Philosophy of Work: How Can We Promote Flourishing, Purpose, and Meaning In and Through Work?
Publication Date: Spring 2023
Abstract
Because work plays such an outsized role in our lives, it’s important to reflect on good work and how we can find it. Using tools from the virtue ethics method in philosophy, we identify three constituents of “good work,” i.e. work that contributes in an appropriate way to the flourishing or wellbeing of the one doing it. We contrast this with “bad work,” and identify three big threats in modern society to our ability to find, and engage in, good work. We then offer suggestions for how individuals, supervisors, businesses, and policymakers can take steps to promote good work and thus foster human flourishing in the workplace and beyond, with a particular eye to the ways that technology can be used to facilitate this flourishing.
Why Non-Philosophers Should Care
- Individuals should seek good work for themselves, and should be able to assess whether, and why, their work is (or is not) contributing to their flourishing as a well-integrated human person.
- People in leadership roles should recognize that different individuals have different needs, and that this might need to be reflected in how one structures policies, schedules, or other aspects of the workplace.
- Managers and supervisors should attend to the ways that technology, both as a tool used in carrying out tasks and as a means of communication among team members, can either contribute to or detract from good work.
- Businesses and corporations should ensure that employees are able to balance their work responsibilities with other essential goods in their lives (such as family, leisure, and friendships).
- Policymakers need to think strategically about the distribution of good jobs and income, and think about how public goods (like education) can be leveraged to combat contemporary challenges.