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When you are introduced to someone, how long is it before you let them know what you do for work? And how soon do you ask: “So, what do you do?” Social protocols aside, how would you describe yourself to yourself? I suspect most of us, myself included, have our work at or near the top of the list.
As try to envision a post-work future, changing how we think of and describe ourselves is not going to be a simple task. Mentions of a post-work future strike right at who we are. A post-work future suggests we will need to rethink who we are and what our purpose is. And if there is one thing we futurists have learned, it is that people generally prefer not changing over changing.
But that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. There is some evidence that our concept of identity is evolving. One of my former students, now adjunct faculty, Adam Cowart, did an excellent term project on the futures of identity. He explored how the rise of LGBTQ awareness and social acceptance, diversity politics, and technological advancements are leading to an increasingly fluid sense of identity.
The long-term shift toward postmodern values (now estimated between a third and a quarter of affluent nation populations) has at is core the question of “what does it all mean?” The postmoderns are asking fundamental questions about the meaning and purpose of their lives, including their own sense of identity. While many postmoderns love their work, they are also aspiring to a more balanced life in which work is not such a dominant part of who they are and what they do.
And as hard as it might seem to many people working seemingly more than ever, the long-term trend has been a steady overall decline in average hours worked per work. As we spend less time working, it is reasonable to assume it may be less central to who we are.
In sum, it won’t be easy to adjust our sense of identity, but the process is already underway. – Andy Hines
[…] our series looking at the possibility of a post-work future, last time we looked at how the centrality of work to our identity would be a significant obstacle to be overcome. This time, we tackle the obstacle of how our jobs […]