The meaning of work in contemporary society

Since agrarian revolution, work has relatively evolved and transformed a lot. The evolution is partly due to the rapid transformations in matters technology and science. In addition, the organizational setting and culture of companies have transformed magnificently. For example according to Grint (2005), given that workers who offered their labor power during industrial revolution are overworked, then those in the contemporary modern society do not only partake loads of work but are also exposed to exaggerated management. This is largely because employers are looking to increase their revenues and stay ahead of competitors.  The rare graving for high profits and growth by company shareholders has destroyed the true meaning of work. The aforementioned has been experienced despite the changes brought about by globalization.  A number of scholars have criticized globalization for complicating the meaning of work and adding more problems into it. However, most scholars praise it for creating more work related avenues where human views related to work are challenged aiding the restoration of the true meaning of work to humanity. This essay seeks to explore the meaning of work in the contemporary society. This exploration includes definitions of the term itself as well as analyzing the various theories of alienation.

Part I

            Work is accorded a lot of value by many cultures, although the same cultures have unique values and varied ideologies about it. However, it is apparent that work occupies a central role in the society as a good number of people devote large amounts of time to work. The same can be said for their life accomplishments and by how closely knit other life aspects i.e. family are intertwined with work. Work has wide definitions, but central among them is it being a purposeful activity (Hatch 2010). Work is a term that has different meanings at different areas of study i.e. human labor, physics law etc.  However, this essay is largely interested in the meanings of work in accordance to human labor. Therefore, work can be defined as human effort or input applied to in the production of a good or service. In matters employment, work is defined as a contract. That is, work is a contractual relationship between to persons, the employer and employee. In the above case, an employee offers his/her efforts to a given business establishment at a fee. In economics, the reward of an effort or the fee of a work done is often called a wage or salary. The wellbeing of a worker is largely depended on the amount of wages an employer pays at the end of a given task.

            Work generated a lot of debate in the early 18^th century and is still doing the same in the 21^st century. The divergent views are related to the types of work, the paid and unpaid. In most cases, a good number of people assert that the term work is a synonym for paid work. However, this is not necessarily the case because there are some tasks which may not reward and still engages a lot of human effort i.e. school or house work. In the modern contemporary society, quite a number of people have embraced full employment work, where persons offer their labor power to production for five days in a week. However, this trend is largely shifting as most workers are embracing part time jobs as well as weekend tasks. In the 21^st century, persons are able to decide their working hours much flexibly (Hodson 2008).

            More often, when a 21^st century human being thinks of work, his/her mind often brings job reflections. However, it ought to be noted that work and job are two different things, that is, there is more to the former than the later. Although work is responsible for the provision of basic human needs and a bridge to decent welfare, it serves a lot more functions than that. Work is, in its very noble sense, an act that enables an individual fit well into the society. In addition, it enables one develop new contacts, utilize his/her talents well and boost once identity and esteem in the society.  Work is an activity that entails the utilization of effort in order to produce or achieve something or to realize a much needed effect. For the 21^st century being, utilizing an effort to achieve something implies that one is in existence and his/her impact in the society cannot be neglected (Hodson 2008). From the aforementioned, it is apparent that the meaning of work has largely been twisted to settle scores and showcase once prowess. In addition, workers in the modern contemporary society are showcasing work as a way of stamping once existence in the world and how well he/she lived his or her life. To be specific, the satisfaction that is derived from the ability to access something, to beat once expectations and to utilize knowledge and imagination are very much related to work instincts (Taylor & Moosa 2008).

            In general, work refers to the utilization of efforts or energy through a well-organized coordination of tasks with a sole objective of realizing a useful output. In most cases, work may be tedious or pleasant and may not be or may be attached to a monetary reward. Therefore, the idea behind the ‘meaning of work’ can as well be argued as somebody perception towards work, what he/she is up to in engaging his/her efforts and the intentions behind the move(()). It is therefore very prudent to engage in activities that are beneficial to the society. Moreover, for work to meet the meaningful status, It has to pass the responsibly test. That is its final output and subsequent consequences need to be well aligned to its executions terms (Levitt & Dubner 2009).

Part II

            Alienation can be defined as a state whereby individuals live in a society that is largely divided into different social groups. The theory of alienation traces its roots to a capitalistic society. Basing this theory on capitalism, a laborer shades off his/her ability to run their private lives and decide their own destiny, this comes in when  a laborer right to decide what they want or think is deprived(Livingston 2008). According to the theory of alienation, persons have no ability to define how they relate with others in the society. In addition, alienation under capitalistic system deprives workers the ownership and us-value of commodities resulting from his labor power. Despite being an autonomous being, a worker is often directed and guided towards goals, objectives and activities required by a capitalist. A capitalist, the person in who has ownership of the means of production often indulge in antics seeking to fleece workers as he himself maximizes profitability (Stonecash et al 2009).

