Shapers. Jonas Altman

Shapers - Jonas Altman


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away from poverty.

      Still we lay about daydreaming about the endless ways we might express ourselves, whether it be as a coffee connoisseur, YouTube sensation, kitesurfing pro, or venture capitalist. The choice has become paradoxical. As our expectations for self‐expression grow, we may be left deflated and our lofty dreams remain unfulfilled. We long to give life to any or all of our multitudinous selves. Peeling back another layer of the onion reveals that our current crisis of work is also a psychological one.

      Of course, things will appear to have different shades to different people depending on their point of view. Flexible work often misconstrued as ‘working from home’, is all about choice. Seasoned flex workers weave their careers in a way that best suits their talents, skills, and attitude. Sociologist Sebastian Pranz writes:

      They exploit the full potential of their social networks and profit from the fact that, both spatially and mentally, they are now only loosely connected to a company. Flexible work creates a certain culture that has shifted from the structural conditions of job markets to the self‐identification of the company and from there it gradually seeps into the worldviews of the workers and their families. ‘New capitalism’ becomes a new way for us to think about ourselves, our work and our life.

      For centuries, wage labour has commanded that we get our kicks elsewhere. Human flourishing has played second fiddle to the capitalist agenda. But shapers yearn to do work that pays by fulfilling the soul. And now, at last, shapers are able to direct their own energies and remove the shackles that restricted the possibility for meaningful work.

      The majority of workers are presently disengaged at work. They feel they're not making meaningful progress and not cognitively or emotionally connecting to their work or workplace. This results in an unprecedented loss of productivity as well as a general malaise. This contagion takes a physical and mental toll on workers that can lead to burnout, depression, and other debilitating conditions.

      In work that is routine and low discretion, gleaning a profound sense of purpose is rare. But nearly half of Americans now work in non‐routine, cognitively demanding jobs. The opportunity to find meaning in work has never been more ripe.

      And for those who have been coasting along in aimless work, the mere notion that they might find fulfilment can lead to an existential crisis. They must face the stark reality that their jobs, as anthropologist David Graeber puts it, could be bullshit.

      A bullshit job is one in which the employee can honestly admit their job is pointless. Or in other words, if the job were to disappear it wouldn't make a difference. Graeber makes the case that for many of these kinds of jobs, should they vanish, the world would become an even better place. Clerical workers, administrators, PR consultants, telemarketers, and middle managers are frequently cited roles.

      At the time of writing, Gallup reports that a whopping 85% of the world's 1 billion full‐time employees are not engaged in their work. And this figure has been roughly the same since Gallup began monitoring engagement in the workplace at the turn of this century. Employee disengagement is a global epidemic.

      Still worse are the 13% of Americans who are ‘actively disengaged’. This means that employees are pent‐up inside and acting out on their resentment. They are often bitter because they feel their needs are being ignored. Deemed to be toxic, they undermine the work of their engaged colleagues. Their venom is contagious and can quickly spread throughout their team, the company floor, and even the entire organisation.

      And this is just the tip of the iceberg. In one French study, a CEO said that 19% of his workers were so disengaged that they were planning to sabotage the organisation–they disliked it that much (they didn't act for fear of losing their jobs).

      Indeed, emotional states play a part in every facet of our working lives–from what we contribute through to how we might feel a sense of belonging. The emotions of one worker can emanate outwards in all directions, affecting everything and everyone in their path. The side effects of feeling disengaged include apathy, boredom, lack of purpose, and incompetence. You bet this can result in a serious case of the Mondays.

      The effects of disengaged workers don't stop at shitty company performance, productivity, or profit.

      Engaged workers are less likely to have accidents, take sick days, make mistakes, behave badly with co‐workers and family, burnout, or suffer from depression than their disengaged counterparts. Oh yes, and engaged workers often enjoy their work for its own reward too.

      The malaise of the modern worker will not be cured in one fell swoop. It will happen through itsy bitsy nudges in behaviour. Take email for starters. On average, 77% of workers surveyed in the UK claim that a productive day is ‘clearing their email’ and 40% say that four or more hours of ‘doing email’ is a good day's work.

      The biggest stoke in work is whether you believe you're making headway in purposeful work. ‘Of all the events that engage people at work, the single most important–by far–is simply making progress in meaningful work,’ explains Harvard business professor, Teresa Amabile. Known as the progress principle, it's this type of inner drive that propels shapers to do their best work.


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