Elites embrace the “do what you love” mantra. But it devalues work and hurts workers.

[phantom power]

Worth reading the entire thing.

There’s little doubt that “do what you love” (DWYL) is now the unofficial work mantra for our time. The problem with DWYL, however, is that it leads not to salvation but to the devaluation of actual work—and more importantly, the dehumanization of the vast majority of laborers.

Superficially, DWYL is an uplifting piece of advice, urging us to ponder what it is we most enjoy doing and then turn that activity into a wage-generating enterprise. But why should our pleasure be for profit? And who is the audience for this dictum?

DWYL is a secret handshake of the privileged and a worldview that disguises its elitism as noble self-betterment. According to this way of thinking, labor is not something one does for compensation but is an act of love. If profit doesn’t happen to follow, presumably it is because the worker’s passion and determination were insufficient. Its real achievement is making workers believe their labor serves the self and not the marketplace.

...

Yet with the vast majority of workers effectively invisible to elites busy in their lovable occupations, how can it be surprising that the heavy strains faced by today’s workers—abysmal wages, massive child care costs, etc.—barely register as political issues even among the liberal faction of the ruling class?

In ignoring most work and reclassifying the rest as love, DWYL may be the most elegant anti-worker ideology around. Why should workers assemble and assert their class interests if there’s no such thing as work?

http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2014/01/do_what_you_love_love_what_you_do_an_omnipresent_mantra_that_s_bad_for_work.html

[ProdigalJunkMail]

1. i love what i do

and it serves me and the marketplace at the same time and i would like to think it does so very well on both fronts. there is absolutely nothing wrong with taking something you are good at and love and turning it into a career if it will support that. not everything i love doing WILL support a family... but this thing does quiet well at it...

sP

[riderinthestorm]

9. My husband and I are the same. Both of us came from poverty, certainly not the "elite"

[KurtNYC]

2. The phrase DWYL does NOT attempt to reclassify work as love

It embraces the idea that you will be more successful or fulfilled (or both) if you find work that is in line with your passion(s).

In my experience, once you get paid to do something you love, you love it less. And you are less inclined to do it when you aren't getting paid to do so.

But in general, for example, if you love working with people then there are many jobs which incorporate that so seek out one of those rather than be miserable in a solo job. Doesn't seem elitist to me. The phrase was very popular with the Boho crowd.

[Orrex]

6. It's elitist because it ignores the reality of the modern job market

The vast majority of people don't enjoy the luxury of "doing what they love" and instead must content themselves with "doing what they must to keep from starving."

It embraces the idea that you will be more successful or fulfilled (or both) if you find work that is in line with your passion(s).

It's a lovely concept for those who enjoy that privilege and if we accept it at face value. For the rest of us, and for those of us willing to see it in the context of reality it's a way to scold people for "making poor choices" in their lives.

[Demobrat]

7. I agree with you

It's a subtle way of saying if you're not happy at work it's your own fault for not being smart or talented enough to put together a fulfilling life for yourself. And I am. So I'm better than you.

[Orrex]

8. That's it exactly. Nicely stated.

More succinct than I'd managed.

[KurtNYC]

19. I think both of you have flipped it over into: "Love what you do" which is very different.

I don't see the scolding or judgement in the phrase any more than I see it in these (admittedly simplistic but nonetheless zen-like) phrases:
- Be the change you wish to see in the World (Gandhi)
- Live in the moment (aka "Be here now&quot
- It is not whether you win or lose but rather, how you play the game."
- Keep calm and carry on
- Enjoy the journey
- Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the Life you have imagined. (Thoreau)
- Go at it boldly, and you'll find unexpected forces closing round you and coming to your aid. (Gothe)
- Become Your Dream (Dela Vega)
- Follow Your Bliss (Fred Schneider)

That this kind of thing is easier said than done does not make it elitist. The phrases aren't supposed to be about materialism. And btw, rich people don't get to "follow their bliss" all that often. Therapists offices are filled with wealthy people who may well also find these statements to be so much happy horseshit.

Also, just found this other take on the quote, which includes calling out Steve Jobs for not taking his own advice:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/robasghar/2013/04/12/five-reasons-to-ignore-the-advice-to-do-what-you-love/

[ProdigalJunkMail]

10. i love what i do...

and make a good living at it, but in now way am i suggesting that 'i'm better than you'... and i am not sure that is what others suggesting this 'option' are saying...

sP

[Orrex]

15. Because you aren't the only one who's preaching that sermon

Here's the reasoning implied by the elitist "do what you love" mantra:

P1. Everyone's career is a matter of choice
P2. Some people do not love their careers
========
C1: Therefore some chose badly or foolishly

The person who both professes to love their job and that everyone should "do what they love" is implicitly declaring "I have made good choices."

I'm willing to accept that you don't hold any "holier than thou" attitude about it, but that just makes you an outlier.


You might assert that I'm reading too deeply into the message, but it's an inference drawn after decades of hearing the same trite sentiment offered by people with the luxury to choose their careers.

