[jokoon]

I might be weird, but every time I hear about productivity, it annoys me.

People cannot be labeled as productive. A company, a process, a group, but not individuals.

This paranoia about procrastination and laziness has an awful impact on how we live.

Motivation is complicated. Please watch the rsa animate video on motivation.

[zarkov99]

I don't understand how you can say this. Is it not your experience that in almost any work context there will be a few individuals who will produce far more valuable work in far less time than others? It certainly is mine.

[jokoon]

So what?

[zarkov99]

So an appropriate and useful label for those individuals is "productive".

[jokoon]

You're not really trying to see my point.

So they're productive, then what? A lot of people can't find meaning in their work. How can society create productive people?

That's why I have a problem with the "productive" word.

There is an inequality in productivity, isn't that a bit problematic?

[zarkov99]

I am trying to see your point, though obviously I failed, and to be honest, I still do not fully understand where you are coming from. I do not see a problem with inequality. Its unavoidable. In fact, I am very happy that there are people out there more productive than me in some field, perhaps I will have something to offer to them by being more productive than them in some other field, and we can trade for mutual benefit.

[jokoon]

I'm coming from the view of /r/antiwork and the "bullshit jobs" book by David Graeber.

> I do not see a problem with inequality.

Income inequality and social inequality are problems, maybe not to you, but is it for many people around the world. It causes political tensions and many other problem: sanitary, social, environmental, etc.

I'm essentially talking about measured productivity, the meaning of productivity for people and if it can really fit into their lives. Productivity can have this sort of robotized meaning, soul-less meaning of how humans are being valued as individuals. Productivity is not the same for a musician, a fast food employee a writer, a programmer, a mechanic, a teacher, etc.

I'm not denying that a lot of people are thriving in their work, happy about it, and always eager to share how happy they are, but in times of inequality, it's not always so rosy for everyone.

Maybe your view of the world is one of a dominant, and you refuse to acknowledge it because you have all the good reasons. And it's understandable to be self-centered when all is good. But no man is an island.

If you put COVID and climate in perspective, you can see that the productivity model is outdated and requires some change. There is food for everyone, everything is built, so why should work be mandatory to get food and shelter? The individualism and libertarian ideals cannot work for everyone. It's unfair to tell people "you must create value if you want to eat". Philosophically it doesn't make sense, because food is everywhere.

Maybe I'm projecting a lot of my opinions through my own issues, but in a way, I'm expressing my concerns because I can, and I do.