A couple of years ago, Rihanna released her viral hit Work with the very well-known chorus of “work, work, work“. And, naturally, ‘Hustle Culture’ went CRAZY over it and took it on as an unofficial anthem. We don’t even have to explain it, really — of course ‘Hustle Culture’ would love a song literally titled “Work”…but here’s a quick question for you:
Haven’t you been noticing that Hustle Culture is actually kind of dying right now? As in, no one wants to work anymore?
If so, then we have a treat for you — people everywhere (well, in the online sphere so far) are cosigning a growing Anti-Labor Movement and, yes, we’re about to tell you all about it!
Here’s how it all started — a global pandemic you might have heard of (read: sarcasm) kind of came in two years ago and left everyone stuck at home with no outlet to do literally anything. This pandemic got everyone exploring their creative sides through things like cooking, baking, painting or even doing things like playing more video games or starting podcasts or YouTube channels.
The point here is, people got busy connecting with themselves in every possible way and, well, they kind of liked it because that connection fostered a growing sense of self-actualization and contentment. AKA happiness.
If you’ve ever heard of happiness, you might know that it’s kind of an infectious feeling and most people rather like it…but what’s the opposite of happiness in today’s world? Well, it’s this overwhelming feeling of being exhausted, mentally and physically and emotionally drained, being creatively drained, and just feeling stuck in a giant loop of unfulfillment.
And where do you find all of these bad feelings combined? At an unfulfilling, needlessly tiring job of course.
“But is that why the Anti-Labor Movement thing started? People just don’t want to work anymore?” – No, of course.
When we say people don’t want to work, we don’t literally mean it because, currently, work is a necessity. People have bills to pay and tasks to accomplish. The thing that people are against right now is the whole idea of devoting yourself to work and nothing else, of letting your job take over your whole life, because you’re “building a career“.
What the whole “I don’t dream of labor” movement is trying to get at is that not everyone dreams of having a career — some people just want a simple job so that they can get paid to finance their lives. As in, they want to “work to live, not live to work” because that notion denies them from doing other things and it might even deny them happiness because they’ll keep constantly chasing after career dreams and nothing else.
Before you say anything, no — the movement isn’t exactly against career ambitions
The concept here is giving people a choice because building careers rather than just having a job isn’t for everyone. Some people simply want nothing else than to be happy, fulfilled, and with a decently paying job and, under today’s climate, that is seen as “laziness” and a “waste of potential“…as if to say a person only has worth when they’re devoting themselves to work.
If you want to focus on your career, then that’s great and more power to you, but you should still take some tips from this movement about not shutting the door on life and experiences by being a “24/7 hustler“.
Work on your ambitions, climb up that career ladder, just don’t let it be your existence. And if you only want a well-paying job, not a career, don’t chain yourself to an option you don’t want just so you don’t miss out on the experiences of the majority.
Still though, like every controversial opinion, this “Anti-Labor Movement” has a lot of people against it just like it has supporters.
A lot of people came through with the idea that people shouldn’t just cruise through life that aimlessly and that, at least, aiming for a career gives life a sense of structure. Many more saw this whole movement as an excuse to give up trying to do anything, no matter how small.
Confused? You wouldn’t be the first person to be but the general consensus here is that people aren’t a monolith and what works for someone may not necessarily work for others. You should figure out what you want to do with your life and whether your purpose lies within a career or within another thing — just don’t let yourself be infinitely tied to work, that’s all.
