There was a fascinating recent headline in The Atlantic, "Why Americans Care About Work So Much."
The premise of it was stated in this sentence: "Workism is rooted in the belief that employment can provide everything we have historically expected from organized religion."
What a fascinating concept, right?
The author of the Atlantic piece, staff writer Derek Thompson, answered, "What is workism? It is the belief that work is not only necessary to economic production, but also the centerpiece of one's identity and life's purpose; and the belief that any policy to promote human welfare must always encourage more work."
There's no doubt in America there are far too many who are still too dependent upon government handouts and entitlements. Nevertheless, for the working classes, the value of work has essentially usurped the value of everything else. It defines who we are and how we feel about who we are.
Thompson cites some Pew Research that reveals the value of work has trumped even the value of relationships: "So what do Americans consider more important to leading a fulfilling life than marriage and being in a committed relationship? They're much more likely to point to career enjoyment. A majority (57%) say having a job or career they enjoy is essential for men to live a fulfilling life, and 46% say the same about women."
Ted Olsen summarized it in Christianity Today: "Two decades ago, Americans of various ages overwhelmingly said that patriotism, hard work, belief in God, and having children were the values most important to them. 'Hard work' remains strong, but the other three values have dropped significantly."
Olsen added, "For their part, many millennials are buying into the 'work 80 hours a week for us because we're changing the world' rhetoric popularized by Silicon Valley. But even those skeptical of it are working their tails off. As Anne Helen Petersen put it in a popular Buzzfeed article earlier this year: 'We put up with companies treating us poorly because we don't see another option. We don't quit. We internalize that we're not striving hard enough. And we get a second gig.'"
"We've created this idea that the meaning of life should be found in work," says Oren Cass, the author of the book "The Once and Future Worker." "We tell young people that their work should be their passion. 'Don't give up until you find a job that you love!' we say. 'You should be changing the world!' we tell them. That is the message in commencement addresses, in pop culture, and frankly, in media, including The Atlantic."
20SomethingFinance.com further explained, "According to OECD stats, U.S. workers work an average of 1,791 hours per year versus an OECD country average of 1,716. This is 442 more hours per year than German workers, 294 more hours per year than United Kingdom (U.K.) workers, 301 more hours per year than French workers, and 184 more hours per year than Japanese workers. Of all OECD countries, only the workers in Chile, Mexico, Greece, Korea, and Costa Rica average more hours worked per year. Using data by the U.S. BLS, the productivity per American worker has increased 434% since 1950."
"But, for many of us, more work leads to more stress and a lower quality of life without time to unwind, take care of our homes, spend time with our loved ones, enjoy our hobbies, connect with friends, and generally live a more balanced life. Stress is the No. 1 cause of health problems – mentally and physically. And there are few things that stress us out on a consistent basis like work does, especially when it takes away from all of the other things that life has to offer."
The vicious cycle continues when we work more to try to alleviate the symptoms of stress only to be caught in the hamster wheel of work that produces more stress.
Why do we keep riding this merry-go-round? We've been convinced of the supremacy and satiation of money to the American soul. And that's what we indoctrinate our kids to believe, from public schools to too many American homes: It's the right job that will produce satisfaction and happiness in this life, especially if it's tied to a load of money.
The fact is, in one sense greed doesn't exist anymore – because it's the norm. Think about it. Who's greedy anymore? We don't say it out loud but we know the green has replaced God, and it's a fact in religiously fervent homes as much as in secular ones.
That is why the core of the Atlantic article I cited in the beginning of this column stated: "Workism is rooted in the belief that employment can provide everything we have historically expected from organized religion."
I loved the way Dr. Jim Denison commented on the true problem and solution to workism: "The answer is not to stop working but to start working for the right reasons.
"In a secular, materialistic culture, success is measured in secular, materialistic ways. We therefore become what we do. But what we do can never satisfy the hunger of our souls for true significance.
"If our self-esteem is grounded in possessions, performance, and popularity, we're never done. There's always more to possess, more to do, and more people to impress. …"
Workism providing ultimate happiness is the biggest lie, born possibly from the pit of hell itself. As my pastor says, "If the devil can't make you bad, he'll make you busy. And busyness leads to breakdowns not breakthroughs."
