Bullsh*t jobs: Understanding Work and Value in the Information Age
“Where you work is going to inform your values, and that can be a good thing. But it can be a negative thing as well, when you’ve got too much bullshit in the ecosystem that actually isn’t worried about the outcome. It’s only worried about the appearance of those who are actors in the process.”
Intro
The difference between lying and bullshit is that liars want their audience to believe their message and bullshitters don’t care. Bullshit is about saying whatever it takes to convince another party of something about the speaker – usually that they are competent and useful. This concept has trickled into the workplace in an insidious way. Bullshit jobs make an organization look more robust, productive, and legitimate but actually provide very little return on investment or impact.
While bullshit jobs keep people employed, they can also have negative consequences for our economy and society. Holders of bullshit jobs make up the “bullshit army” backing a CEO or executive’s decision-making process. In this way, leaders may be able to get away with controversial decisions or ideas, through wave after wave of employees who nod their heads in agreement, confident in the knowledge that it’s easier to get ahead by sending signals up the chain that people want to hear—whether or not it’s what they need to hear.
When work is meaningful – and not “bullshit” – it can shape and appeal to our value systems, allowing us to feel fulfilled by a belief that we contribute to something bigger than ourselves. Even through non-meaningful work, people are often able to discover and embody their own value systems. In this way, work – which can take up half or more of our waking hours – becomes an important part of who we are, how we view the world, and what makes up our society’s values. When our jobs feel like bullshit, our social order suffers.
So, how can we bridge the gap between “bullshit jobs” and our aspiration for meaningful, value-informed work? One suggestion from our panelists – senior consultant Jayden Rae, research director Dr. Brooke Struck, and associate Nathan Collett – is defining our own success. Frequently, in North American workplaces, success comes down to meeting financial targets or completing a series of tasks delegated by executives. It is often misaligned with employees’ values and misses the mark on intrinsic motivation. Even when work does contribute to meaningful good, impact is often not communicated back to employees themselves, robbing them of the opportunity to feel fulfilled by their labor. For this reason, making impact more salient to employees and determining our own barometers for our success are crucial to living a meaningful, value-fulfilled life through work.
This conversation has been edited for clarity and concision.
About the Authors
Dr. Brooke Struck
Dr. Brooke Struck is the Research Director at The Decision Lab. He is an internationally recognized voice in applied behavioural science, representing TDL’s work in outlets such as Forbes, Vox, Huffington Post and Bloomberg, as well as Canadian venues such as the Globe & Mail, CBC and Global Media. Dr. Struck hosts TDL’s podcast “The Decision Corner” and speaks regularly to practicing professionals in industries from finance to health & wellbeing to tech & AI.
Jayden Rae
Jayden has a particular interest in studying how public policy can be used as a tool to help individuals and organizations make decisions to protect the environment. She has previously worked in the domain of environmental policy at the Ontario Ministry of the Environment. She is a founding director of the environmental non-profit Climatable, which focuses on engaging Canadians in climate change action. Jayden received her bachelor’s degree from McGill University in environment and political science.
Nathan Collett
Nathan Collett studies decision-making and philosophy at McGill University. Experiences that inform his interdisciplinary mindset include a fellowship in the Research Group on Constitutional Studies, research at the Montreal Neurological Institute, a Harvard University architecture program, a fascination with modern physics, and several years as a technical director, program coordinator, and counselor at a youth-run summer camp on Gabriola Island. An upcoming academic project will focus on the political and philosophical consequences of emerging findings in behavioral science. He grew up in British Columbia, spending roughly equal time reading and exploring the outdoors, which ensured a lasting appreciation for nature. He prioritizes creativity, inclusion, sustainability, and integrity in all of his work.
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