            In a capitalistic system, a worker is often alienated from his humanity with much ease because he can only showcase labor, a cardinal effort that gives life to a worker, through a capitalistic controlled production system (Ransome 2005). The aforementioned implies that the persons who buy labor from workers often view them as tools or instruments used to generate additional revenues. This is because they privately own the means of production (Edgmand et al. 2007)). To help us grasp the theory of alienation further, we are going to look at the various types. These are;

Alienation of the worker from the work

            Capitalistic system is a system that often operates in a free market, that is, there are minimal or no government interventions. In this type of a system, neither does the worker influence nor that of the customers will guide the production process i.e. from product design to output (Levitt & Dubner 2006). The entire production system is determined by the capitalists. The capitalist class is responsible for the appropriation of manual, intellectual labor together with that of a product designer. This implies that they are firms in control of the system and other parties are just but mere instruments of production. In addition, capitalists are responsible in directing or else shaping the consumer tastes, whereby it manipulates the tastes to hike product price that will subsequently maximize his profits in both the short and long run. Apart from workers zero control of production, alienation is largely reflected in the manner in which capitalists reward labor power very poorly by giving workers’ wages lower than the value of outputs. Capitalists employ these exploitation antics to increase their returns on investment (Mankiw 2011).

Alienation of the worker from working

            The mode of production in a capitalistic system follows a repetitive sequence that deprives the worker off his satisfaction. Furthermore, no rewards are extended to the worker to meet the loss of psychological satisfaction. More often, this satisfaction could have been compensated by good rewards towards /labor power used in the process. However, this is not often the case as capitalists reward efforts poorly in that the wages paid are not in correlation with the productive labor engaged in the production process. Another aspect which exploits workers further is the issue of division of labor. Division of labor limits the working prowess of a worker. The satisfaction of a worker does not come only from the amount of wages awarded for a given task. A worker feels appreciated when he is given the choice and right to oversee the value of his labor, introducing division of labor therefore deprives workers off their ability to purchase basic commodities in the market. The alienation of a laborer or a worker from the production process hampers his efforts to specialize in a given form of labor (Jackson et al. 2008). From the aforementioned, it is apparent that a worker who is deprived off his control of a productive labor is only left as an object; this is very detrimental to his psychological wellbeing.

Alienation of the worker from himself, as a producer

            The humanity of a worker is never separate from his/her activities (Gittins 2007). Species essence is a term that is often used to capture this kind of state. Species essence brings together the mental interests and dynamism of the human mind whereby every human being is seeking with utmost desire to participate in those activities that enhances the survival of humans and improves their wellbeing psychologically (McTaggart et al. 2010). The aforementioned is only possible when human beings are able to connect with fellow humans in the society. A human being is a unique creature who should be allowed to think through his actions, these actions often directs his efforts towards the realization of a given idea. This implies that a man has the ability to analyze rationally his actions and intentions, considering himself as a subject and the result as an object. This alienation therefore hampers rationality of a worker as he is not often given that chance to think through, often he follows already thought through ideas i.e. those of his seniors.

Alienation of a worker from other workers

            Capitalism is an economic system that has been criticized for the reduction a worker labor value. A capitalistic system often shrinks the labor power of a worker to a commodity that can be priced in a free market that is labor efforts are converted into commodities that are then traded as other goods and services in their own market called the labor market.  The labor power of a worker could have otherwise been accorded the dignity it deserves by being considered a progressive activity that brings together human effort directed towards the survival of humanity and the betterment of the society (Amable 2003). Capitalistic system brings together rogue owners of means of production, people responsible for the reduction of labor value. These capitalists design a labor market, often competitive to enable them purchase labor from workers at cheap prices. The labor market brews conflicts in the social setup of a society as a worker is pit against a fellow worker. This is done with the aim of purchasing as cheap labor as possible. This action alienates workers from their shared interests in matters economy. The ultimate beneficiary of this social conflict is the capitalist who is able to throttle the welfare of a worker by pitting him against a fellow colleague who is fighting to make ends meet.

            In conclusion, it is apparent that work plays a very important role in the contemporary society. For example, it is responsible for the survival of humanity as it guarantees improved lifestyle. In addition, it can be said that most of 21^st century life accomplishments are closely intertwined with work. This is because it is responsible for the provision of basic needs i.e. food, shelter and clothing to families. Moreover, from the above discussion, it is evident that work is not synonym for job. This simply means that individual efforts directed towards the realization of a given output might have or might not have a reward. In matters concerning the theory of alienation, it is evident that capitalistic systems are a curse to the workers. This is so because workers are never involved in the decisions undertaken during the production of a product. Moreover, customer inputs are not also factored in during the design and subsequent production of a good or a service. This irrationality together with the repetitive sequence of the production process limits the psychological satisfaction of a worker. In addition, workers are used as instruments and capitalists have the guts to even slash down their wages, thanks to the competitive labor markets.

Reference List

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