One clear proof is that, according to psychological and social studies across the board, our culture is caught in an "epidemic of loneliness and despair" with skyrocketing numbers of suicides and overdoses from opioids.
According to Dr. Villip V. Jeste, distinguished professor of psychiatry and neurosciences, and director of the Stein Institute for Research on Aging, at UC San Diego: "The U.S. government estimates that 162,000 Americans die every year from loneliness and social isolation. That is greater than the number of Americans who die annually from lung cancer or from stroke."
These have been called "deaths of despair."
Dr. Jeste added, "And loneliness also contributes to other illnesses such as diabetes, obesity, heart disease, dementia, major depression, and generalized anxiety disorder. This is based on studies of several thousands of people who were followed over a period of years. We're able to say that loneliness increases mortality by 30%. That is the same or greater than mortality attributed to smoking 15 cigarettes a day or mild to moderate obesity."
In 2017, Yale University offered its most popular class ever: "PSYCH 157: Psychology and the Good Life." Nearly one-fourth of all Yale undergraduates registered for it.
Dr. Laurie Santos, the psychology professor who teaches the course, said that she "tries to teach students how to lead a happier, more satisfying life," the New York Times reported.
No surprise why the university started offering the course. A 2013 report by the Yale College Council discovered that "more than half of undergraduates sought mental health care from the university" while enrolled. More than half? (So much for an Ivy League education quenching a soul's desire for meaning and purpose!)
That is why Derek Thompson wrote in his similar former piece, "Workism Is Making Americans Miserable": "For the college-educated elite, work has morphed into a religious identity – promising transcendence and community, but failing to deliver."
Despite the proliferation of "social" media and the addiction to workism in 50 states of our union, Americans are more stressed, depressed and spiraling in debt and financial struggle than decades before.
Could the reason be because work was never intended to provide the happiness we seek?
I love Thompson's conclusion: "But our desks were never meant to be our altars. The modern labor force evolved to serve the needs of consumers and capitalists, not to satisfy tens of millions of people seeking transcendence at the office. It's hard to self-actualize on the job if you're a cashier – one of the most common occupations in the U.S. – and even the best white-collar roles have long periods of stasis, boredom, or busywork. This mismatch between expectations and reality is a recipe for severe disappointment, if not outright misery, and it might explain why rates of depression and anxiety in the U.S. are 'substantially higher' than they were in the 1980s."
Randy Alcorn, the author of "Happiness," was right: "Anyone who waits for happiness will never be happy."
Charles Spurgeon gave the solution: "It's not how much we have, but how much we enjoy, that makes happiness."
The truth is, all good things (including romance in relationships) come down from God, but those good things were never intended to fill up our hearts or bring ultimate satisfaction.
I think America's founders knew that. That's why they connected a Creator with our happiness in the Declaration of Independence: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
It is not coincidental that Thomas Jefferson's original rough draft of the Declaration, which is on exhibit in the Library of Congress in Washington D.C., began with the words: "We hold these truths to be sacred & undeniable …" Sacred and undeniable truths? Yes!
Scholars believe one possible source for Jefferson's thought and phrase comes from the "Commentaries on the Laws of England" published by Sir William Blackstone, from 1765 to 1769, which are often cited in the laws of the United States.
Blackstone argued that God "has so intimately connected, so inseparably interwoven the laws of eternal justice with the happiness of each individual, that the latter cannot be attained but by observing the former; and, if the former be punctually obeyed, it cannot but induce the latter."
That is why in my New York Times bestseller, "Black Belt Patriotism," my closing chapter is on "Reawakening the American Dream," or helping people to really understand how America's founders intended us to enjoy life, liberty and happiness.
The one constant in life is also the source of all things in the Declaration: the Creator. Our founders trusted not in the supply but the Supplier to acquire life, liberty and happiness, and encouraged us to do the same.
There's a verse in the Bible that summarizes it for me: "You will make known to me the way of life; In Your presence is fullness of happiness; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever."
When you've got God, you've got the gold – and all you need to achieve and experience true love, happiness and the American Dream. Maybe it's time we (again) remind younger generations of that fact.
(For more on this important issue, I recommend my friend and prolific author Randy Alcorn's amazing and truly helpful book on "Happiness," which just happens to be half off at his Eternal Perspectives Ministry website)
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