Here is a brief excerpt from an article by Jessica Stillman for Inc. magazine. In it, she suggests that standing on an assembly line was no picnic, but according to various experts, modern office life is the most stressful type of work yet. To read the complete article, check out others, and obtain subscription information, please click here.
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The point of progress–in technology, management philosophies, even economics–is to make more people happy. We don’t want flashy new gadgets, company reorganizations, or higher GDP just because. We want them, theoretically, because they reduce the sum total of human suffering and enable more people to flourish.
So here’s the question: Are all the rapid, mind-blowing changes that we’ve experienced in our working lives over the past few decades actually accomplishing this fundamental goal? Do iPhones and laptops, flat teams, and supposedly innovation-inducing perks actually make work more satisfying?
Individually, that’s a question each of us must answer for him- or herself (and it’s one that very much depends on how appealing you imagine it would have been to work in a Don Draper-style office or on an assembly line, as well as on your own character and that of the work you actually do), but if you’re haunted by a nagging worry that work is getting worse, not better, you can rest assured that at least you’re not alone. A recent, pessimistic article on Knowledge@Wharton rounds up a host of experts who agree with you.
The takeaway from this collection of professors and authors: “Global competition, downsizing, and the constant state of being electronically tethered to the office are combining to create a perhaps unprecedented level of stress.”
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Here is a direct link to the complete article.
Jessica Stillman is a freelance writer based in Cyprus with interests in unconventional career paths, generational differences, and the future of work. She has blogged for CBS MoneyWatch, GigaOM, and Brazen Careerist, among others. To read her other Inc. articles, please click here. Contact her @EntryLevelRebel.