The Increasing Subjectivity Of White-Collar Work, And Its Downstream Problems

This narrative isn’t mentioned as much as maybe it should be.

In the last couple of years, I do think we’ve had an increasing discussion about how a lot of white-collar work is meandering and pointless. There is a lot downstream of that, including “I Don’t Dream Of Labor” on TikTok and various Dr. Phil segments where older small business owners lecture young people on their lack of drive. In reality, I just think a lot of people who are currently 21 or so saw their parents struggle with employment, saw the semi-regularity of layoffs, saw the stress of potentially two incomes, and then they started working and they’re like, oh, you want me to do 30 minutes of work but call it eight hours? And just sit here for the other 7.5? But if I try to get a side hustle, you’ll fire me?

I think people just view it as pointless. And as we get closer to automation, especially on the entry-level side of the employment discussion, more and more people will see white-collar as meaningless.

That said, things are more expensive, especially housing and now grocery. So even if a job is meaningless, you still need one (or three). It’s a hard reality to avoid.