(2019-02-28) Carlson Why Are People Miserable At Work

Ben Carlson: Why Are People Miserable at Work? Derek Thompson at The Atlantic wrote a monster piece this week about how workism is the new religion for many. 2019-02-24-ThompsonAmericasReligionIsWork The problem is even some of those people who have “made it” are miserable...successful, wealthy, but utterly miserable because their jobs leave them unfulfilled.

There’s no magic salary at which a bad job becomes good. He had received an offer at a start-up, and he would have loved to take it, but it paid half as much, and he felt locked into a lifestyle that made this pay cut impossible. “My wife laughed when I told her about it,” he said.

Everything becomes a game of relativity.

Social media is constantly shoving accolades.

People wear busy like a badge of honor these days.

Most of the people I know who claim to be busy aren’t really pressed for time, they’re simply terrible with time management.

it becomes a crutch for people who confuse urgent with important.

One of the crazier aspects of this whole workism/busy trend is the fact that most people don’t even like their DayJobs.

The latest reading is the highest it’s ever been, but it’s still only 34%:

roughly two-thirds of workers surveyed here are not exactly thrilled with their work or workplace

There were also people who were voluntarily leaving modern settlements to join the Native Americans. Yet they could find no examples of the opposite occurring. Native Americans never left their tribes to join the new settlers. (Gone To Croatan)

as societies become more affluent they tend to require more, rather than less, time and commitment by the individual, and it’s possible that many people feel that affluence and safety simply aren’t a good trade for freedom.

Financial independence can lead to isolation, and isolation can put people at a greatly increased risk of depression and suicide.

mud huts, penthouses, and the Champs-Elysées don’t really determine our mood. Serotonin does.

For the book Professor Karl Pillemer interviewed thousands of people over the age of 65 to figure out what lessons they had for those coming up after them.

there’s a fine line between contentment and complacency

Work can definitely make you happier but I don’t think it can make you whole.