From Curse to Calling: A Short History of the Meaning of Work

By Joanne B.Ciulla

“So the Lord God banished [Adam] from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which

he had been taken.”

-- Genesis 3:23

“Working hard pays off in the future,

Being lazy pays offnow!”

-- anonymous bumper sticker

“I love this game!”

-- Chipper Jones, highly paid professional baseball player

Do we work to live,live to work,

or both?• The ideal you hold depends on when and

where you live.

• The reality for you depends on who you are.

The Western ideal for the meaning of work has changed through time.

• Ancient Greece– Work is a curse and should be done by slaves.

– Aristotle agrees that household work should be done by slaves and also says that work for profit brings its own curse.

• Early Christians– Work can be good (if done to supply the basics

of life) or bad (if done with pride, envy, greed, gluttony, lust, anger, or sloth).

The Western ideal for the meaning of work has changed through time.

• Middle Ages– Our work is part of who we are, including the

moral standards associated with it.

• Renaissance– Work provides the arena for expressing our

individual creativity.

• The Reformation → Protestant Work Ethic– Work is a vocation, a calling, through which we

find purpose, satisfaction, and meaning in life.

Summary of Ciulla re the“Ideal” of Work

• Over time, the ideal that society holds regarding work has changed. Once it was seen as a necessary means for living. Now it is seen as providing a purpose for living.

What is the reality today?

• “Do good in school so you don’t have to do a f****** job like this,” factory co-worker of Professor Gravander, 1965.

• “I have the best job in the world; I get paid for what I would do for fun if I had another job,” Professor Gravander, 2009.

• First question after most introductory handshakes today, “What do you do?” (that is, “what’s your job?”)

• “I’m going to take the offer with the highest salary,” anonymous Clarkson graduate, 2008.

• In 2005, median US household income = $46,326, and 12.6% of the US population lives below the poverty level of $19,971 for family of four. (Note: 40 hours per week at a NYS McDonalds pays about $17,000 per year.)