The cultural problem of “What do you do?”

In a society that prides itself on economic growth, it becomes natural to ask what you do to contribute to this.

The thing is, most of us have a job that we don’t actually take pride in. It’s a means to pay bills and sustain this standard of living. There is no pride in working on Monday, like when your team takes the field on Sunday.

We then elevate these jobs by discussing social capital or taking pride in what your paycheck can purchase. But for many, we become even embarrassed to talk about what we do because it provides no status in money or making a difference. These are most jobs, however. Because no one grows up saying I will be a bank teller. You become one because one decision led to another, and the opportunity sprung. This only further pigeonholes us to be creative in what we do.

Worst, it is reported that many workers are only productive for less than three hours a day. This means over a 40-hour standard work week, you are spending your time pretending to work. Making it even harder to find that meaning we all seek.

People want to make a difference. People want to fill needed. A job in a capitalist society doesn’t provide anything more than a punch clock. What we “do” has to evolve further than where we sit between the hours of 9 and 5.