I don’t do well in office work. I don’t do well on the shop floor after a long day of drudgery. 

I do extremely well working on a creative project. I thrive when I’m working on something for myself or for a friend. 

I guess I hate authority, and I loathe incompetent, unthinking managers and bosses. Incompetent colleagues can be helped, but managers must be avoided. 

Basically, I work extremely hard but only when I get to define “work” and set the scale for “hard”.

I do not dream of labor. 

I often wonder why people at my previous jobs in design and engineering were so obsessed with productivity. And not even a good, clear, measurable productivity, just a vague idea of people working long and working hard. It was crushing. Even those who claimed to be the hard workers had their limits, and in fact were often the least able to perform any of the critical tasks. If they disappeared for a week, nothing changed. But when the welders left, the trusses didn’t ship. 

What is the purpose of productivity improvement to such people? Improving productivity is, at best, a way to potentially achieve more future productivity. At worst it is a justification for cruelty towards and abuse of the workers, an ego boost for management, and a power trip for tyrannical employers; it’s probably a mix of all of these things. 

The relentless pursuit of “productivity” turns companies into uncritical, unthinking machines morphing humans into replaceable cogs; erasing the value of our lives and replacing it with “growth” and cash flow. It’s disgusting and pointless. 

Productivity for the purpose of doing more work forever is utter foolishness. It’s not actually what people want, it’s a way to hold power and keep control. But it’s not worth it. 

When you want to be productive now for the sake of also being productive later, the simplest and most energy efficient approach is to just… not do anything. Don’t try to be productive!

But that’s not how our capitalist world works. We as individuals need to live. So, we must be “productive “ at work to survive. But it doesn’t really help us thrive. 

I love working hard and being productive in my own framework, and I will work hard for the rest of my life. But it won’t be for bosses. It will be for me, and more importantly for my community. Be productive for the community, because the community is a multiplier, we help one another. And we are productive not for it’s own sake but for the well-being of the community. 

Your boss doesn’t care about real productivity. They don’t want you to define work; but you can and you must. We have to work as communities, because “productivity” burns our future to maintain an idea of the past that never existed and doesn’t care about you or your present circumstances. 

Be productive for the community if you can. Work hard for yourself, if you wish it. 

Care for others and build your community, because your bosses won’t, and the modern machines of work will kill us all.