Working to live, or living to work?
The emergence of 'anti-work orientation' in the labor force
Few things have as much of an impact on our lives as work. Most of us spend a great deal of time in our occupational roles, doing paid work throughout our lives. For many, it can be a source of meaning, social connections, and stimulation. For others, it can be a place filled with drudgery, boredom, or relentless demands. Regardless of inclination, the concept of work evokes a lot of feelings.
Historically, there has been a long line of discussion of the concept of work itself, dating back to the more critical perspectives in Marxist theories of the exploitation of labor, to more contemporary movements where there have been discussions of a ‘crisis of meaning’ related to work.
A changing discourse about work has particularly been noticed in online discussion forums, with the most prominent example being the substantial growth of a subsection of the forum Reddit: r/antiwork. The sub-reddit, which means it is a section of Reddit where forum users can discuss topics related to antiwork, currently has 2.9 million members, and describes itself in the following way:
Antiwork: Unemployment for all, not just the rich!
A subreddit for those who want to end work, are curious about ending work, want to get the most out of a work-free life, want more information on anti-work ideas and want personal help with their own jobs/work-related struggles.
So, this seems to be a growing social trend. But what do we actually know about the anti-work movement?
What is anti-work orientation?
In a recently published doctoral dissertation, a US-based scholar introduced the concept “anti-work orientation”, which he described as a “contentious rejection of work as determinant of one’s self-worth or worth to society”. Simply put, when an individual challenges the notion that work equals worth. By drawing on the growing r/antiwork community, the thesis explored a large number of forum posts in order to find patterns, themes, and commonalities that represented anti-work sentiments. Based on a comprehensive analysis, the thesis then presented a series of questions to be used in questionnaire studies where the antecedents and outcomes of anti-work orientation can be explored.
The thesis contains too many results to do justice to within the confines of this post, and is perhaps best read in full, but to highlight some key findings: A stronger anti-work orientation was related to greater emotional exhaustion, cynicism, and counterproductive work behaviors. Some differences across demographic variables such as income and age, as well as political party endorsement, were also found within a US context.
Taken together, it seems as though anti-work orientation is not just an internet phenomenon, but a unique emergent concept, which could have implications for both employee health and behavior.
Understanding anti-work orientation in Sweden
The concept of anti-work orientation is in itself interesting, but one is left with the question of how much of this discourse is specific to a US-context, and what the impact would be in a different socio-political landscape? This inspired my colleagues and I to look into just that.
Just a few days ago we published a study on the socio-political and demographic correlates of anti-work orientation in Sweden. By doing so, we hoped to achieve a better idea of the prevalence of anti-work orientation in different demographic groups, and which attitudes it tends to be associated with. Again, there were quite a few findings to discuss, but to highlight just a few interesting points, we found that voters on both the left and right-wing were overrepresented among individuals scoring high on anti-work orientation, whereas young age and low income stood out most strongly as demographic predictors.
Interestingly, the representation of anti-work orientation on both sides of the political left-to-right spectrum indicates that people with more extreme political positions share a common ground in their critique of the current work paradigm, which could reflect a deeper criticsm of societal structures, rather than just being dissatisfied with work itself.
What will work mean to us in the future?
What shapes our attitudes about work is likely to be a multitude of factors, including ideology, demography, context, remuneration, how we are treated, the working conditions that we face, and much more. The consequences of anti-work attitudes on a societal level are difficult to foresee, but with an aging population and a need to ensure workforce competence in the future labor market, it is important to consider how people see and value work. Many questions remain to be answered. Are increased anti-work sentiments a threat to the future labor market, or perhaps even a healthy reevaluation of labor norms? To be more specific, how can we ensure a healthy working life while still maintaining critical societal functions?
A lot more research is needed before we can even begin to answer these questions. But in the meantime, we can start to reflect on what work means to us today, and perhaps more importantly, what we want it to mean in the future. After all, as a society, we have to find out what works for us.
For the interested reader, who wants to dig even deeper, the journal Industrial and Organizational Psychology recently published a full issue with plenty of commentaries and discussion pieces about anti-work.