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Admittedly, peer discussions surrounding "the nature of work" seldom came
up while I was going through the motions of getting my M. A. I vaguely
recall a couple of short discussions in some survey courses in either
management, sociology or social psychology. Nevertheless, a discussion
toward the understanding of "the nature of work" seems to be a core
assumption where those sages among you might become great teachers to this
ignorant, but willing, student.

To begin, I believe the human mind is SO complex and complicated that it
will in the absence of work will create work for itself in order to keep
occupied and thereby avoid having to deal with ennui. I just think that
we are ill-equipped to actually do nothing--whether this is a result of
nature or nurture is open for discussion.

______________________
Great Optimism,

Dutch Driver
Abilene, TX
Hm. Telephone: 915.698.7217
mailto:ddriver@cs1.mcm.edu

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At 19:20 10/01/98 -0600, you wrote:
>Admittedly, peer discussions surrounding "the nature of work" seldom came
>up while I was going through the motions of getting my M. A. I vaguely
>recall a couple of short discussions in some survey courses in either
>management, sociology or social psychology. Nevertheless, a discussion
>toward the understanding of "the nature of work" seems to be a core
>assumption where those sages among you might become great teachers to this
>ignorant, but willing, student.
>
>To begin, I believe the human mind is SO complex and complicated that it
>will in the absence of work will create work for itself in order to keep
>occupied and thereby avoid having to deal with ennui. I just think that
>we are ill-equipped to actually do nothing--whether this is a result of
>nature or nurture is open for discussion.
>
>______________________
>Great Optimism,
>
>Dutch Driver
>Abilene, TX
>Hm. Telephone: 915.698.7217
>mailto:ddriver@cs1.mcm.edu
>
>
>

Dutch Driver seems bent on opening up one of the biggest cans of worms I
know: the nature of work. Actually, that might be a really interesting
discussion. I refer to it as a can of worms because I know there are so many
different views. So, I would propose that the basic groundrule we all adopt
is that, initially at least, we don't try to resolve what are sure to be
differing views, but simply try to explore and understand them all. I'll
happily step out.

When I think of "work," I think of Peter Drucker's definition: "Work is a
process and it has a result." I also think of the title of Henry Mintzberg's
book, "The Nature of Managerial Work." I think (vaguely) of some old
definition learned as a boy: Force x Distance (if memory serves, which it
probably doesn't). I think of paid activity. And I think of effort
expended, usually preceded by "hard," as in "hard work." The word has many
meanings and no doubt many more than I have quickly listed above.

Back to you, Dutch: which one(s) do you want to explore?

Regards,

Fred Nickols
Executive Director
Strategic Planning & Management Services
Educational Testing Service
MailStop 09-C
Princeton, NJ 08541
(609) 734-5077 Tel
(609) 734-5590 Fax
fnickols@ets.org

Ah Dutch be right...

Check out _Work_ by Studs Terkel.
One of the foundation books I read for my first
M.S. "work" in Human Resource Development (HRD).

Very interesting book full of vignettes on different
kinds of workers...

Good working "definitions.".

>To begin, I believe the human mind is SO complex and complicated that it

> will in the absence of work will create work for itself in order to keep
> occupied and thereby avoid having to deal with ennui. I just think that
> we are ill-equipped to actually do nothing--whether this is a result of
> nature or nurture is open for discussion.

Let's not ignore older sources...
Hey, I'm older ;-)

--
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|| P.A. Gantt ||
|| <mailto:pagantt@bigfoot.com> ||
|| Electronic Media Design & Support ||
|| M.S., HRD The University of Tennessee ||
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Dutch Driver wrote

> To begin, I believe the human mind is SO complex and complicated that it
> will in the absence of work will create work for itself in order to keep
> occupied and thereby avoid having to deal with ennui. I just think that
> we are ill-equipped to actually do nothing--whether this is a result of
> nature or nurture is open for discussion.

