form; Simon & Schuster published the book in May 2018.
Most reviewers and two studies agreed with Graeber's thesis that many people do not feel like their job makes "a meaningful contribution to the world," but did not agree with the reasons he gave. He claimed that bullshit jobs are the reason people are not working 15-hour weeks, as predicted in 1930 by John Maynard Keynes, but he did not acknowledge that working hours have declined and quality of life has improved vastly since then. While he stated that both political parties support the idea of "more jobs" (whether or not they are good jobs) and that citizens are less likely to revolt against a government if they are employed, he never directly proposed that bullshit jobs may exist as a form of workfare, to provide employment as social welfare to otherwise un-employable people. Two studies found that while Graeber claimed that an increasing number (from 20-60%) of all jobs are useless, less than 8% of European workers reported feeling that their job is useless, and those numbers are declining rather than growing. Additionally, European essential workers like garbage collectors or janitors more often felt like their jobs were useless than people in jobs classified by Graeber as useless. The studies concluded that Graeber's theories are insufficient to explain why workers feel their jobs are not socially useful and that toxic work culture and bad management were better explanations for those feelings.
In 2013, Graeber published an essay in the radical magazine Strike! named "On the Phenomenon of Bullshit Jobs", which argued the pointlessness of many contemporary jobs, particularly those in fields of finance, law, human resources, public relations, and consultancy. It received over one million views and was subsequently translated into 12 languages.
YouGov undertook a related poll, in which 37% of surveyed Britons thought that their jobs did not contribute 'meaningfully' to the world. In opposition to Graeber's claim that "most people hate their job," the same survey also found that 63% of respondents said that their jobs were "personally fulfilling" and a 2016 Ipsos study found that 71% of Britons reported positive feelings towards their job.
Graeber subsequently solicited hundreds of job testimonials and expanded his essay into a book which includes many of those anecdotes, Bullshit Jobs: A Theory.
By the end of 2018, the book was translated into French, German, Italian, Spanish, Polish, and Chinese.
Graeber states that the productivity benefits of automation have not led to a 15-hour workweek, as predicted by economist John Maynard Keynes in 1930, but instead to what he calls "bullshit jobs": "a form of paid employment that is so completely pointless, unnecessary, or pernicious that even the employee cannot justify its existence even though, as part of the conditions of employment, the employee feels obliged to pretend that this is not the case". However, a journalist who reviewed his book stated that Graeber's claim is inconsistent with the fact the average British worker in 2018 works only 31 hours, much less than the average for 1900 of 56 hours per week.
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Bullshit Jobs
Bullshit Jobs: A Theory is a 2018 book by the American anthropologist David Graeber that postulates the existence of meaningless jobs which cause psychological harm. He contends that over half of societal work is pointless and becomes psychologically destructive (when paired with a work ethic that associates work with self-worth) because workers are required to pretend their role is not as pointless or harmful as they know it to be. Graeber classifies a job as bullshit if society would be no worse off (or even notice) if such job(s) disappeared, and names five classes of meaningless jobs: flunkies, goons, duct tapers, box tickers, and taskmasters. He argues that the association of labor with virtuous suffering is recent in human history and proposes universal basic income as a potential solution which would allow individuals to choose how they would like to contribute to humanity.
The book is an extension of Graeber's popular 2013 essay, which was later translated into 12 languages and whose underlying premise became the subject of a YouGov poll. Graeber solicited hundreds of testimonials from workers with jobs they felt were meaningless and revised his essay's case into book form; Simon & Schuster published the book in May 2018.
Most reviewers and two studies agreed with Graeber's thesis that many people do not feel like their job makes "a meaningful contribution to the world," but did not agree with the reasons he gave. He claimed that bullshit jobs are the reason people are not working 15-hour weeks, as predicted in 1930 by John Maynard Keynes, but he did not acknowledge that working hours have declined and quality of life has improved vastly since then. While he stated that both political parties support the idea of "more jobs" (whether or not they are good jobs) and that citizens are less likely to revolt against a government if they are employed, he never directly proposed that bullshit jobs may exist as a form of workfare, to provide employment as social welfare to otherwise un-employable people. Two studies found that while Graeber claimed that an increasing number (from 20-60%) of all jobs are useless, less than 8% of European workers reported feeling that their job is useless, and those numbers are declining rather than growing. Additionally, European essential workers like garbage collectors or janitors more often felt like their jobs were useless than people in jobs classified by Graeber as useless. The studies concluded that Graeber's theories are insufficient to explain why workers feel their jobs are not socially useful and that toxic work culture and bad management were better explanations for those feelings.
In 2013, Graeber published an essay in the radical magazine Strike! named "On the Phenomenon of Bullshit Jobs", which argued the pointlessness of many contemporary jobs, particularly those in fields of finance, law, human resources, public relations, and consultancy. It received over one million views and was subsequently translated into 12 languages.
YouGov undertook a related poll, in which 37% of surveyed Britons thought that their jobs did not contribute 'meaningfully' to the world. In opposition to Graeber's claim that "most people hate their job," the same survey also found that 63% of respondents said that their jobs were "personally fulfilling" and a 2016 Ipsos study found that 71% of Britons reported positive feelings towards their job.
Graeber subsequently solicited hundreds of job testimonials and expanded his essay into a book which includes many of those anecdotes, Bullshit Jobs: A Theory.
By the end of 2018, the book was translated into French, German, Italian, Spanish, Polish, and Chinese.
Graeber states that the productivity benefits of automation have not led to a 15-hour workweek, as predicted by economist John Maynard Keynes in 1930, but instead to what he calls "bullshit jobs": "a form of paid employment that is so completely pointless, unnecessary, or pernicious that even the employee cannot justify its existence even though, as part of the conditions of employment, the employee feels obliged to pretend that this is not the case". However, a journalist who reviewed his book stated that Graeber's claim is inconsistent with the fact the average British worker in 2018 works only 31 hours, much less than the average for 1900 of 56 hours per week.