What to Read When You Want to Quit

Even if you like what you do for a living most days, actually working can be tough. In pursuit of hazy notions of success, many of us spend the prime of our lives jumping through hoops that other people tell us to jump through, or toiling toward a promotion we’re not at all sure is coming. Frequently, labor is less a source of purpose and more a necessity that allows one to pay the bills. And today, many people feel that its demands—mental, emotional, physical—are so great that they are too exhausted to do anything genuinely enjoyable at the end of the day.Other than, perhaps, dream about quitting.

However, this dissatisfaction can also raise important questions. What exactly do we get from our paid employment, and are there other ways we could spend our time? What work should society value?Even if you like what you do for a living most days, actually working can be tough. In pursuit of hazy notions of success, many of us spend the prime of our lives jumping through hoops that other people tell us to jump through, or toiling toward a promotion we’re not at all sure is coming. Frequently, labor is less a source of purpose and more a necessity that allows one to pay the bills. And today, many people feel that its demands—mental, emotional, physical—are so great that they are too exhausted to do anything genuinely enjoyable at the end of the day. Other than, perhaps, dream about quitting.

However, this dissatisfaction can also raise important questions. What exactly do we get from our paid employment, and are there other ways we could spend our time? What work should society value?

Even if you like what you do for a living most days, actually working can be tough. In pursuit of hazy notions of success, many of us spend the prime of our lives jumping through hoops that other people tell us to jump through, or toiling toward a promotion we’re not at all sure is coming. Frequently, labor is less a source of purpose and more a necessity that allows one to pay the bills. And today, many people feel that its demands—mental, emotional, physical—are so great that they are too exhausted to do anything genuinely enjoyable at the end of the day. Other than, perhaps, dream about quitting.

However, this dissatisfaction can also raise important questions. What exactly do we get from our paid employment, and are there other ways we could spend our time? What work should society value?

Even if you like what you do for a living most days, actually working can be tough. In pursuit of hazy notions of success, many of us spend the prime of our lives jumping through hoops that other people tell us to jump through, or toiling toward a promotion we’re not at all sure is coming. Frequently, labor is less a source of purpose and more a necessity that allows one to pay the bills. And today, many people feel that its demands—mental, emotional, physical—are so great that they are too exhausted to do anything genuinely enjoyable at the end of the day. Other than, perhaps, dream about quitting.

However, this dissatisfaction can also raise important questions. What exactly do we get from our paid employment, and are there other ways we could spend our time? What work should society value?Even if you like what you do for a living most days, actually working can be tough. In pursuit of hazy notions of success, many of us spend the prime of our lives jumping through hoops that other people tell us to jump through, or toiling toward a promotion we’re not at all sure is coming. Frequently, labor is less a source of purpose and more a necessity that allows one to pay the bills. And today, many people feel that its demands—mental, emotional, physical—are so great that they are too exhausted to do anything genuinely enjoyable at the end of the day. Other than, perhaps, dream about quitting.

However, this dissatisfaction can also raise important questions. What exactly do we get from our paid employment, and are there other ways we could spend our time? What work should society value?