This article doesn't even come close to suggesting a solution to the problem.
As entrepreneurs, I think we overestimate the amount of people that look to their jobs as a way to reach fulfillment in their lives. Many people just see their job as a way to pay the mortgage, feed the family, or as a way to fund their hobbies and passions.
I always struggle to believe that all jobs could find passionate people. For businesses of a sizable scale, can you really find 10,000 passionate insurance adjusters or tax auditors. They may be good at their jobs, and they make care about the quality of work and their professionalism, but are they truly passionate about it?
If the whole world wanted to be passionate about their jobs, most of the mundane services we need to operate as a society would probably fall apart.
Totally agree, but what's the point of posting some statistic without some discussion about the context, relevance, accuracy, etc? Just for sensational linkbait?
Your observation that not every job can have people passionate about it, is probably a symptom of something other than what you think.
1. It could be a symptom of the fact that it's really really difficult to imagine how people can be passionate about something you find mindnumbing. I'm sure there are plenty of people who don't understand how someone can be passionate about programming. It's obviously very boring.
2. There's a distinction between a 'job' and a 'career'. Jobs are more about menial tasks that can be done by anyone, not passion fodder. Careers are more about personal growth, fulfillment in life and doing something for motives other than purely financial - great passion fodder.
Do you think all the people working your cash registers or mopping your floors can seriously be passionate about their work? How about driving cabs, or being a receptionist, or working at a call center? These are universally shitty jobs but very necessary. If we want everyone to have a "career" we should think about how we can get rid of these jobs.
Different people are different. There is no such thing as "universally shitty" about jobs. Jobs are jobs and different people have different motivations about them. Luckily, the free market does not give you any right to try to stop or judge these jobs which you claim are "universally shitty".
Comments
This article doesn't even come close to suggesting a solution to the problem.
As entrepreneurs, I think we overestimate the amount of people that look to their jobs as a way to reach fulfillment in their lives. Many people just see their job as a way to pay the mortgage, feed the family, or as a way to fund their hobbies and passions.
I always struggle to believe that all jobs could find passionate people. For businesses of a sizable scale, can you really find 10,000 passionate insurance adjusters or tax auditors. They may be good at their jobs, and they make care about the quality of work and their professionalism, but are they truly passionate about it?
If the whole world wanted to be passionate about their jobs, most of the mundane services we need to operate as a society would probably fall apart.
"This article doesn't even come close to suggesting a solution to the problem"
It's a two paragraph blog, what do you think it's going to do?
Totally agree, but what's the point of posting some statistic without some discussion about the context, relevance, accuracy, etc? Just for sensational linkbait?
Your observation that not every job can have people passionate about it, is probably a symptom of something other than what you think.
1. It could be a symptom of the fact that it's really really difficult to imagine how people can be passionate about something you find mindnumbing. I'm sure there are plenty of people who don't understand how someone can be passionate about programming. It's obviously very boring.
2. There's a distinction between a 'job' and a 'career'. Jobs are more about menial tasks that can be done by anyone, not passion fodder. Careers are more about personal growth, fulfillment in life and doing something for motives other than purely financial - great passion fodder.
Do you think all the people working your cash registers or mopping your floors can seriously be passionate about their work? How about driving cabs, or being a receptionist, or working at a call center? These are universally shitty jobs but very necessary. If we want everyone to have a "career" we should think about how we can get rid of these jobs.
Yes.
Different people are different. There is no such thing as "universally shitty" about jobs. Jobs are jobs and different people have different motivations about them. Luckily, the free market does not give you any right to try to stop or judge these jobs which you claim are "universally shitty".
I would suggest reading the book 'First break all the Rules'. Dan Pink also gave an insightful talk on motivations. You could find it here. http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_pink_on_motivation.html.