You Must Change Your Life

Source: Hari Kunzru
Affiliation: Harper's Magazine

In this article, Hari Kunzru explains how the phenonemon of "executive athleticism" coupled with the remote working environment has caused tremendous amounts of anxiety and a further dissolution of an already decreasing separation between work and home for many white collar workers. "The demand for productivity," writes Kunzru, "has mutated into a constant ethos of self-optimization" that runs through all aspects of our lives. While this turn toward mindfulness, "life hacks," finding meaning in any work, and increasing productivity is hailed by some, Kunzru suggests that these are individualized solutions to what is essentially a collective, social, and political problem. The pandemic offers an opportunity, says Kunzru, to reexamine our work-related anxieties and the solutions we've proposed for them. 

 

Image Credit: "Working from home" by ishane is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Keywords: Meaning , Meaning of Work , Politics , Self-Help