The history of work
When I really stop and think about it, most human beings have worked their whole lives. Why do people work? People need stuff to do. People have always done stuff, whether that’s hunting and gathering, finding, preparing, eating food or building shelter. Humans have created tools to plant and grow food, and crafting items that we used to trade for other items. People have historically put effort into providing services, based on skill, knowledge, talent, and a whole lot of initiative and resourcefulness for money. Money spent on streaming video, plastic figures of pop culture characters, drinks filled with caffeine and sugar, and tiny adorable items that resemble large items you’ve probably already spent money on. This is why people work.
The point is, we all need something to do. We need money to pay for our homes, food, clothes, video games, comic books, action figures, cosplay materials, internet, streaming services, cell phones, service plans and deodorant.
Individuals need self-fulfilling things to do. Could you imagine if nobody worked? What would happen? Would it be more peaceful? Are people being made to work by those in control? Have our masters made us work?
The work I’ve done
In 1996, I got a job at a cannery. It wasn’t great, but it was something to do temporarily. They had me stacking packs of cans on palettes. At every opportunity, I swept the warehouse or found jobs that involved being by myself.
For 10 years, I bounced from job to job. Jewelry repair courier, janitor at a local church, a vacuum salesman, forklift driver, construction worker, designer, and many others. My life changed in 2012 when I got a contracting job at Intel, doing visual design, coding and user experience.
For the past 5 years, I’ve worked by myself in my home, with no professional colleagues nearby, but I communicate with them through my work computer. I currently work for a large corporation, creating visuals that help big time investors make millions on top of millions.
Individuals need a self-fulfilling purpose. Some work for themselves, but for others in the corporate world, that purpose is driven by power and money. It actually feels kind of gross to know the motivations of some folks. It’s even more gross to see good people get trampled under the boot they’re commanded to lick. Sometimes I’ve made what I’ve considered a lot of money, sometimes not so much. I wish work wasn’t about making money. I wish I could live in a world where my only job is to better myself. That’s obviously never going to happen.
When I think about work-related activities, where to find work, what other people do for work, I think of one place online.
This social media platform is annoying on multiple levels.
- The posts. People who use LinkedIn (LI) will post about a variety of subjects. Most of the time, posts are used to announce being hired or laid off. There are others that tell stories about work events that shed a very positive and favorable light upon themselves. Further still, some use this digital platform as a literal, physical platform to mold and shape their own history in order for their future to become guided and shaped in any way they see fit. I’ve read many messages from folks demanding that others take the same actions they’re taking, under penalty of consequence. Others use it for political posts, as if they’re on Facebook.
- The recruiters. LI is a fast, cheap, and easy way of connecting with people, and recruiters love to use chat to ask if I will take their lowball pitch for a job. Half the time, they don’t respond after my reply.
- The jobs. There are hundreds of jobs posted on LI! It’s so easy to apply! Was my application noticed? Is the job real? Is this posting going to lead me to another site where I have to fill out all my information again? Multiple people agree that the only way to find jobs on LI is to learn about what’s open in order to apply directly on the company website.
Work people
What I’ve learned about people is that most of them are so deeply invested in their own careers, it’s difficult for them to consider other aspects of life in general. It seems their minds are so wrapped up in everything having to do with work, it occupies every minute of their lives.
On the other hand, there are times when work people chat about non-work things during a meeting or in the chat. When this happens, I usually think to myself, “Can we keep the discussion about the task at hand, please?”
I’ve come to the conclusion that work people may only have talents, skills, and abilities in their own specialized field and not much else. Personally, I feel that life is best experienced when a person is well-rounded, having an interest in a variety of things.
There’s more to life than work.
My perspective
My job is not my whole life. I don’t think about work 24-7. I do my work to the best of my ability and I’m always learning, gaining new skills. User experience and product design has been my profession since 2012 and I do this work to pay my bills. UX is something I focus on, but it does not encapsulate my entire life. There are so many other things I’m interested in and have a passion for. I like to draw characters and costumes. I enjoy building costumes and making things with my hands. I’m interested in storytelling, writing, movies and games. I love music – playing it, making it, mixing and melding it. Additionally, I love acting, performing, voice over and voice acting. I’ve wanted to be an actor since I was a little kid. I guess I chose something safe because I was afraid of failure.
I believe I have skills in many other areas that are not my current career path. Unfortunately, some might say I’m too old to follow my dreams. They might say it will be ten times more difficult to break into another field this late in the game. All I know is, life is short and I want to do what makes me happy. Time is so precious and it’s so important to use it wisely. One day, it’ll be gone and if there are things I wanted to do, but didn’t, it will be hard to live with that regret.
I’ve completely changed my life before. It was scary, but it was also worth the risk.
“Find joy in everything you choose to do. Every job, relationship, home… it’s your responsibility to love it, or change it.” – Chuck Palahniuk
