Recently, a book had a significant impact on my life. The book is “Pseudowork” co-authored by Anders Fogh Jensen and Dennis Normark. Although the contents in the book are a bit cynical to call this book a life-changing book, I found myself resonating with it the most and writing the most reading notes while going through it. The content and messages in the book made me reflect deeply, completely changing my perspective on my work and life.
While reading the book, I felt a sense of relief, thinking that my anxieties about operation efficiency and values at work were justified. At the same time, I felt disillusioned by the fact that the company I currently work for harbors a social illness. I realize that the practice of pseudowork is prevalent in my company and a significant challenge that needs to be addressed. Unfortunately, the harsh reality is that time-measured capitalism has established itself as the dominant ideology in our society, making it difficult, at least in the United States, to accept philosophical insights. Here, what I mean by time measured is that the value of work is determined by how much time a labor spent.
I hope many people read this book. I recommend it to the people around me, but except for book club members, most people I know do not even read one book a month. Especially, the place where I hope to see the most change through this book is my current workplace. Most of my coworkers also do not read a single book in a year. It's natural. Reading books no longer seem helpful. The knowledge and information I want can be easily and quickly obtained through Google search or YouTube. Books that take a long time to read are unnecessary. The world values things based on money, and most things can be bought with money. Reading that doesn't make money loses its worth.
My company would not change unless it experiences significant societal movements. In other words, it will not change unless it is forced to. How much hope do I have if society needs to change for the company to change? I can think of a few cases in the United States; the Civil War, the Civil Rights Movement, and the Women's Rights Movement demonstrated the power to change the world. Industrialization took hold, and urban populations grew. Women started working outside, and men began doing household chores. The potential to lead such changes always exists.
What about now? I've only experienced a change in my work environment one time. It was when COVID-19 hit the world, and I had to work from home. However, now, after about three years, most companies prefer their employees to commute to the office instead of working remotely. Is this change temporary, or is it an unstoppable social trend? Considering the current data, it seems that for the time being, around 20% of workers will continue remote work. However, it's uncertain how far AI will drive the change again. My company which is about 100 years old keeps its operation flowing with only a few exceptions such as computerization.
I sometimes think that trying forceful change is wrong. In the ten years I've worked, there hasn't been any change in my daily operation. However, I want to think positively and hope for a better tomorrow. Even if it's difficult to change my immediate environment in the company, I can lead change within myself. Now, I better understand the numerous pseudoworks in the company. I won't do pseudowords, and I won't assign them to others. I will live my life and respect others.
Through this book, I gained a profound understanding of what real meaningful work is and how pseudowords affect the company. Based on this, I have started to think more deeply about my profession and the role of the company, and I have developed a desire and plans on how to improve the future. This book has been a great comfort to me when I feel tired and exhausted from work. I hope that by sharing thoughts and experiences about the pseudowork, I can take a step closer to building a better future.
Comments