[Silent3]

18. Very true, plus I think there's also an element of magical thinking...

...that, if only you demonstrate your faith in the DWYL principle by casting aside your fears and worries about losing your apartment, kids going hungry, etc., if you shuffle off that drudgery you do for work now and leap into pursuing your passions, the Universe will reward you, you'll find that it was your fear holding you back! Etc., etc., ad nauseum.

[Yo_Mama]

31. Yes, yes, yes.

A thousand times yes.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

11. i have to take exception to 'the modern job market'

this is pretty much the first time in human history (well, within a generation or two) where you could even THINK about doing what you love as a career. in the past, there was no 'fun' job... it was almost all back bending labor... surviving is all there was.

sP

[Orrex]

13. You can "THINK about doing what you love as a career" if you have that luxury

For the vast majority of people, "surviving is all there is." Granted, we're not all chopping wood and working the land, but I know very few people who are doing what they love.

It's a luxury, and it's elitist.

[riderinthestorm]

16. What's weird is that my husband actually started doing what he does because he was desperate

and broke and had no options (didn't have enough money for college).

He turned his passion into a career. I met him when I went to volunteer helping him do what he loved. I was also broke but didn't let that stop me from volunteering.

Both of us came from poverty.

Neither of us ever saw it as "elitist" or a "luxury". I'd dare anyone to work as hard as we do at this, actually I dare anyone to work as hard as we do period.

Agreed that for the vast majority of people "surviving is all there is". I agree with that 110% but there are people out there who make it. I'd hate to squash good, poor peoples' dreams just because having dreams is now labelled "elitist"...

[Orrex]

20. Do you go around telling people to "do what they love?"

If not, then this has nothing to do with you.

It's terrific that you and your husband work hard and enjoy what you do. Actually doing what you love isn't elitist; telling others to do what they love is an elitist scolding.

See the difference? In the overwhelming majority of cases, earning a living by "doing what you love" is a luxury. It's exactly like a millionaire "journalist" telling poor people that they shouldn't be so poor.

It's a dog whistle, and anyone stuck working in a job that they don't love can hear it plain as day.

[riderinthestorm]

23. Of course I don't. But I'd also never tear down a poor person's dream by saying its bollocks.

And that their dream of doing what they love is "elitist" and a "luxury".

See THAT difference?

[Orrex]

24. Their dream of doing what they love isn't elitist, though it can certainly be a luxury

The rare person who enjoys that privilege would do well to bear it in mind.

Nowhere have I faulted anyone for doing what they love, but when they use that privilege to tell others to do what they love (and, by implication, to fault them for failing to do so), then that's elitist.

[riderinthestorm]

26. I'm sitting here mulling over your advice and I guess I'm wondering if you're overthinking this

There've been many stellar examples of people like Sonia Sotomayor who have gone from poverty to SCOTUS because she was told to dream big by high school counselors, teachers etc. Those are documented facts.

Of course I've got anecdotes too. My kids spent their elementary school years in Wheaton IL which has a LOT of refugee resettlement housing because of how many missionary/evangelical Christian organizations headquarter there. The school my kids attended included all of these desperately poor, desperate people - Bosnia, Somalia, the Congo, Romania... Plus the usual mix of lower/upper middle class with a smattering of the town's truly wealthy who were bussed in because they lived in this weird outlier zone.

I've got stories of many of those kids who aspired to be astronauts, architects, doctors etc. since I was an active daily volunteer. Their parents were frank that they were working in the Alzheimer's facility changing adult diapers (or similar low skill minimum wage jobs) so their kids could get an education and "do what they wanted", "change the world", "have a happy life" etc etc.

Yes of COURSE economic independence was hugely important. But for this group? Getting to the US and having the chance for their kids to live the dream felt like winning the lottery.

My oldest is 26. One of these former classmates from the re-settlement apartments is an astrophysicist with the Air Force and is working towards his dream of becoming an astronaut. Two are in residencies as we speak on their way to becoming doctors, another drives the Port-O-Potty trucks and actually tells me he loves his job because it pays so well.

I dunno Orrex. I'm sure I never told any of them (or their parents) to "do what they love" but I didn't have to. That message was given to these kids daily by their parents, teachers, social workers, aid workers etc.

I'm just not certain its as cut and dried a "dog whistle" as you portray it to be.

Anyway, thanks for the considerate response and reasoned conversation.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

21. all i am saying is that it has always been this way

for the vast majority of people work is a means of getting paid to keep a roof and three squares (maybe). it has nothing to do with the modern economy...

sP

[shenmue]

3. Well, there's nothing wrong with loving your job, but we should raise wages.

We should help people and take better care of them. Point blank. That would help everyone across the board.

[bluestateguy]

4. I love playing baseball, but I'm not good enough to play professionally

I'm also a little too old, but even when I was younger, I was not good enough.

We can do what we love, if we are good enough at it to be earn a living at it. Otherwise it's just a hobby.

