So, you're stressed. Or work feels intense. Or you're putting more energy than you should into manifesting a day with "no surprises."
But why? Even if you're not working on an especially challenging project or hustling to get in under a deadline, the work we do can be stressful in a sort of ambient and ambiguous way. And we might downplay that stress because, hey, aren't we just lucky to have a cool job like this?
When we think about work, we're often dealing with an outdated metaphor—The Factory. But if you work in a creative, knowledge-based, service, or caring field, that metaphor doesn't have as much to offer as we think it does, especially when it comes to understanding work stress.
Today's episode offers a way to rethink the ways your work can be stressful so you can rethink the resources you need to feel better and do more remarkable work.
Footnotes:
Every episode of What Works is also published in essay form at whatworks.fyi!
- (00:00) - The Factory
- (01:38) - The Factory Metaphor in Job Creation
- (03:39) - Rethink Work Course
- (04:35) - Why the Factory is a Sticky Metaphor
- (07:31) - The Factory Worker, The Bus Driver, and The Creative/Knowledge Worker
- (16:12) - The Problem with the Factory Metaphor
- (19:53) - Course Info & Credits
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What is What Works?
Work is central to the human experience. It helps us shape our identities, care for those we love, and contribute to our communities. Work can be a source of power and a catalyst for change. Unfortunately, that's not how most of us experience work—even those who work for themselves. Our labor and creative spirit are used to enrich others and maintain the status quo. It's time for an intervention. What Works is a show about rethinking work, business, and leadership for the 21st-century economy. Host Tara McMullin covers money, management, culture, media, philosophy, and more to figure out what's working (and what's not) today. Tara offers a distinctly interdisciplinary approach to deep-dive analysis of how we work and how work shapes us.