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SundayReview | OPI NI ON

RethinkingWork
ByBARRYSCHWARTZ AUG.28,2015

HOWsatisfiedarewewithourjobs?

Gallupregularlypollsworkersaroundtheworldtofindout.Itssurvey
lastyearfoundthatalmost90percentofworkerswereeithernotengaged
withoractivelydisengagedfromtheirjobs.Thinkaboutthat:Nineoutof
10workersspendhalftheirwakinglivesdoingthingstheydontreallywant
todoinplacestheydontparticularlywanttobe.

Why?Onepossibilityisthatitsjusthumannaturetodislikework.
ThiswastheviewofAdamSmith,thefatherofindustrialcapitalism,who
feltthatpeoplewerenaturallylazyandwouldworkonlyforpay.Itisthe
interestofeveryman,hewrotein1776inTheWealthofNations,tolive
asmuchathiseaseashecan.

Thisideahasbeenenormouslyinfluential.Aboutacenturylater,it
helpedshapethescientificmanagementmovement,whichcreatedsystems
ofmanufacturethatminimizedtheneedforskillandcloseattention
thingsthatlazy,paydrivenworkerscouldnotbeexpectedtohave.

Today,infactories,officesandotherworkplaces,thedetailsmaybe
differentbuttheoverallsituationisthesame:Workisstructuredonthe
assumptionthatwedoitonlybecausewehaveto.Thecallcenteremployee
ismonitoredtoensurethatheendseachcallquickly.Theofficeworkers
keystrokesareoverseentoguaranteeproductivity.

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Ithinkthatthiscynicalandpessimisticapproachtoworkisentirely
backward.Itismakingusdissatisfiedwithourjobsanditisalsomaking
usworseatthem.Foroursakes,andforthesakesofthosewhoemployus,
thingsneedtochange.

Tostartwith,IdontthinkmostpeoplerecognizethemselvesinAdam
Smithsdescriptionofwagedrivenidlers.Ofcourse,wecareaboutour
wages,andwewouldntworkwithoutthem.Butwecareaboutmorethan
money.Wewantworkthatischallengingandengaging,thatenablesusto
exercisesomediscretionandcontroloverwhatwedo,andthatprovidesus
opportunitiestolearnandgrow.Wewanttoworkwithcolleagueswe
respectandwithsupervisorswhorespectus.Mostofall,wewantworkthat
ismeaningfulthatmakesadifferencetootherpeopleandthusennobles
usinatleastsomesmallway.

Wewantthesethingssomuchthatwemayevenbewillingtotake
homeathinnerpayenvelopetogetthem.Lawyersleavewhiteshoefirms
toworkwiththeunderclassandunderserved.Doctorsabandoncushy
practicestoworkinclinicsthatservepoorerareas.WallStreetanalysts
movetoWashingtontoworkaseconomicadvisersingovernment.

Youmightobjectthatthoseareexamplesofprofessionalspeople
whohavethefinancialsecuritytocareaboutmorethanjusttheirpaychecks
andtheprivilegeofworkinginfieldsinwhichitispossibletofindmeaning
andpersonalsatisfaction.Whataboutthejanitor?Thephonesolicitor?The
hairdresser?Thefastfoodworker?

Isubmitthatthey,too,arelookingforsomethingmorethanwages.
About15yearsago,theYaleorganizationalbehaviorprofessorAmy
Wrzesniewskiandcolleaguesstudiedcustodiansinamajoracademic
hospital.Thoughthecustodiansofficialjobdutiesneverevenmentioned
otherhumanbeings,manyofthemviewedtheirworkasincludingdoing
whatevertheycouldtocomfortpatientsandtheirfamiliesandtoassistthe
professionalstaffmemberswithpatientcare.Theywouldjokewith
patients,calmthemdownsothatnursescouldinsertIVs,evendancefor

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them.Theywouldhelpfamilymembersofpatientsfindtheirwayaround
thehospital.

Thecustodiansreceivednofinancialcompensationforthisextra
work.Butthisaspectofthejob,theysaid,waswhatgotthemoutofbed
everymorning.Ienjoyentertainingthepatients,saidone.ThatswhatI
enjoythemost.

