Meaning of Work

  1. Airbnb Was Like a Family, Until the Layoffs Started

    Article In this article, Erin Griffith depicts the conflict that occurred when Airbnb's company culture faced the realities of the global...

  2. A Philosopher Looks at Work

    Book The description for this book is as follows:  "Is work as we know it disappearing? And if so why should we...

  3. A philosopher’s view: the benefits and dignity of work

    Article In this article,    Image Credit: Rafael Cavalcante/Flickr

  4. Being More Educated May not Make you More Satisfied with Your Job, Study Finds

    Article In this article, it presents some interesting findings about education and job satisfaction. It finds, that you might wind up...

  5. Chapter 1 - Engineering Ethics

    Book This  book is an introductory textbook that explores many of the ethical issues that a practicing engineer might encounter in the...

  6. Dialogue Group 1

    Dialogue Group This dialogue group meeting prompt was used in the Ethical and Professional Issues Course in Notre Dame's Computer Science and...

  7. Dialogue Group 2

    Dialogue Group This dialogue group meeting prompt was used in the Ethical and Professional Issues Course in Notre Dame's Computer Science and...

  8. Dialogue Group 3

    Dialogue Group This dialogue group meeting prompt was used in the Ethical and Professional Issues Course in Notre Dame's Computer Science and...

  9. Give Up On Work-Life Balance

    Article In this article, Olga Khazan argues that the best way to stay sane while managing work and life is to...

  10. Good Work

    Book The description for this book is as follows: "What does it mean to carry out "good work"? What strategies allow...

  11. Group Project 00: Your Upcoming Career in Tech

    Group Project In this group project, students in the Ethical and Professional Issues course in Notre Dame's Computer Science and Engineering department...

  12. Hegel & Labour

    Other In this talk by Paul Ashton, he lays out Hegel's view of labor and it application to today. Hegel, according...

  13. How Life Became an Endless, Terrible Competition

    Article In this article, talks about the costs of the meritocracy. Meritocracy prizes achievement above all else, making everyone—even the rich—miserable. The...

  14. How the Bobos Broke America

    Article In this article, the author discusses how the creative class was supposed to foster progressive values and economic growth. The...

  15. How to Care Less About Work

    Article In this article, Charlie Warzel and Anne Helen Peterson argue that American working culture is unsustainable. Warzel and Peterson ask: when...

  16. In Silicon Valley, Working 9 to 5 Is For Losers

    Article In this article, Dan Lyons describes the "Hustle Culture" phenomenon in Silicon Valley, where workers idolize overworking. Lyons outlines some...

  17. I Was a Stranger Lecture Slides

    Lecture / slides Through these lecture slides for Notre Dame Computer Science and Engineering's Ethical and Professional Issues course, the following learning goals are...

  18. Join Wall Street. Save the World.

    Article In this article, Matthews writes about Jason Trigg, a bright young man who decided to become a hedge fund manager...

  19. Loving Your Job Is a Capitalist Trap

    Article In this article, Erin A. Cech claims that the pandemic forced Americans to reflect on their satisfaction with their work lives, prompting...

  20. Making sense of work: finding meaning in work narratives

    Article The abstract for this article is as follows: "This study examined how individuals make sense of their work narratives –...

  21. Midlife

    Book The description for this book is as follows: "How can you reconcile yourself with the lives you will never lead,...

  22. My Job, My Self: Work and the Creation of the Modern Individual

    Book From the book description:  "In My Job My Self, Gini plumbs a wide range of statistics, interviews with workers, surveys from employers...

  23. Naive Meritocracy and the Meanings of Myth

    Article In this article, Reagle proposes that so-called meritocracies reproduce extant members and favor incidental attributes; they are biased, susceptible to...

  24. New Melleray Abbey: One Thing

    Video In this documentary video, the life of monks at the New Melleray Abbey is explored. At this monastery outside of...

  25. Our Real Work

    Poem It may be that when we no longer know what to do we have come to our real work, and...

  26. Process (Excerpt from "Games and Why They Matter: A Conversation with Thi Nguyen")

    Video In this video, narrator Thi Nguyen describes the value in work as process rather than product. He connects this to...

  27. Punching the Clock (from the book Bullshit Jobs)

    Article In this excerpt published by Harper's Magazine from his work Bullshit Jobs, Graeber explores why it is that meaningless work makes us so...

  28. Reading Quiz 01

    Reading Quiz This reading quiz was used in the Ethical and Professional Issues course in the Computer Science and Engineering department at Notre...

  29. Reading Quiz 02

    Reading Quiz This reading quiz was used in the Ethical and Professional Issues course in the Computer Science and Engineering department at Notre...

  30. Scheirer on Start-ups

    Video In this video, Dr. Walter Scheirer discusses the benefits of starting your own start-up rather than working for an established company...

  31. Shop Class As Soulcraft: An Inquiry into the Value of Work

    Book This bestselling book is described by IndieBound as "A philosopher/mechanic's wise (and sometimes funny) look at the challenges and pleasures of working...

  32. Should Work Be Passion, or Duty?

    Article In this article, Firmin DeBrabander points out that, as factors like productivity and quality of life increase, other countries are working less...

  33. Silicon Valley Isn't a Meritocracy. And It's Dangerous to Hero-Worship Entrepreneurs

    Article In this article, it discusses meritocracy and entrepreneurialism reinforce a closed system of privilege. It also reveals the threadbare nature...

