The Impact Motive: Creating Meaning through Work in an Alienated Society
Thursday, 10/13/16 @ 4:00 PT & 7:00 ET
It was only 70 years ago that “employee” came into common parlance; before World War II it was a legal term. It still has a rather legal meaning: An employee is an individual who works for another person or company for wages or salary.
The issue we want to raise with you this week is whether that relationship — working for another for money — creates alienation in and across society. And, if so, what are the consequences of and cures for the alienation.
Our position is that this personal alienation is both real and pervasive. For the purposes of that position in the discussion, we will assume the standard definition of alienation, separation of a person or person’s affections from an object or position, applied to work:
Alienation is the separation of an individual from her or his personal values or affections arising from spending a majority of life working for a wages in a wealthy society.
Our 4th Radical Idea
Money qua money is not the singular and primary driving motivator for most individuals, but our entire economy is based on the assumption that it is and/or should be.
That is not an objection to or repudiation of the profit motive, but recognizing that the profit motive has created an affluent society that allows for aspiring to purposes further up a Maslow-like hierarchy but makes no practical allowance for acting on those aspirations.
When we must work far more than necessary to survive, which we do, yet work does not become an expression of our higher objectives, it creates a sense of alienation and purposelessness driven by an unfulfilled “impact motive,” the desire to create and contribute in ways that matter to the individual, not simply “making a contribution,” even legitimately, at work.
An individual is never fulfilled by contributing to another’s purposes. Therefore, the solution cannot be to ‘find’ meaning in work, but only to create meaning through work.
We look forward to discussing if and how that is possible with you.
#GTIdeology Happy Hour
We discussed this topic on October 13, 2016. Our cool video introduction and the discussion questions are below. You can read the full transcript here and Vince’s rejoinder here.
You’re invited to — and we hope that you will — join us at 4:00 PT & 7:00 ET every Thursday to unofficially kick off the weekend with us and the smart, fun, and friendly #GTIdeology Happy Hour crowd.
We tweet out reminders each week. If you’d like one, just tweet @ us and let us know. We’ll be happy to tweet you one. Cheers!
Q1. In your opinion, what is “a sense of alienation?”
Q2. Per our 4th Radical Idea, we believe that “Alienation” is pervasive because working for wages segregates individual profit motives from individual purpose, values, and affections. What do you think?
Q3. Agree or disagree: Creative urges and the desire to have an impact, not money, are the driving force for many individuals? Why?
Q4. Discuss if, how, and whether meaning can be created through work, rather than sought for in work.
Q5. Have you ever been in a position in which you were able to create meaning through your work? Tell us about it!
We hope to see you Thursday. If you want a reminder tweet, just let us know and we will be happy to tweet one @ you. Cheers!
