I do not necessarily think that individual companies are to blame for the increased anxiety and stress that we are now seeing in the workforce. I think the competition that we are seeing in the corporate world is forcing all companies to up productivity without thinking about the stress that is being laid upon the individual worker. We should look at Japan and see what their high tech stress is doing to their workers and strive to find alternative solutions to increased productivity.
In the gig memoir, the worker seemed a lot happier with his work in Bosnia compared to his work in the US. He had a lot more freedom and a lot more choices when it came to work. He was able to take breaks and have conversations with his fellow employees, unlike his job in the US.
I do not avoid stress at work and school. I constantly, day in and day out, feel very stressed with work and school. There is always some assignment I need to be doing. Some work schedule with long hours. I wonder to myself, "When does it end". I have came to the conclusion that this stress will never really go away until I retire. But when I retire I know I will feel useless just like so many retirees feel today because all they have known for the majority of their life is to be productive in the workforce.
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Andrew-
ReplyDeleteYou used up your two passes at the beginning of the quarter, an interesting strategy but one that is perfectly legal, right?
I'd like to see you engage with more specific passages in the readings before weighing in yourself. Quote from the texts to support your assertions.
I have a couple of contentions with your assertions. In your Judis post you write:
"I think that our understanding of morality is changing not necessarily because of capitalism or the economy but because times are changing. I dont believe that this change in the understanding of morality comes from anything but change in generation. A lot of things play into the changing of generation not just capatilism and the increase of technology, machinery, advertisment, and so forth."
I agree that many factors contribute to changes in society; however, take a closer look at the ones you list: technology, machinery, advertisement. What leads to changes in these things? Answer: capitalism! I know it sounds reductive to claim that capitalism is the reason for everything, but the capitalist world-system influences almost every aspect of our lives, including our moral values. Would we be as self-centered and materialistic as we are today if we lived in a different kind of economy (I'm thinking of the Bosnian software engineer in Gig...)? Are these new values related to the rise of consumerism? I don't see how they can't be.
I also found some of your statements about Florida's essay perplexing. You write, "I believe that all people are born with creativity, it is up to the person to unlock their creativity and chose their own way of life, their way of life is not chosen for them." I agree with the first part of this statement, but I don't think one's ability to develop their creative potential is entirely up to them. I also think it's entirely fair, from a sociological perspective, to argue that the rise of one class is related to the emergence of another. People who dedicate most of their time to creative tasks have little time for cooking, for example. Thus a demand for food service is created, and those less fortunate supply that demand. Does this exacerbate class divisions? I think so. Most of you are in college to move from service to something more creative and fulfilling, but not all have that luxury (so make the most of it!).
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