Neil Jordan: ‘Is Your Work Worth It? How to Think About Meaningful Work’ by Christopher Wong Michaelson and Jennifer Tosti-Kharas

In Is Your Work Worth It? Christopher Wong Michaelson and Jennifer Tosti-Kharas address the question of what makes work worthwhile, rather than specifically meaningful – meaningful work being the subject of their book in this area (The Meaning and Purpose of Work). Naturally, the meaningfulness or otherwise of work is considered in this volume, but it is important to realise that the focus of this work is different and it is not simply a more ‘popular’ version of their more academic book. It is not only the focus of this book that differs; the volume is aimed at a much broader, non-academic readership and as such, the approach taken is significantly different, too. The book covers a good deal of content in a relatively short space, which makes a detailed summary of each chapter impossible in a review. Therefore, the focus here will be on particular chapters and the purpose of the book as a whole.

The first chapter defines work as ‘purposeful, effortful, and recognized by society as work’ (page 26) – which means that it often merits pay – and then proceeds to consider the nuances of each element of the definition, adding that often, what we consider to be some of the most important work of all is either not well-remunerated or is completely unpaid. The second chapter offers an interesting examination of the reasons for which we work, whether for intrinsic rewards such as fulfilment, or for money (perhaps to support a family or to fund some fulfilling endeavour outside our working lives). At one point, it is suggested that perhaps we ought to consider not whether we are making enough to realise our projected ends, but whether those ends we are working towards are worth the work that we are doing (page 48). The authors introduce the three-orientations to work – job, career and calling – and it is here that the idea of meaning first enters the discussion. However, the notion of meaning is not defined clearly and there seems to be some slippage in the discussion between work being worthwhile and work being meaningful, though the two are of course connected (and may indeed be inseparable). What seems to emerge is that whether work is worthwhile or meaningful turns on the role that work plays in within a person’s life ‘as a whole’ (page 44). Once work has a significant role to play in a person’s life, whether for its own sake or because of what it enables, it becomes worthwhile and (perhaps indirectly) meaningful. It follows that any number of reasons given for working can make work meaningful and there is an endless variety of worthwhile values that motivate working. With this in mind, the authors advise against a hierarchical attitude to the different orientations to work by which we might always privilege the idea of work as a calling, just because it carries with it the idea of fulfilment or meaning for the worker. Moreover, we need to look beyond the perspective of the individual who works: while the individual might find his job mundane and unfulfilling, those who depend on him might see matters rather differently. Perhaps what matters, therefore, is not some deeply meaningful vocation, but the questions raised by our reasons for working and who it is that we work for.

Subsequent chapters consider the questions of how much we work and for how long, address the notion of worth and the idea of work as a calling, and examine the conception of ‘necessary’ or essential work. Frequently raised are the discrepancies that exist between different types of work, with work that we recognise as essential often being the least flexible and the least well paid. Readers are invited, therefore, to consider the conflation of ‘worth’ with ‘monetary value’ and to ask what might change in our working culture – as a society or in our organisations – so that we see our work as ‘worth doing’, rather than longing for (a time when we do) no work at all. With regard to the notion of calling, the authors offer a series of questions that demonstrate the need to take a longer-term, balanced view of work and its worth, and to think about ways of rendering the present more ideal instead of romanticising the future. Similarly, Chapter 7, in its engagement with the idea of purpose, poses a set of questions aimed at determining the individual’s conception of purpose at work. Interestingly, what emerges – apart from the fact that it is not easy to respond to all of them with clarity – is that one can rarely ‘have it all’ when it comes to finding purposeful work, as is demonstrated by a series of short case studies that close the chapter. The two final chapters examine the idea of leaving a legacy and explore the absence of work, asking what we are to do – both as individuals and a society – in a world without work.

The book’s titular question: Is Your Work Worth It? appears to invite the flippant response: ‘Yes, otherwise I wouldn’t do it!’ However, such a reply overlooks the point of the book, which is to consider the question: Why (or perhaps: Why not)? As the authors frequently acknowledge, to be able to reflect on this question is in itself something of a luxury. Many people work to make ends meet and cannot afford not to do what they do. The authors recognise this fully and state very directly that the obligation to meet basic needs and support others is one (perfectly decent) reason among others to work – one which can and does make work both meaningful and worthwhile, even if we don’t find the work itself personally fulfilling. What the book asks us to consider is how this kind of value measures against others and what it is that we want from our work.

In this respect, it is successful. With its clear prose and rich examples, it is a starting point for reflection rather than a book that develops particular concepts in depth. Through stories and illustrations, it raises questions about a particular notion connected with work and worth, considers difficulties or different approaches to that idea, and so leaves the reader to think about the issue for him or herself. For example, in the chapter on purpose, the authors do not assert that this is purposeful work, or list careers that can rightly be considered purposeful. Instead, they talk about purpose in broad terms and different ways in which one might set about establishing or discovering purpose in work oneself. In consequence, those looking for a single line of argument or a particular narrative throughout the book will be disappointed – but that is not the authors’ purpose. As they state in the introduction, their aim is not to tell readers what work to do, but to encourage them to do work that is ‘worth it’, whatever that may be: ‘It is about the priority of work worth doing in a life worth living’ (page 13).

At times, it is not entirely clear what the relevance of some discussions is, or why the authors are raising a particular question or presenting an example. In many chapters, the reader is presented with direct questions aimed at facilitating personal reflection on the issues raised. These help to indicate the significance of what is being discussed, whether to the chapter more broadly or the book’s overall concern, and more reminders of this kind would have been welcome. Nevertheless, there are connections between chapters and the book rewards sustained reading – perhaps slowly and more than once. That is not to say that it is hard to follow: it is in fact eminently readable. Revisiting the book, however, or specific chapters of interest, should enable the reader to identify these connections more clearly (for instance between the chapters on loving one’s work and on purpose) and so deepen his or her thinking on a given question or theme.

In the introductory chapter, the authors suggest that the book is for anyone who works, at any point in his or her career, or anyone facing work, a career transition or retirement. It considers the sacrifices that work requires of us and why we make them – what it is that makes work as part of our lives worthwhile. In this, they are surely right. While the book does not provide answers, it offers plenty of material for reflection and is to be recommended as a starting point for anyone who ever thinks about the point of their work, or what it is that makes it worth doing.

‘Is Your Work Worth It? How to Think About Meaningful Work’ by Christopher Wong Michaelson and Jennifer Tosti-Kharas was published in 2024 by Public Affairs (ISBN: 978-1-541-70340-7). 304pp.