Does work need to feel meaningful to be worth doing?

[PinkFruitbat]

Would welcome any comment on the premise that work should only be undertaken if we derive ‘meaning’ from it.

x.com/lbc/status/2093021913211863365?s=46&t=wjgj9AHysRwn3YQi4vJFdw

Yes, when I was imagining a job without real meaning or of benefit to the world I was thinking something like banking. You make a lot of money potentially and I could also see it might be very exciting, but I'd struggle to see how it benefits the world in a really meaningful way which I would find demotivating. Happy to be proved wrong about banking BTW.

There's other jobs I'd find very dull, data entry or cataloguing anything eg. Librarian, but if I could see the purpose of the task was for the greater good then I would feel much better about my life. I also know that for some people that sort of job is perfect for them.

The ideal job for me is one which is stimulating and meaningful.

I think people probably feel happier and more fulfilled if they are finding their job/career meaningful. I’m sure people who do enjoy their job more than those who are just there for the money and find their job dull or pointless.

I think unless people are working in an area they are passionate about they’d give up working if they had the option in order to find something meaningful (to them) to do.

I caught the aftermath of this conversation on lbc so I might interpreting wrongly, but I think this woman is saying she prefers to claim benefits of some kind than work the jobs she can find because they are not meaningful jobs to her.

The overview I think being discussed is that certain people receiving government financial support shouldn't have to take any job to keep their financial support, there should be a service to find them meaningful jobs.

I agree people should work if jobs are available, even if they don't love the job. I would. Even if the job was very dull.

But I do think we're a crazy society where there's is plenty of meaningful work being left un-done with people doing meaningless work/claiming benefits.

Our built environment needs lots of attention, going around fixing everything would be meaningful. It also needs adapting to climate change, again lots of meaningful work there.

We have children learning in classes of 30 and it seems to be a real struggle for a lot of kids, why not invest in more teachers so class sizes are smaller and the job less hard, that would be a meaningful job.

Gps and hospitals are oversubscribed with patients yet apparently it's hard for medicine graduates to find work? We also don't have enough councillors to give people mental health support in time, that's a meaningful job.

We're sleep walking into a crisis for caring for our elderly. There's meaningful work doing that.

Why are we not funding training and jobs in all these things that need doing? Obviously not everyone who is unemployed is capable of doing some of the jobs suggested but surely something can be found that is better for wellbeing and society for a lot of people?