Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by EddieDante 1494 days ago
Why would I want to be engaged at work? I just want to do my job and get paid. I think that expecting emotional fulfillment or meaning from my job is a trap, a way to con me into working more while accepting less pay than I deserve.

Work won't love me back, so why should I love my work? I lost interest in unrequited love back in high school when I outgrew my Young Werther phase.
2 comments
ThrowawayR2 1494 days ago
> "Why would I want to be engaged at work? I just want to do my job and get paid."

Because a career spans 40-50 years of being employed in one's profession. As the slow but steady stream of Ask HN's that boil down to "How do I get out of the software industry?" highlight, one pretty must has to derive at least some minimal enjoyment of their profession to help avoid becoming jaded or burnt out.

link
bsedlm 1494 days ago
but I want my work to be engaging...

it seems like I want this out of an existencial instict; one which the modern world has completely disregarded.

I want it, but I know (and I agree with your stance) that I will not find it in any "industry" work; academic work, on the other hand, does rely on this kind of self-motivated engagement much more than industry but has other problems.

link
EddieDante 1494 days ago
> it seems like I want this out of an existencial instict; one which the modern world has completely disregarded.

Has the modern world completely disregarded this existential need, or have capitalists weaponized it against workers?

link