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There's another side to the issue of money in our society. That's the perfectly legitimate, perfectly honest and ethical pursuit of money, the desire for success measured in money which is the engine of our economy. Many people, especially young people starting their careers, work hard to succeed in ways which lead to monetary rewards. For these people, it's the success, not the money, which motivates but achieving this success leads to financial rewards. I admire them for the creativity they apply to problem-solving; they make my life better with technology, with design, with graphics. There are others for whom money is the goal and they work hard to make money. From my standpoint, these people may not be doing the happiest thing for themselves but they also make my life better by improving the economy and, in many cases, by facilitating the work of the creative people I admire.
However, there's a bad side to the work of even these honest, hard-working people: The isolation which is increasingly the price of hard work and success. Modern tools, such as computers and the internet, make it easier to work in isolation, to work without frequent interaction with other people. Hard work tends to discourage normal social interaction outside of work. Making work the center of our lives leaves us somehow incomplete: The human spirit doesn't thrive in the absence of love and friendship.
I observe that the modern workplace is designed to make work the center of our lives by providing games, food and drink, rewards, a feeling of camaraderie, by encouraging the thought that everything is available at the workplace, that there's no need to seek a private life, a non-work life. I even sometimes think that there's nothing wrong with that for some period of time, for the time when we are young. I think that young people who work hard are helping us all in the ways I mentioned so why am I concerned?
I'm concerned because I know there will be a time when the young become old, when the young look back to examine their lives, when the now older workers sum up the value they provided against the rewards they received. I know that those who missed out on social and family life in favor of work will be disillusioned, no matter what rewards work provided. I know that even the winners in the workplace will feel empty, will feel the lack of a social life, the lack of love and friendship
Am I urging a life of indolence and pleasure-seeking? Of course not. But I am urging that the young recognize the choices they are making, recognize that they can be successful without devoting everything to work, that they can only be truly successful if they can successfully interact with others, if they can find love and friendship. Only by treating themselves as they treat their employers, their customers, their clients, their projects will they find lasting success. It's easy to stick with what you're doing- to change and consider your own needs is hard. Worthwhile but hard.
Don't assume that there will be plenty of time for social life later. Time runs out faster than you think and no matter how successful you are in the workplace, looking back on a life spent entirely in the workplace will leave you empty.
2-14-00
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