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  • This book is no longer available to purchase from Cambridge Core
  • Cited by 9
Publisher:
Acumen Publishing
Online publication date:
February 2013
Print publication year:
2008
Online ISBN:
9781844654239
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1017/UPO9781844654239
Subjects:
Philosophy: General Interest, Philosophy
Information

Book description

Work is, for almost all of us, an unavoidable feature of our daily lives. Whether we see it as a curse, or a blessing, what we choose to do, day in day out, shapes our attitude to the world and to ourselves. In this thought-provoking book, Lars Svendsen explores the part work plays in our search for a happy and fulfilling life. In a fascinating narrative that takes us from Marx to “McJobs”, Fordism to “funsultants”, Svendsen shows that despite our moaning, for most of us, life without work would probably fill us with despair. Not only is it generally good for our physical and mental health (burn out is more likely to come from leisure than work), it gives us a sense of purpose, an identity and a social network. For Svendsen, our frustrations with work have much to do with the way the characteristics of work and our attitudes towards it have changed over the years. Unlike previous generations, we now look to work to provide us with a sense of meaning and self-realization, we expect work to be fulfilling, fun and full of people we like. Svendsen argues that this is too much to expect from work and that it is a mistake to seek in work so much of the meaning we need in our lives. What happens when our expectations are not met? And, more crucially, what happens when they are? Are we then in danger of ignoring all those things that matter a lot more than a job? We need to consider these questions, says Svendsen, if we are to ensure that our work makes us happy. For anyone who has struggled with the work–life balance, Work is an absorbing and enlightening read that challenges us to think about our attitude to work and what it means to us.

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