What Is Work?
A lot of my students look forward to the world of work, and seem to feel that I’m being a sourpuss for talking about things like boredom in the workplace and unethical practices in the business world. This also ties to an ongoing discussion that I’m having with my students regarding “abstract theory” and “how it is in the real world”, where I’ve defended the use of sociology and postmodern philosophy by saying that if it seems confusing and muddled it is because the world is. Yes, stuff like cultural studies can be hazy and fluffy, but this is due to the fact that it is properly empirical rather than reductionistic. Anyway, reading BusinessWeek and their article on Internships: Reality vs. Expectations I’m reminded of these discussions. People doing internships want to do meaningful work and “make a difference in the world”. Obviously these are fine and upstanding things, but do these people understand the real world? The fact is, most people are unfulfilled by their work. A lot don’t even want to find meaning, they want to get a paycheck and go home to the kids. This is how the world is, and shouldn’t internships teach reality rather than coddle egos. I see no problem with teaching college grads how to make a decent cup of coffee, photocopy, and sit through boring meetings. Hell, sounds more exciting than most of my days.