Similarly,afewyearsagotheWhartonmanagementprofessorAdam
Grantstudiedagroupofcollegestudentswhoworkedasphonesolicitors,
callingalumnitoaskforcontributionstotheiruniversity.Asan
experiment,ProfessorGrantarrangedforarecentgraduatewhohad
attendedtheuniversityonascholarshipfundedbysuchsolicitationefforts
tomeetthestudents.Thegraduategaveashorttalkabouthowthe
scholarshiphadaffectedhislifeandhowgratefulhewasfortheir
solicitationefforts.

ProfessorGrantfoundthatthemoneythatthestudentsraised
increased171percentafterward.Again,therewasnoaddedcompensation
fortheharderworkjustadeepersenseofpurpose.

Thesearejusttwoexamplesfromaliteratureofcasesdemonstrating
thatwhengiventhechancetomaketheirworkmeaningfulandengaging,
employeesjumpatit,evenifitmeansthattheyhavetoworkharder.Such
casesshouldservetoremindusthereisahumancosttoroutinizingand
depersonalizingwork.Toooften,insteadofbeingabletotakeprideinwhat
theydo,andderivesatisfactionfromdoingitwell,workershavelittleto
showfortheireffortsasidefromtheirpay.

Butperhapsthereisanupsidetomonotonous,routinizedwork.Isit
possiblethatwhatweloseinworksatisfaction,wegaininefficiency?

This,again,iswhatAdamSmiththought.Inhisfamousexampleofthe
pinfactory,heextolledthevirtuesofthedivisionoflabor:Onemandraws
outthewire,anotherstraightsit,athirdcutsit,afourthpointsit,afifth
grindsitatthetopforreceivingthehead.Ourworkexperiencemightbe

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poorer,butweoratleastourbosseswouldbericher.

Yetmorethan200yearslater,thereisstilllittleevidenceofthis
satisfactionefficiencytradeoff.Infact,mostevidencepointsinthe
oppositedirection.Inhis1998book,TheHumanEquation,which
reviewednumerousstudiesacrossdozensofdifferentindustries,the
StanfordorganizationalbehaviorprofessorJeffreyPfefferfoundthat
workplacesthatofferedemployeesworkthatwaschallenging,engagingand
meaningful,andoverwhichtheyhadsomediscretion,weremoreprofitable
thanworkplacesthattreatedemployeesascogsinaproductionmachine.

Forexample,hecitedastudyof136companiesacrossmanydifferent
industriesthathadinitialpublicofferingsin1988.Itfoundthatcompanies
thatplacedahighvalueonhumanresourceswerealmost20percentmore
likelytosurviveforatleastfiveyearsthanthosethatdidnot.Similar
differencesinsuccesswerefoundinstudiesthatcomparedthe
managementpracticesofsteelmills.AndastudyofUnitedStatesapparel
manufacturersfoundthatsalesgrowthwasmorethan50percenthigherin
companieswithenlightenedmanagementpracticesthaninthosethatdid
thingstheoldfashionedway.

Thefindingsweresimilarinstudiesofsemiconductormanufacturing,
oilrefiningandvariousserviceindustries.Andcomparablefindingswere
documentedmorerecentlybytheHarvardBusinessSchoolprofessor
MichaelBeerinhis2009bookHighCommitmentHighPerformance.

Yougetthedistinctimpressionthatifyouretryingtodecidewhereto
makeaninvestment,thebestplacetolookisthoseannuallistsofthe100
bestplacestowork.Whenemployeeshaveworkthattheywanttodo,they
arehappier.Andwhentheyarehappier,theirworkisbetter,asisthe
companysbottomline.

Thisisadmittedlynotnews.Butthatonlyraisesadeeperquestion:In
thefaceoflongstandingevidencethatroutinizationandanoveremphasis
onpayleadtoworseperformanceintheworkplace,whyhavewecontinued
totolerateandevenembracethatapproachtowork?