  34. Status Anxiety (Video)

    Video In this video, The School of Life discusses status anxiety – the anxiety that arises when we get asked "what...

  35. The Capital of Meritocracy is Silicon Valley, Not Wall Street

    Article In this article, the author explains that meritocracy and entrepreneurialism reinforce a closed system of privilege. It also reveals the...

  36. The Case for Working With Your Hands

    Article In this article, Crawford argues that work in the trades, while often considered lowly or a last resort, can actually...

  37. The Dehumanizing Myth of the Meritocracy

    Article In this article, Ehmke looks at what happens when the meritocracy and open source software collide. She hopes to answer the...

  38. The Division of Labor

    Video In this video, Dr. van Heerikhuizen explains the impact of the division of labor, drawing on the first chapter of Adam...

  39. The Future of Work in America

    Report In this report, the McKinsey Institute analyzes the impact of automation on the US job market, looking both across time...

  40. The Human Condition

    Book The description for this book is as follows: "A work of striking originality, The Human Condition is in many respects more relevant...

  41. The Most Good You Can Do

    Book The description for this book is as follows: "Peter Singer’s books and ideas have been disturbing our complacency ever since...

  42. The Myth of Sisyphus

    Philosophical Text In The Myth of Sisyphus, Camus explores what he takes to be the absurdity of the human condition. He likens us...

  43. The Need for Roots brought home the modern era's disconnection with the past and the loss of community

    Article In this article, Mishra connects Simone Weil's concept of uprootedness to her own experiences moving to a Himalayan village. Uprootedness...

  44. The Perils of Meritocracy

    Article In this article, Garber discusses meritocracy. It’s one of the most loved ideas in American life, but she argues that it should...

  45. The Reality of Developer Burnout

    Article In this article, Kenneth Reitz shares his experience of software developer burnout and outlines mechanisms he put in place to...

  46. The Return of Work in Critical Theory: Self, Society, Politics

    Book In this book, the authors explore what work is and why it is significant for us as people. They begin...

  47. The Tyranny of Merit (Video)

    Video In this video, Michael discusses what accounts for our polarized public life, and how we can begin to heal it....

  48. The WeWork Documentary Explores a Decade of Delusion

    Article In this article, Lizzie Widdicombe summarizes the documentary “WeWork: Or the Making and Breaking of a $47 Billion Unicorn." Widdicombe provides...

  49. The Woke Meritocracy

    Article In this article, the author discusses how telling the right stories about overcoming oppression in the right way became a...

  50. The Work-Family Imbalance

    Article In this article, Anand Iyer discusses the importance of prioritizing work-family life balance, especially for fathers. Iyer presents research that...

  51. To be of use

    Poem In this poem, Marge Piercy glorifies work and workers. She claims that meaningful work is a natural desire of humans, and...

  52. Using Philosophy to Deal with a Mid-Career Crisis

    Video In this video, philosophy professor Kieran Setiya discusses how he used philosophy to address a midlife crisis, which prompted him to...

  53. Vita Activa and the Human Condition (Chapter 1)

    Philosophical Text In the first chapter of her book The Human Condition, Hannah Arendt describes the "Vita Activa," or the active life...

  54. Wages Against Housework

    Article In this short essay, Silvia Federici argues not only that women should receive wages for the housework they are expected to do, but...

  55. Want To Find Your Purpose At Work? Change Your Perceptions

    Book In this article, Tracy Bower argues that the way in which you think about your work is critical to finding fulfillment....

  56. What is Burnout?

    Video In this video, Dr. Larissa Thomas, focusing mostly on physicians, covers the three main elements of burnout: emotional exhaustion, cynicism...

  57. What Work is Really For

    Article In this essay, Professor Gary Gutting (who taught at the University of Notre Dame until 2019) approaches the question of...

  58. Where Do I Want To Work? Lecture Slides

    Lecture / slides In these lecture slides from the Ethical and Professional Issues course in the Computer Science and Engineering department at Notre Dame,...

  59. Why It Pays to Work Hard: Ted Talk

    Video In this video, Richard St. John proposes a simple shift in attitude to turn mediocre into incredible. Nothing comes easy, and...

  60. Why You Should Stop Trying to Be Happy at Work

    Article Article summary written by the author:  "What are we really searching for when we say we want more “meaning” at...

  61. WORK AND EMANCIPATORY PRACTICE: TOWARDS A RECOVERY OF HUMAN BEINGS’ PRODUCTIVE CAPACITIES

    Other The abstract for this paper is as follows:  This article argues that productive work represents a mode of human flourishing...

  62. Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do

    Book The description for this book is as follows: "Perhaps Studs Terkel’s best-known book, Working is a compelling, fascinating look at jobs and...

  63. Workism is Making Americans Miserable

    Article In this article, Derek Thompson outlines the new "workism" phenomenon. Despite predictions from 20th century intellectuals that Americans in the...

  64. Writing Reflection 01: Jobs in the Tech Industry

    Writing Reflection The second writing assignment for Ethical and Professional Issues in Notre Dame's Computer Science and Engineering department. The assignment asks...

  65. You Must Change Your Life

    Article In this article, Hari Kunzru explains how the phenonemon of "executive athleticism" coupled with the remote working environment has caused tremendous amounts of...