[Orrex]

5. I have no taste for feel-good slogans like "do what you love"

Bravo to the article for calling out this trite Hallmark sentiment.

[Ikonoklast]

17. It used to be, "Do what you love, and the money will follow."

What a steaming pile of horseshit.


I suppose if I was a trust-fund baby I would have the wherewithal to become a great artist over the years, if only that starving to death part in the meanwhile wasn't involved.

[lumberjack_jeff]

12. I love working on sewers. I adore everything about it. Sewage is my passion!

From the hip waders and raingear to the clogged pumps. Every day is an interesting and fulfilling intellectual challenge.

You couldn't pay me enough to care for children or create art or help needy people.

It's a good thing there are people like me, otherwise you'd have to pay sewer workers more than people who insist upon loving their work.



Loving your work is an indulgence. I happen to love my nonprofit work, but I have no illusions that the fact that lots of people would love to have my job is the reason that it pays poorly. Passion for a job isn't a reason for high pay. Skill is not the same thing as passion, and demand for that skill is the only reason for high pay.

[Maeve]

22. I love what I do but there isn't much money in it, either

Hubby loves what he does and can support us well enough. We are both good at what we do, but there isn't the demand for storytellers like there is a demand for computer generalists.

Yes, if you possibly can, get a job you love. Better still, get a job you love that pays well. But not everyone can. With 3 applicants for every opening, just getting a job is hard enough for many!!

[lumberjack_jeff]

37. I think that the purpose of work is to become financially independent as quickly as possible

Once you're financially independent, you can follow your own passions. If you try to do both, you're serving the employer and kidding yourself that it's something else.

[reformist2]

14. It's pretty ridiculous advice for most people. Work is hard, often NOT fun. That's why it's called

work, and not fun. Because they're two different things.

[JoePhilly]

25. You should always do something you hate. That way you'll be happy ...

... because that at least they pay you to do it.

The whole debate on this topic is pretty ridiculous.

I have a good friend who works in a rather repetitive blue collar job. It includes a fair amount of heavily lifting and manual labor. He works indoors some, and outdoors. Never sits at a desk. He and the guys he works with spend much of the time while they are working talking about sports. And when he's done at the end of the day, he's done. Doesn't take a laptop home with him. No travel.

I would hate his job. He loves it. The specific work itself isn't all that intellectually challenging, and he likes that. The fact that the actual work is repetitive, perfect. The fact that his day ends at a given time, all the time, great.

He would absolutely hate working in an office, sitting at a computer all day. Or traveling all over the country on assignments.

Folks on this thread seem to think that people love one and only one activity.

If you want to be happy, you want to find a job/career that includes an array of aspects that you actually like.

Or, be miserable.

[riderinthestorm]

27. I'll have to see if I can find the study that said the happiest people are those who have 3 places

and that if they were happy in at least two of those three places, they self-described their lives as "happy".

1. Home. The contentment factor of your homelife was one factor.

2. Work. How happy you were in your work was the second factor.

3. The "other" place - and by that the sociologist meant whatever that third place was that wasn't home or work: church, the local bar, the bowling league, the Moose lodge, the book club - whatever that "other" place was, it mattered as much as the first two.

Of course some people have multiple "other" places and thus have more avenues to finding happiness but this sociologist posited that there were other factors than just work that contributed to feeling as though your life was satisfying (or as I read it "doing what you love&quot .

"Doing what you love" doesn't necessarily have to mean "work", and as your story indicates what looks like hell on the outside to some, is actually a great fit for others....

[Pretzel_Warrior]

28. you are inadvertantly helping spread the 1% propaganda that work is work. seek no further or higher

calling in the thing you choose to do to support yourself for the vast majority of your waking hours.

It is amazing the average American isn't rebelling 100% against this kind of jerky and cynical ploy to create lower expectations for Americans.

[riderinthestorm]

32. Yeah, that could certainly also be in play.. nt

[TBF]

29. Straight from the "be happy with your lot in life" playbook -

there are so many memes like this. Some are well-intentioned, others may be intentionally misleading. From learning how to live on a strict budget, to appreciation for the new tiny houses, to being happy you have any job at all - much less one that pays decently.

Religion many not have been created to foster this idea of accepting your lot in life, but it sure is helpful in keeping folks calm so they don't fight back.

But I have yet to find anyone who can convince me that it is moral, just and acceptable for some to be billionaires on this planet while others must accept their homeless and hungry "lot in life".

[Pretzel_Warrior]

33. that's what I think. it makes me angry the powers that be are really amping up the "expect a decline

in your life and figure out how to enjoy it". Meanwhile they will get richer off of crisis after crisis. And after the first few million, it's no longer about quality of life--it's just greed that drives the very wealthy. That is a fact.

[TBF]

36. Agree completely. nt

[riderinthestorm]

34. +1 nt

[unblock]

30. i love singing. maybe if i do it in public, people will pay me to stop.

[Pretzel_Warrior]

35. you should whistle while you work. Big Brother encourages it.