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Theanswer,Ithink,isthattheideasofAdamSmithhavebecomea
kindofselffulfillingprophecy:Theygaverisetoaworldofworkinwhich
hisgloomyassumptionsabouthumanbeingsbecametrue.Whenyoutake
allopportunitiesformeaningandengagementoutoftheworkthatpeople
do,whywouldtheywork,exceptforthewage?WhatSmithandhis
descendantsfailedtorealizeisthatratherthanexploitingafactabout
humannature,theywerecreatingafactabouthumannature.

ThetransformationIhaveinmindgoessomethinglikethis:Youenter
anoccupationwithavarietyofaspirationsasidefromreceivingyourpay.
Butthenyoudiscoverthatyourworkisstructuredsothatmostofthose
aspirationswillbeunmet.Maybeyoureacallcenteremployeewhowants
tohelpcustomerssolvetheirproblemsbutyoufindoutthatallthat
mattersishowquicklyyouterminateeachcall.Oryoureateacherwho
wantstoeducatekidsbutyoudiscoverthatonlytheirtestscoresmatter.
Oryoureacorporatelawyerwhowantstoservehisclientwithcareand
professionalismbutyoulearnthatrackingupbillablehoursisallthat
reallycounts.

Prettysoon,youloseyourloftyaspirations.Andovertime,later
generationsdontevendeveloptheloftyaspirationsinthefirstplace.
Compensationbecomesthemeasureofallthatispossiblefromwork.When
employeesnegotiate,theynegotiateforimprovedcompensation,since
nothingelseisonthetable.Andwhenthisgoesonlongenough,webecome
justthekindofcreaturesthatAdamSmiththoughtwealwayswere.(Even
Smith,inonepassage,seemedtoacknowledgethispossibility,notingthat
mindless,routinizedworktypicallymadepeoplestupidandignorant.)

Thetruthisthatwearenotmoneydrivenbynature.Studiesshowthat
peoplearelesslikelytohelploadacouchintoavanwhenyouofferasmall
paymentthanwhenyoudont,becausetheofferofpaymakestheirtaska
commercialtransactionratherthanafavortoanotherhumanbeing.And
peoplearelesslikelytoagreetohaveanuclearwastesiteintheir
communitywhenyouoffertopaythem,becausetheofferofcompensation
underminestheirsenseofcivicduty.

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Ifpeoplewerealwayspaidtoloadcouchesintovans,thenotionofa
favorwouldsoonvanish.Moneydoesnottapintotheessenceofhuman
motivationsomuchastransformit.Whenmoneyismadethemeasureof
allthings,itbecomesthemeasureofallthings.

Tobesure,peopleshouldbeadequatelycompensatedfortheirwork.
Recenteffortsacrossthecountrytoachieveasignificantincreaseinthe
minimumwagerepresentrealsocialprogress.Butinsecuringsuch
victoriesforworkingpeople,weshouldnotlosesightoftheaspirationto
makeworkthekindofactivitypeopleembrace,ratherthanthekindof
activitytheyshun.

Howcanwedothis?Bygivingemployeesmoreofasayinhowtheydo
theirjobs.Bymakingsureweofferthemopportunitiestolearnandgrow.
Andbyencouragingthemtosuggestimprovementstotheworkprocessand
listeningtowhattheysay.

Butmostimportant,weneedtoemphasizethewaysinwhichan
employeesworkmakesotherpeopleslivesatleastalittlebitbetter(and,
ofcourse,tomakesurethatitactuallydoesmakepeopleslivesalittlebit
better).Thephonesolicitorisenablingadeservingstudenttogotoagreat
school.Thehospitaljanitoriseasingthepainandsufferingofpatientsand
theirfamilies.Thefastfoodworkerisliftingsomeoftheburdenfroma
harriedparent.

Workthatisadequatelycompensatedisanimportantsocialgood.But
soisworkthatisworthdoing.Halfofourwakinglivesisaterriblethingto
waste.

AprofessorofpsychologyatSwarthmoreCollegeandtheauthorofthe
forthcomingbookWhyWeWork.

AversionofthisarticleappearsinprintonAugust30,2015,onpageSR1oftheNewYork
editionwiththeheadline:RethinkingWork.

2015TheNewYorkTimesCompany

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