Why Do We Have So Many Bullshit Jobs?
A tale of two office jobs, one bullshit and one real
Bullshit jobs have been written about in great detail. The definition is a job, usually in an office, with no real purpose. It’s characterized by meetings, a lot of downtime, having several bosses, and an inflated salary. Little work is accomplished, but you gotta show up eight hours a day.
I’ve been white-collar, and have had both kinds of office jobs. It’s important to understand that not all white-collar jobs are bullshit, but nearly every blue-collar job is BS-free.
The two I’m about to describe make up a whopping 60% of all jobs — by that I mean, office work. Yes, white-collar work is common, and our higher ed system keeps trying to churn out more “opportunities” for people with advanced degrees. The term “white collar” is imprecise, because traditionally it meant the minority, maybe 15% to 20% of workers, who weren’t on the factory floor, but had an office.
White-collar workers weren’t farmers, mechanics, hospitality workers, chefs, or working in a manufacturing plant.
Maybe that’s one reason we have so many jobs with so little purpose: because no one wants to do the back-breaking labor associated with farming, building, or serving. The alternative, boredom, starts to look appealing.
