On May 12, 2007, at 4:50 PM, James Heartfield wrote:
> There is however, another explanation, which I derive from David
> Wainwright's book Work Stress, which suggests that there is also a
> social
> trend that alters our subjective experience of work pressures.
> Wainwright
> says that we are subjectively more fragile, and experience
> pressures on time
> and performance much more acutely than our parents' generation.
> (Wainwright
> gives an extensive explanation of why this might be, dwelling on the
> diminution of social networks that help us deal with problems.)
This sounds interesting. I used to believe the overwork hypothesis, but I've changed my mind. So it's nice to see some thinking about why people feel so stressed, even if overwork isn't confirmed in the time use surveys. Similarly, the sense of greater volatility in employment isn't really confirmed by the job tenure stats, at least in the U.S.
I wonder also if our expectations aren't higher now (and I offer this tentatively and speculatively). Back in the day, people expected a life of drudgery or something approximating it; work on the farm or in the factory was draining, and you were damn glad to have a job. The home was a place of arranged marriages and a gaggle of kids. Now, after the social revolutions of the 1960s, we want meaningful work and rich personal relationships. Since life, especially capitalist life, will always fall short of these expectations, we feel cheated and stressed.
Doug