I agree completely, Dutch. And this is certainly the case in "abundant
environments" where the local cultures developed massive elaborations, usually
rituals, far beyond any required to provide for their "basic" needs (e.g. the
Trobriands, the !Kung San, the NW Coast groups, etc.). It appears that competition
for status is an inbuilt human characteristic, regardless of the form that that
competition takes (e.g. monetary, warfare, hunting, "magic", ritual, etc.). One
might say that "nature" provide the competitive impulse (probably originating in
mate selection) and "nurture"/culture provides the fora in which this competition
can take place.

Marc

PA: My favorite book of all time, Working by Studs Terkel. Good for all of
us who work with those who work.... Thanks for the reminder!

Andrea

Andrea Sigetich Affiliates
Organization Coaching for magnificent management and team development
Personal Coaching for amazing individual results
OrgCoach@aol.com

On Sun, 11 Jan 1998, fred nickols wrote:

> Dutch Driver seems bent on opening up one of the biggest cans of worms I
> know: the nature of work. Actually, that might be a really interesting
> discussion. I refer to it as a can of worms because I know there are so many
> different views. So, I would propose that the basic groundrule we all adopt
> is that, initially at least, we don't try to resolve what are sure to be
> differing views, but simply try to explore and understand them all. I'll
> happily step out.

Agreed. As I said, this is a topic where I have little to offer. So, my
curiosity will often use a can of worms and bait a hook for the fish who
do know about the nature of work.

As usual, my starting position takes its stance from an almost pure
psychological point of view and goes out. That is to say, our minds
practically prevent us from doing "nothing." Activity and work follow
thought. However, there is the need for status that might also act on
thought to produce work. See, really needs some fleshing out.

Again it might be a productive discussion to follow and get opinions from
others whose assumptions may start from a different place.

I think I'll cast my line in and wait for awhile.

______________________
Great Optimism,

Dutch Driver
Abilene, TX
Hm. Telephone: 915.698.7217
mailto:ddriver@cs1.mcm.edu

A favorite quote says a lot about the nature of work:

"....I like what is in the work - the chance to find yourself. Your own
reality for yourself, not for others - what no other man can ever know."
Joseph Conrad in The Heart of Darkness.

These days we would say "what no other man or woman can ever know."

This a great topic, dear to my heart. Looking forward to more discussion.

Mila Begun, Principal
WORKWISE
New York, NY
(212) 874-1885
(MMBegun@aol.com)

I own a company that I started in 1985 with the intent to empower it to be
self managing. Through lots of turbulence and #9 rapids, it has now reached
that point. I left in Feb. 1997 to "do the next thing" while it runs itself.
WE have had a good year in the business, but I am still flying on a flagpole.

I think work allows learning about oneself if one will listen. EVERYTHING is
about ourselves, not about the work. Everything is about how we act in the
face of, not about what's happening to us.

I work every day to discover what is in my heart to do (is that work? I
learned a lot). I have discovered it. Now and I am putting the word out
together with a more powerful and well-known partner. I am scared, and the
process is slower than I want. I know those have to do with my level of
courage, ambition, and patience, not about it "being scary" or "too slow".

More later?
Barbara Golden

Howdy All,

I just want to get my two cents in on the nature of work. I suspect
that what Dutch was saying is true but I believe there is more. Keeping
our minds occupied is certainly important but it is the result of our
work, our creations, our deliverable that allow us to contribute and
collaborate and *belong* to a larger process. The "objects", our
creations, be they service or product that afford us membership. More
then just a busy mind, it is social.

Also Fred added :
Dutch Driver seems bent on opening up one of the biggest cans of
worms I know: the nature of work. Actually, that might be a really
interesting discussion. I refer to it as a can of worms because I know
there are so many different views.

I would agree with Fred, but in this case I don't imagine a can of
worms.... more a wet bag :-) As for me, and as I mentioned just above
the nature of work seems embedded in our desire to belong and our
processes of creation. Those processes come with certain overhead, the
things we must do, the actions we must take that don't add value.
That's work. For me work is every unavoidable action that
*interferes* with the creation of the deliverable.


Regards

Rick Kennett